Flying Lessons

When I learned to fly, back in the dark ages of 1991 when airspace was still classified as ARSAs and TRSAs, we didn't use RNAV, GPS, or even headsets. In fact, when I think about it, it's rather a miracle that I learned to fly at all. My instructor, Jim Harrigan, was British, and not from London, either. He was from the sticks and it showed in his accent that I struggled to understand as he shouted at me through a cloud of Marlborough smoke over the engine noise of the 1978 Piper Warrior.

This was a lark for me, something I decided to try after a couple months of regular skydiving and when I won a last-minute scholarship that covered my final semester of college, freeing up the cash I had saved over the summer to pay for school. My coach learned of the skydiving (I was on the cross country team) and threatened to revoke my running scholarship if I didn't quit jumping out of airplanes tout de suite. So I signed up for my first lesson. It seemed like something I could basically treat as an extra class, so I purchased the student pilot kit complete with textbooks and plunked down my cold hard cash for a pre-paid Private Pilot program.

Next thing I knew, Smokey Jim was climbing out of the airplane while the engine was still running. I looked at him curiously and asked, "Where are you going?" I couldn't understand what he said, but he made some hand motions that appeared to indicate his desire for me to make three touch-and-goes. By myself??

Jim abandoned me in early December to go back to the British sticks for Christmas, leaving me in the capable (and much more understandable) hands of a female instructor named Kim. She was somehow under the impression that I was nearly ready for my check ride. Hindsight suggests this was due in part to the "pre-paid" aspect of my program, meaning if I required more hours of instruction than allotted, the school didn't get any more money.

The day after I graduated college, Kim and I were enroute from KRMG to KGAD, where I had precisely 40 hours (the bare minimum required) of flight time under my belt when we landed. Kim introduced me to the examiner who would administer my test then threw me to the wolves. That night with a fresh license in my pocket, I boarded a plane to Montana, gazing in awe at the pilots, wondering if some day I could be like them.

Flying Career: Overrated?

Last week, carreercast.com named the 12 most overrated jobs of 2011. Both flight attendant and pilot made the list. To most people, the thought of a flying career conjures up images of a dapper Leonardo striding the concourse in a crisp uniform, flanked by a throng of young, pretty, and immaculately groomed stewardesses. This glamorous stereotype is perpetuated by the new TV series "Pan Am."

The more likely scenario is a rumpled first officer who slept in the crew room because her shift started early and she had to commute from home in Boise/San Diego/Denver the night before accompanied by a 50-year-old flight attendant who sold her insurance agency to pursue her lifelong dream of flying and doesn't care that she only makes $12,000 a year because she has flight benefits for herself and her husband.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KosfmCMIGhA&feature=related

There are great things about an airline career. I generally have 3-day weekends. The hours are somewhat flexible. With creative bidding, I can sometimes have a 5-10 day stretch of days off without burning precious vacation time. Frankly, I can't imagine going back to an 8-5 routine five days a week. Not to mentions the views from the "office!"

So why does CareerCast think flying is overrated? Perhaps because flight crews are away from home for days on end. And unlike the crews in "Pan Am," we aren't dancing in Paris night clubs on generous layovers. Maybe it's because we work odd hours, sometimes finishing a shift after midnight and beginning another at 3 a.m. in the same week. It could have something to do with the stress induced by weather, company policies, passenger issues, fatigue, etc. Work-life balance and compromised health are two of the issues the Huffington Post pointed out in its version of the story. It's difficult to maintain friendships and regular social outings when you travel four days a week. Irregular sleep patterns, questionable nutrition, and poor ergonomics of flight deck seating cause frequent visits to the doc.

And the $106,000 average salary for airline pilots is a bit misleading. A captain at a major airline may earn well above this figure, but a first officer at a regional earns far less, often starting at $15k or less and topping out around $40k. Moving up is largely a function of seniority and movement comes to a grinding halt right along with with the economy.

Perhaps they think an airline career is overrated since moving from job to job comes with a price--typically large pay cuts and time at the bottom of the seniority list--whereas other professionals can leverage their experience to land better paying jobs at another company.

Don't get me wrong. I love my job and the benefits it affords. I just wouldn't encourage you to quit YOUR job to pursue the "glamour" of flying.