Why are you guys are bagging on this guy for sharing his opinion about what it is like being a commuting regional pilot… isn’t that the purpose of this site?
…To help people understand the opportunity AND the cost of pursuing flying for the airlines…
So he found out that it wasn’t as great as he thought it was after giving it a try. Who here married their first girlfriend? It’s easy for all of us to gloss over important details when we are excited about something. At least he was honest with himself, no matter how petty you think the reason might be.
It’s easy to pick apart someone else’s life from a distance, when they put it out there. At least he put it out there. Bottom line is that he is a talented (video) instructor and wanted to pursue a different adventure. Good for him for going for it. He might be good enough to be the next King schools… my guess is they aren’t sad to not be retired airline pilots.
I can say honestly that his videos have been helpful to me as a student… and I’d bet ATPs students are getting value from his videos too.
This counter opinion is important and I am glad he put it out there, it won’t deter the determined and maybe it’ll help those that aren’t meant to be in airlines understand that sooner.
I think the problem most are having isn’t about his leaving the Airlines and making a video about it.
My primary issue - as a fan of his & current student who has spent hours upon hours watching his training videos - is that his reasoning is contradictory and almost all of his complaints are WELL KNOWN facts of life at regional Airlines by anyone involved in aviation, much less an instructor with 4+ MILLION views on YouTube.
He knew what he was getting into, and if he didn’t - he displayed an incredible, almost literally unbelievable level, of short sightedness.
Heck, there is a “day in the life” thread on THIS WEBSITE. There are literally hundreds of YouTube videos. Every single thing he complains about is a well known fact and accepted as part of working towards the coveted seniority that allows you to live the life you want.
The worst part about it is his complaining about not having time to eat and his salary.
Not having time to eat is easily fixed by better planning. “BUT THE STARBUCKS LINE IS LONG!!1!!” Cry me a river, pal.
Salary? You can quite literally figure out almost to the exact dollar how much you will bring home in each of your years of employment for any airline you wish. It’s all written, available to the public, and there’s even a salary calculator available so you can manipulate the numbers for “what if…”
Bottom line is he knew the truth behind every single thing he complained about before he accepted the job, and as I stated earlier - I do appreciate his candid review of the lifestyle, but I couldn’t have any less sympathy for him or his whining.
What bothered me was not so much that he was complaining about the airline industry, but that his complaints in many cases were self induced (commuting) and are complaints that will be found in any work environment (lines at Starbucks, etc). While I very much enjoy flying, on some level it is a job. I would fly for fun if it were up to me, but I certainly wouldn’t fly ninety hours per month. I think that outside of a very niche kind of flying, this guy is going to be unhappy and while he might like what he is doing now, it will most likely not bring him the long term happiness and success that more traditional flying would. But hey, more power to him.
I read the posts and I posted because I felt that calling the guy a “loser” diminished my view of you guys, whom I have had a lot of respect for.
I don’t think of people who admit mistakes as losers. The fact that this stuff is known really doesn’t make too much of a difference in my opinion… there’s a huge difference between life on paper and life lived out.
I also found it ironic that everyday in this forum individuals come in saying that they started a career they are not happy with and want to make a change. I have not seen you guys call those individuals “losers”… even though many of them surely knew that their chosen career field had the negative aspects that are driving them toward a change now.
I only raised the issue because I respect you guys and didn’t want to lose that respect.
I’m not a pilot. I’m never going to be a pilot. I’m here to learn about the lifestyle (and because I love you Fly Guys and Gals ). My very inexperienced, and possibly very ignorant, question is:
Why isn’t this guy packing a bag lunch? Is that not allowed for some reason?
I thought maybe it wasn’t that insurmountable a problem. Even protein bars or apples or something for those times when you know time is going to be tight.
). My very inexperienced, and possibly very ignorant, question is:
possible.
