Listen to the grumblings on the many aviation websites and you can find a million reasons not to get into aviation. I recently received a why-encourage-someone-to-get-into-flying-when-it’s-such-a-dead-end-job? e-mail and thought, I hope this guy doesn’t have the ear of too many young, aspiring pilots.
My own career would have been relegated to the could-have, should-have category if I’d listened to all the naysayers, including my own family, sending me all the newspapers clippings of local airplane crashes in the 1960s and early 1970s. Fortunately, I learned to focus on the positive, lest I sabotage my own career aspirations.
Folks who grouse about the poor pay, bad working conditions, and terrible career prospects for aspiring pilots forget (or never had) the basic ingredients necessary to survive in our shark-infested waters. Passion and persistence can work some real magic on those of us who are eager to help you. Show us that you have what it takes to survive the tough times and we’ll do for you what others have done for us. This “pay it forward” attitude can make or break your career.
Your ace in the hole to combat the bad times is diversification. You definitely need another life skill to fall back on, be it computers, real estate, health care, writing, or another portable job to supplement your flying income. Few pilots find their flying jobs pay a livable wage. Instead they see their pay as a cessation of that hefty training outflow of funds. Find and train now for another passion to pay the bills and begin a second long-term career to recession-proof your flying.
It’s your passion, your future profession. And how you survive these lean times—how resourceful you can be now—will show your mentors that you’re worth helping. If you prefer to tie your fortunes to a dull, predictable profession that guarantees a steady paycheck with no obstacles ahead, I wish you luck. We’ll miss you and it's likely I’ll be talking to you in a few years about how you, too, can get back into aviation when you discover that bored and comfortable doesn’t challenge your soaring soul.
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