What are the cons of a commercial pilot job?

Question

i have slowed down & thinking if it is worth it to spend that much money on commercial pilot training?suppose,after completion one gets a job in a airline,initial years might be tough and you get thru it.ofcourse there is respect,sense of achievement and getting up every morning to fly a plane for living and also getting well paid is exciting.but the cons like you might miss on family life.etc considering the cons.Or do you feel that getting a degree and working for a 9-5 job that pays well is the right thing to do?which would give you job satisfaction?

Answer 1

you can make more money at 1st driving a truck. and it will not fall out of the sky. but if you can get on and stay on for 20yrs the money may come to you but the airlines are shutting down all over

Answer 2

Poor pay

Expensive training

Pressure

Answer 3

Im 14 now and i want to become a pilot or something to do with planes but i am now questioning it, by the time i do all my training etc.. it will all be done my computers and it will be quite boring..wont it?

Answer 4

Commercail pilots have horrable working hours. Before going airlines there will be days when your boss will phone you at 5am and tell you to be at work  at 7am. When you go airline there are 2 options: domestic and international.

Domestic you will work odd hours of the day aswell leaving home before sunrise on comming home at midnight.

International gives you more time at home but you are away for 3-5 days at one time.

I will never trade my job thou. I will get up as early as they want me to and go to bed when I can. I dont belive there can be such job satisfaction anywhere like aviation.

Answer 5

Cons

-To start it is expensive to train

-Salary wise it is not great until you gained experience and it may take many years to do so

-The hours and shifts which you may have to work can interupt your body clock

-Being away from home alot, particularily scheduled airline and corporate guys

-Long Haul flying is what some describe and very very boring

Answer 6

When my bus engine quits, I coast onto the shoulder and wait for help.  If your planes engines quit, you make a very large hole!!!

Answer 7

Here is the list:

(a) In case you are injured in the leg or hand, you cannot fly until you return to normalcy. So you have to take care of your limbs with extra precaution. Pilots have to avoid tougher physical games which may cause serious injuries.

(b) You cannot fight on the street. If somebody breaks your kneecap with a baseball bat then your flying career is over.

(c) If you are homesick, then staying away from your family for longer duration will be very tough.

(d) You cannot drink beer or whiskey plentiful if next early morning you have fly.

(e) You cannot stay awake for long if there is flight next morning but an old pal met you after 10 years staying at your home. Excusing yourself will be not easy.

(f) If working with a corporate, you cannot take leaves as per your wish. You have to be on 'alert' all the times depending on your boss's plans.

(g) You have to be away from your wife & kids for longer durations sometimes.

(h) If your flying career is over what will you do....especially if you don't have extra qualifications.

(i) Above all if you have a family history of serious illnesses then you have to be very very careful to keep yourself fit.

(j) Bad performances during exams & during simulator trainings means slow promotions in the career. So you have to keep on studying and moving on...

Summary: Exciting but risky career, needing precautions most of the times.

Answer 8

Flying airplanes is more a way of life than a job.  Unfortunately, flying comes first to many pilots... their family included.

1)  One of the cons that has been listed is the schedule.  Keep in mind that you can get certain flying jobs where you do have a good schedule.  Some corporate flight departments seldom travel outside of the 6:00am-6:00pm time.  Airlines, however, are a different world.  Other than being away from home and working weird hours remember there is not a day throughout the year that airlines don't fly.  You'll miss family functions, childs birthdays, your anniversary, any holiday you can think of, and any other day throughout the year you may want to stay home.  Schedule often get better with seniority... but keep in mind most of these are set lines so you won't get everything off.  Ex.  you can choose a line to be at home for christmas or choose a line to be at home for your childs birthday party-- not both.  Sometimes you will get what you want, but not always.

2)  The respect the public has for pilots is gone.  The majority of the public view us as bus drivers and button pushers (not the truth... but it's the new view).

3)  limited job stability.  Last week three airlines went out of business.  ATA, Aloha, and Skybus.  There are a number of others since the first of the year.  Those pilots are now on the streets looking for jobs.  Their seniority that got them the better schedule is gone- they'll start at the bottom working most holidays (back to the bad schedule) wherever they go- and their paycheck is gone.  Corporate isn't the answer here either- if a company hits a rough patch often the flight department is one of the first things to go.  Some are very stable... walmart for example... but you will find there are no guarantees in this industry.

3)  You lose your medical and you're done.  If you go into the dr. one day, you think you're healthy, and find out you have diabetes-- you're done.  You can get your medical back sometimes, but you'll be waiting months to hear from the FAA.  Stay healthy... but even then, there's no guarantees.

4)  This was listed as the second most dangerous career... do a search on google, you'll find it.  It's right behind fishing.  Granted airline flying is extremely safe... but a lot of the other jobs have greater risks.  You need to respect airplanes and that there are risks associated with flying them.

5)  retirement... it's nothing more than a 401k usually.  Pensions are gone.. given up years ago when most pilot groups were taking concessions to keep their airlines afloat.  

6)  pay.  Granted a 747 captain for a major airline is pulling in 6 figures... but it's not the norm.  You'll have 40k plus in loans without a degree and closer to 100k with a four year degree (which you'll need to get the best paying jobs).  When I started instructing I was making about 18k working 7 days a week.  I worked 30 plus days straight just to stay afloat financially.  First year airline pay is in that same area too... somewhere between 15-23k is the norm.  It's hard to live, pay off debt, and enjoy life making that amount of money.

There are more negatives... but those are the big ones in my opinion.  I love what I do, but I took a calculated risk and I'm doing alright.  If you love to fly you won't have it any other way... but don't get into this unless you're willing to make sacrifices.  Take your time to think about this... you'll know if it's right for you.

Answer 9

Well, the view outside my office changes by the minute. Can't beat it, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. However, starting out sucks. the pay is lousy. (I made less than 30k my first year at the airlines) The hours suck for a few years, although they do get better. On the plus side, as you become more senior, schedules become more accommodating, pay become significantly better, and the people I work with are a blast. You just gotta stick it out.

Additional answers: Go to college. Firstly, most major airlines, and most corporate flight departments require some sort of college. Secondly, if you want to be a commercial pilot, you hit the books very very very hard, and very thoroughly. Four years of school will do wonders for your studying skills, as well as your maturity and approach to the decision making process.