Dear Gadabout Jack: Commuter Airlines

Gadabout has been kicking the idea around of taking a job with the commuter airlines. The below is a response from one of my readers. I respect his clarity on the issue:

Dear Gadabout,
In regards to acquiring a job with the commuters; here is what I think. First of all, and most importantly, your position as a commuter pilot should merely be a stone in the path that is leading you to the acquisition of something far grander in scheme and design. There is no covert wisdom stealthily concealed in this line of reasoning.

Damn near every individual manning a PIC or SIC seat in a commuter aircraft is in one form or another passionately infatuated with the luminous dream of something more. The bigger airplane, the better job, the hotter flight attendants (yea, good luck with that), the bigger paycheck, the grandiose prolific fantasy of strutting through the airport sporting a set of captains bars. You should be no different.

Unfortunately, the management big-wigs who control the purse strings of the various commuter outfits are well aware that their employees are about as permanent as geese moving across an autumn sky. So they don’t pay shit. Ah, but grasshopper, money is ultimately not what we seek. Money is merely one of the many byproducts of achieving an ambition of the soul. With that in mind, if you desire to delve deeper into the profession and have exhausted all personal and individual facets of the general aviation aspiration, then by all means, go forth and reap your victory.

But beware, for there will be a price to pay and sacrifices to make. Based on past conversations with multiple sources, after a while, the job kind of sucks ass. However, if you maintain a distinct clarity of your original vision, then the weight of adversity is merely making you stronger. You’ll be gaining knowledge, reaping dividends on aviation wisdom, and acquiring the much needed hours of experience that other future opportunities will demand. And there may be a hot, naughty flight attendant thrown in there somewhere.

If you have a clear understanding of your goals, then I say do it. The industry is once again gaining momentum and apparently a veritable deluge of opportunity may exist out there for pilots.

That is what I think.

Gadabout Fan