Comparing Lawyers, Doctors etc to Pilots....

[taylor498]

Great thread. Can we make a plaster mold and showcase the posts from JBI and JAHinYYC?

[RVR6000]

yeah, and you can be a lawyer or doctor and still be a dismal failure too, rvr - havent you ever seen those lawyers in the booths at the mall?

It’s not about being a dismal failure; just look at the 'Hire Me' section so many high time guys out of work. Even if you put in your time in this career the salaries in most sectors is shit (very few exceptions), it’s not the same in other professions.

[Sam300]

Stats Canada has some good info on salaries for different professions, some are rather surprising.

[ScudRunner]

I'm really glad I started this thread especially with the input of JAHinYYC and JBI. This topic is one of my biggest pet peeves about pilots, whenever we get together and talk shop about our industry inevitably the comparison is made against lawyer or doctors and it's not an intelligent debate like the one we are having here.

Whats not constructive is the underlying assumption that lawyers or doctors don't deserve their "higher salary" and thus pilots are unfairly paid less.

As said by others the crucial difference with law and medicine where the choke points are standardized by the profession and the universities on the front end of the career. Versus the open door policy of aviation where the market and the job will weed out the non hackers. That being said a mediocre pilot can make a decent middle class career out of flying just about any aircraft if they stick it out.

I find it interesting that in Aviation government jobs such as RCMP or TC are considered well paid with great benefits, in law those are the lower paid career jobs.

[seafeye]

It's interesting that most doctors i have flown with make poor pilots. Guess that makes us even cause i would make a poor doctor.
When I would go to accident sites and see a baron or king air the first thing we would ask is: "Doctor or Lawyer?"

[jpar84]

Interesting topic. I'm in the exact opposite situation as JAHinYYC. I flew for a few years and then decided to become a lawyer. I'm currently articling at a regional law firm in Halifax.

I am happy I made the switch, but more for individual reasons than a blanket 'one career is better than the other' idea.


As an aside, one of the purposes of my book, "So, You Want to be a Pilot, Eh?" and the other books in the Series - "So, You Want to be a Doctor, Eh?" and "So, You Want to be a Lawyer, Eh?" is to try and provide people interested in the careers a better understanding of what they're getting themselves into (both good and bad).



Overall, all careers are what you make them to be. The more professional you act, the more professional you will be considered.

Hey JB1, just curious as to where I might be able to get a copy of your book (the pilot one of course).


cheers

JP

[JBI]

Hey JB1, just curious as to where I might be able to get a copy of your book (the pilot one of course).

Hey JP,

You can get my book at a number of places. If you're in Toronto or Vancouver, they carry it at aviation world. They also have it at the Prop Shop at Buttonville airport near Toronto. If you're in NS, PM me and I can arrange to get a copy to you.

If none of those options work, there are a number of options online.

You can get it directly through the publisher Writing on Stone Press

Through Annex Bookstore

Through Amazon.ca

Or through Chapters. ca

Some local libraries have it as well.

Cheers!

[jpar84]

Hey JB1, just curious as to where I might be able to get a copy of your book (the pilot one of course).

Hey JP,

You can get my book at a number of places. If you're in Toronto or Vancouver, they carry it at aviation world. They also have it at the Prop Shop at Buttonville airport near Toronto. If you're in NS, PM me and I can arrange to get a copy to you.

If none of those options work, there are a number of options online.

You can get it directly through the publisher Writing on Stone Press

Through Annex Bookstore

Through Amazon.ca

Or through Chapters. ca

Some local libraries have it as well.

Cheers!

I put in an order at Chapters yesterday. Looking forward to reading it.

cheers

[magicbox]

I think you could add Superyacht captaining to that category(of Lwyer/Pilot/ect...)!!! That's what I am. It's much the same career path as a Pilot in that it takes a good investment but minimal study to get started but the rewards are good! I am wanting to get into aviation now just because I have always done yachts but am not encouraged by a MASSIVE pay cut ... especially reading the posts on Pilots willing to pay the employer???? What the *(*&^ after that king of an investment in training.

I guess my take on it from reading this forum is that Pilots don't make as much as lawyers/medics , but they haven't completed as in-depth studies... I mean if you wanted you could get all your licenses in 1 year. You would not be the best pilot from lack of experience that is for sure.
Same goes for the yachts, some guys throw wads of cash at licenses get taken on skippering a yacht and don't know how to run it properly !

[crankedup]

I think I might know why we compare ourselves to Doctors and Lawyers.

Could it be due to our reliance upon Doctors to keep us alive or reset our bones etc. (personal experience) after another wild night on the booze or whatever is consumed, between flights of course, and the inevitable consequences that arise. Eventually anyway.

Now time for the Lawyers to step in and protect our identities from becoming public, because reporters just love to have an Airline Pilot on the front cover describing whichever indiscretion or crime was committed by another of these bunch of hapless, crazy aviators.

Then the task of retaining the freedom of said individual by paying massive fines and promising very quietly lest some hack get wind of it to behave in the future. Sincerely of course.

Don't forget the upcoming divorce settlement. Get out that damn checkbook again buddy. We ain't finished with you yet.

Now that explains exactly why we need our ridiculously high wages and how we are to be forever linked to Doctors and Lawyers.

This all from personal experience. Sadly I didn't just hear about it through the grapevine.

But %*#@ ITS BEEN FUN!!!