Guest Wilky Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Not that I would expect to influence anybody on this forum... but as an avid reader over the past few months I have gained from this forum a valuable insight. I fly right seat 767 for Air Canada. As a seventh year pilot with plenty of experience to qualify me for this position, I have come to the stark realization that I do not have a career. I have a job. Many who post here are optimists but the majority, I would say, are not. In fact most are hurting for something better to do with their time... My insight, you ask? Flying airplanes in Canada is a limited opportunity at best. Most of the people I have had the pleasure of flying with in this business (before and during AC) are bright and capable enough to be much more than pilots. The key is to respond to the &%$@! in the marketplace not by looking for a better flying job, but looking for something completely outside of aviation to offset the shambles this industry is. Someone said to me the other day that my job is the payback for time well invested a long time ago. I tend to agree. Much like the capital markets though, aviation is a matter of careful and thoughtful investment. Don't know the facts? Likely to end up with less than you started. Know all the facts and done your homework? Likely to have a 50% chance of success at best! My point? (To quote comedian Dennis Leary) "Life sucks, get a f***in' helmut". There are no guarantees anywhere in this life. More often than not, hard work pays off but not always! Every person I've met who can operate an airliner is capable of making something in his/her spare time that can more than offset the uncertainty of their next paycheck. I don't believe we're overpaid, but I do believe the public thinks we're overpaid. We haven't got our &%$@! together as a profession and we haven't marketed our skills to the masses (not to mention whipsaw!) so we live with our situation. It is time for each and every pilot in this mess to look in the mirror and stop thinking "pilot" and to start thinking "I can do anything". Only after coming to the realization that we are not limited to what the title Pilot can bring us, but unlimited as long as we are willing to reinvent ourselves, can we accept this dicked up job as an opportunity to use the free time to build something that overcomes the limitations imposed on us by our unions and employers. Time to think "outside the box". Drew Wilkinson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Labtec Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 That was very well stated. That is some of the best advice I think I have heard. Labtec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panama Jack Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 You are right. Many pilots have come to realize this-- some own properties or own other businesses. It is becoming standard that most Canadians cannot make a decent, secure living off a sole source of income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panama Jack Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 You are right. Many pilots have come to realize this-- some own properties or own other businesses. It is becoming standard that most Canadians cannot make a decent, secure living off a sole source of income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CleardecksforACTION! Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 OK Drew...I'll bite... What are you selling?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wilky Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 CDFA My point wasn't self promotion but I've been told you're either a salesman or your not, and you asked... Send me an e-mail to flightwatch@sympatico.ca and I'll send you a (1.6 mb) brochure on watches. Drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CleardecksforACTION! Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Thanx Wilky, but if I bring home one more watch, my wife will castrate me with a dirty fingernail...(1.6MB? sheesh!, is that the whole Timex product line?) Cheerio! CDFA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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