I had that shitty job slugging it out in the cold northern isolation. I had to get out there with the 40 year old herman/nelson and coax it into operation an hour before the flight only to find out that the flight was cancelled. I had drunks banging on my door begging me to take em to the liquor store. I had the boss demanding I take a broken airplane flying while TC was standing right there doing an audit. I've had to miss the births of 2 neices and 2 nephews. I've had to miss a bunch of weddings. A girl I was in love with left me because I wasn't around enough due to my job. And damn that, too, cause I woulda bloody well married the girl. I've seen co-workers more inexperienced than I sail past me in their careers. I had to get the chilling news that my buddy plowed an airplane into a hill killing himself and everyone on board. I've had to deal with a boss that was cracking the whip on my ass to fly an airplane hugely overweight. I've been massively underpaid because the boss is armed with the knowledge that he could throw a dart into Vancouver and hit a pilot who'd fly for less.
Good things happen to pilots.
I've got to see the sun set 5 times in one flight because I could keep climbing the plane every time the sun sank below the horizon. I've even had the 2 hour sunset, where you just keep chasing it into the horizon. I've also been up north to see the sunset that just ever-so-gradually turned into a sunrise. I've got to skim the waves that were breaking on a deserted Columbian beach. I've tried keeping up to the turns in the Great Bear River. I've been the pilot of probably the very first airplane that children in rural West Africa have ever seen up close. I still enjoy the greaser landings. I'm never truly bored in the airplane, even half way through a 5 hour night flight, because I'm doing what I've always wanted to do. The list of the cool stuff can keep going on, but I haven't made my point yet.
Today is my 27th birthday. I've been with the same company for 4 years now and I love it. I fly a Learjet... an airplane I've wanted to fly since I was in Grade 9. One more dream fulfilled. I get paid well by most standards. I own a truck and shiny motorbike... all paid for because of aviation. I've just signed the dotted line on a brand new condo on the Red Mile of Calgary. Geez, I'll be able to damn near throw a rock onto my favorite places to drink beer. I've got money saved up because I get paid well enough to save it. I think I'm due for a raise, too
I've got to travel during my cumulative 5 months off a year. Backpacked through Europe, and hung out on beaches in Mexico. I snowboard, visit family, eat good food, go to concerts... pretty much anything I feel like doing. Sometimes when I'm working, I lie on beaches as well, confusing me as to whether or not this time at work should be considered vacation. I believe I'll one day fly for Air Canada, WestJet, or perhaps one of this worlds other major airlines. And if I don't, I'll will have decided that a life flying a Falcon for rich people will be a satisfying one. This all happened because I worked hard along the way, got a little lucky, turned down the jobs I needed to turn down, and held my focus. But primarily, it happened just because I wanted to fly planes for a living. I can hardly claim to have worked a day since I left construction. Geez, I haven't a clue what I'd do with myself if I didn't have aviation!!!You can't always control which direction your career will take you. But you can keep working hard, and you'll earn your breaks. Sometimes you need to make your own breaks. And if you don't truly love it, the decision to leave will be made easy at some point or another. I don't point out my good fortune in aviation to wave it infront of all the guys who are getting pissed on. Rather, I'm trying to show people that there are good paths to take in this industry, and not all employers are bad ones. I hope this comes as encouragement to some who are questioning the whole thing.
Shankdown
