Somebody, please....

[real world]

[blockquote]
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On 1/13/2003 1138 AM N305AS wrote:

Real World, you truly are a glittering jewel of colossal ignorance.

Rather than hit you with the points others have already mentioned, I'll add one that is very infrequently brought up concerning pilots' compensation:

You've already been told that it takes many many years for a pilot to finally earn those "big bucks" that doctors and lawyers command almost immediately, but did you know that every six months a pilot is required to undergo an FAA physical? And that if he or she does not pass that rigorous physical exam, that they cannot fly anymore?

A pilot's salary doesn't increase in a straight line upwards; the pay scales are back-ended so that very senior pilots with many many years are the ones making the "big bucks," and they have a limited number of years that they can command those salaries due to the rule requiring pilots to retire at age 60.

That, coupled with the fact that each of their twice-yearly physicals could possibly end their careers entirely, are two more valid reasons why pilots make what they do.


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[/blockquote]
I agree with the fact that your carrer is on line twice a year with a physical and I also agree that you have a 5 year shorter window to earn you living. However I disagree with the fact that pilots deserve big bucks, I think they should be paid a fair wage for their skill and education level, and I belive it should not even come close to what a physicain makes as it does now (or at least pre T/A).

 

[ONTHESTREET]

Real world,

I would like to see the pilot that makes what a doctor does. I have never met him/her. For that matter I have never met the Pilot that makes the much quoted 300,000.

I do however fly a 4 million doller airplane FOR a doctor. I have no idea what he makes but he pays 25000 a month just in payments for the thing, not counting operation costs. There is not an airline pilot in the country making that kind of money.

As to the training between the two. The Doctor goes to school about 4 years longer than the pilot, but the doctor starts making much more far sooner than the pilot does. When a pilot gets hired by a major airline he/she has been flying PROFESSIONALLY for at least 8 to 10 years on average, this does not include whatever time they had prior to earning a commercial certificate. First year Major Airline pay averages about $30,000. Now remember this is after bieng in the profession for 10 years. That huge salary that we are always beat over the head with accounts for a very small percentage of the top guys. And then they only make that for a year or so before turning 60 and having to quit.

Pay always cycles with the times, the airlines have always been that way. Bad economy, salarys come down and there is a flood of pilots, followed in about 5 to 8 years by a shortage of pilots. And then pay goes up.

There is a obscene amout of stuff for todays airline pilot to know. Different material than a doctor but still a very technical field. And no, PC flight sims teach you nothing about flying. They look pretty but you would be dead in minutes if you try to learn that way.

Are pilots doctors? No. But the liability and responsibility are almost equal. People die if either of us screw up just a little bit.

 

[USADispatcher]

Chip

I always speak as truthfully as I can and I do not always agree with you, BUT......When I saw what ALPA did and how quick they did what they did, I knew there was a serious issue. Thankfully all of the agreements, as distasteful as they were, were ratified.

I appreciate what ALPA agreed to and when they did. Sometimes I just have to wonder though, if giving up the RJ/SJ issue and the Code Share issue was worth SO MUCH, does that also mean that the failure to recognize that earlier cost this company that much, times (X) the number of years they failed to recognize that fact? Let's set that aside though.

I just hope we can all focus on the future. Our competition
is the real issue from here. I hope we all remember that.

But if you are upset at management, remember one thing.

"Management is the bid dog on the porch. Every now and then
the big dog walks over and pisses on the post. WE, as employees, are the post that holds that porch up." I appreciate what ALPA did. They took the lead.

FROM - A USA Dispatcher that supports ALL of the employees of this Company as essential. Union, Non-Union and Management. It takes all of us.

 

[cavalier]

Reading the thoughts on pilot compensation level, I wonder if a survey was taken and the flying public were asked: Should a pilot who they put their total faith in every time they fly with their family not earn anything close to what doctors and lawyers earn? And do you feel a pilot should earn just about what any other Joe earns? And do you care if talented and dedicated people choose careers other then flying because they will be rewarded with bigger W2’s elsewhere than Billy Bob who is sitting in the ****pit?

The lower paid pilots flying the puddle hoppers are waiting for that big break to get on with the majors and make really big bucks. What if that were taken away, and there was no difference, how many talented people would even consider becoming a pilot?

In today’s climate the last thing we need are people believing anything but the very best people are sitting in the ****pit. I can’t believe the Wal*Marting of pilots will ever become a reality in my lifetime.
The government limits a pilots monthly flying hours for a very good reason. The term glorified bus driver has its roots in envy.