I used to follow some 'famous' pilots on different social media, but recently I realized how narcissistic some are, trying to show how 'wonderful' it is to work as a pilot. Being a pilot is like any job, it has its positive and negative things, but they idealize it so much...
I'm not surprised to see people giving up after facing the reality of this profession...
If you were a Pilot, (which I am assuming you are not), you would not have made that comment.
Flying is something that gets in your blood and stays there. My Dad used to say that is was a Disease and once you have it its there for life...like Herpes..
I have found that individuals who think the job is boring and mundane are usually frustrated because they did not make the same career choices.
There are better paying jobs, however I doubt as rewarding.
I have been flying for close to 40 years now and I still enjoy it, albeit the BS is gotten a lot thicker...but once you get to the Aircraft that all washes away.
I will agree with you that in my experience every Pilot thinks they are the best of the best....it part of the personality.
I also don't think that being a Pilot is more important than anyone else's job...its just more fun.
There's good, there's bad... overall it's an interesting job.
I've worked some shitty jobs on the way to what is now a pretty good job... but there's still plenty of BS.
That said, it's a job. I wouldn't do it if I didn't need the money. I could care less if I didn't fly a plane again, or maybe I'd rent a plane for kicks from time to time... or take up gliding in spare time while I pursued other things I find find far more interesting.
I think what you see about people blogging or social mediaing their great jobs/lives/things is more a statement of the format that lets narcissistic/insecure people inflate how great they have it on a stage - it isn't just pilots.
It's just a photo op snippet that doesn't represent their actual realities... but makes them feel better when people think they're great/beautiful/etc...
Pilots are "different" than the majority of the population from the very beginning of who chooses to begin flying lessons and then become products of the various training programs, the corporate culture of the workplace, the skills to remain alive at work, and the way those skills transfer to domestic life.
I never can get the embed Youtube video feature to work on here, so you'll have to click on the link.
This is one of the most interesting bits of research that I've ever seen, and for about 25 years, I've been an adherent to the observations of Dr Frank Dully.
Social media is all about making everyone else jealous of what you have. Shiny car, hot girlfriend, cute puppy, awesome job, etc. Rarely do you see the crap in people's lives, or even the ordinary.
I used to follow some 'famous' pilots on different social media, but recently I realized how narcissistic some are, trying to show how 'wonderful' it is to work as a pilot. Being a pilot is like any job, it has its positive and negative things, but they idealize it so much...
I'm not surprised to see people giving up after facing the reality of this profession...
Just sayin'
The pilots I follow on social media such as Instagram don't seem narcissist at all. They just like to share their love of aviation and all the cool places and things it leads them to, nothing wrong with that. In fact, I enjoy such posts because it's sort of a motivation for a lot of people including myself.
Being able to fly is a skill not everyone is cut out for. How many people do you come across in everyday life who tell you they can fly (unless of course you're a pilot yourself and know a lot of people in the industry)? So if someone wants to be proud of that, ain't no stopping them!
Besides, I rather follow the "narcissist" pilots who'll at least give me some good aviation pictures to look at, than the countless other useless "Kim Kardashian" style users whose only purpose is to fish for fan-following with everyday stupidity.
Mach7 wrote:Being a Pilot is NOT like any other job,
If you were a Pilot, (which I am assuming you are not), you would not have made that comment.
Flying is something that gets in your blood and stays there. My Dad used to say that is was a Disease and once you have it its there for life...like Herpes..
I have found that individuals who think the job is boring and mundane are usually frustrated because they did not make the same career choices.
There are better paying jobs, however I doubt as rewarding.
I have been flying for close to 40 years now and I still enjoy it, albeit the BS is gotten a lot thicker...but once you get to the Aircraft that all washes away.
I will agree with you that in my experience every Pilot thinks they are the best of the best....it part of the personality.
I also don't think that being a Pilot is more important than anyone else's job...its just more fun.
Just say'n
Wow nice to hear. I'm a pilot too, but I don't know, it's really necessary to be boasting all the time?
I used to follow some 'famous' pilots on different social media, but recently I realized how narcissistic some are, trying to show how 'wonderful' it is to work as a pilot. Being a pilot is like any job, it has its positive and negative things, but they idealize it so much...
I'm not surprised to see people giving up after facing the reality of this profession...
Just sayin'
The pilots I follow on social media such as Instagram don't seem narcissist at all. They just like to share their love of aviation and all the cool places and things it leads them to, nothing wrong with that. In fact, I enjoy such posts because it's sort of a motivation for a lot of people including myself.
Being able to fly is a skill not everyone is cut out for. How many people do you come across in everyday life who tell you they can fly (unless of course you're a pilot yourself and know a lot of people in the industry)? So if someone wants to be proud of that, ain't no stopping them!
Besides, I rather follow the "narcissist" pilots who'll at least give me some good aviation pictures to look at, than the countless other useless "Kim Kardashian" style users whose only purpose is to fish for fan-following with everyday stupidity.
I fully agree with you. I'm myself a big lover of photography and I always carry my DSLR with me in the cockpit and sometimes I get great pictures and I share some in my social media feed but I feel that some pilots are 'forcing it', only to get some virtual recognition.
It's just a job for me. I wanted to be a pilot from infancy, I took lessons when I was a kid, and I've got my ideal job now, but it's not a thrill every time I get in a cockpit. If it didn't pay well and let me spend time with my family, I wouldn't do it. The reason I have a job in the first place is because it allows me to do the things I want to do when I'm not working. I even looked at other jobs for a bit, and I would have switched careers if one was more lucrative, but I can make more as a pilot because of the experience I've built up. I don't get to choose where I go or when I go, I'm often tired because of early mornings and long days, I have to deal with difficult ground staff, and the noise and vibration give me headaches. I spend all day staring at computer screens, and I'm usually in or above clouds, so I don't have a view; how is that different from working in an office? At least offices are climate-controlled, aren't barreling through the air at 300 kts picking up ice, and typically work 9-5. I love flying on my own terms, but if I could do it over again I would choose one of several other careers and buy my own plane.
Wad Lao wrote:
Being able to fly is a skill not everyone is cut out for. How many people do you come across in everyday life who tell you they can fly (unless of course you're a pilot yourself and know a lot of people in the industry)? So if someone wants to be proud of that, ain't no stopping them!
But I thought anyone can be a pilot with ease? Like driving a truck?
If you liked that video, a Google search will bring up a great deal more research that he has done on the topic in print and video form.
One of Dr Frank Dully's students did an excellent presentation to the teaching staff at the USAF Academy under the title of "The Failing Aviator" dealing with pilot personality, and how to deal with one of your buddies or employees that is in crisis and screwing up. This fellow, Larry Geib and a group interviewed 14,000 pilots and the info is presented in the video as a follow-on to the observations of Dr Dully.
I find this stuff fascinating, and have for many years.
funny thing. You can add almost any negative thing to the title and it would pretty much be true.
Why pilots are so... cheap
Why pilots are so... whiny
Why pilots are so... backstabby
Why pilots are so... whorish
Why pilots are so... full of themselves
Why pilots are so... fatigued
Why pilots are so... alcoholic
Why pilots are so... enraged
Why pilots are so... hateful
Why pilots are so... dumb
Why pilots are so... lazy
Why pilots are so... I could go on, but I fall into a number of the above groups.
She features in one of the nauseating Emirates Recruiting videos that can be found on Youtube.
I hear she's left Emirates.
She has. That was the funny part, her bolting to join United at the bottom of the list after gushing over Emirates. She's taking her time amending her "B777 Captain" title though...
Alcoholism wrote:funny thing. You can add almost any negative thing to the title and it would pretty much be true.
Why pilots are so... cheap
Why pilots are so... whiny
Why pilots are so... backstabby
Why pilots are so... whorish
Why pilots are so... full of themselves
Why pilots are so... fatigued
Why pilots are so... alcoholic
Why pilots are so... enraged
Why pilots are so... hateful
Why pilots are so... dumb
Why pilots are so... lazy
Why pilots are so... I could go on, but I fall into a number of the above groups.
lol Those adjectives could apply to any profession. The one you missed for pilots though is the weird self-loathing...
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I’m still waiting for my white male privilege membership card. Must have gotten lost in the mail.
The difference between a truck driver and a pilot is a truck driver has to keep his/her hands on the steering wheel at all times or the thing will go off the road.
That constitutes work.
So truck driving is work.
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The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
Wad Lao wrote:
Being able to fly is a skill not everyone is cut out for. How many people do you come across in everyday life who tell you they can fly (unless of course you're a pilot yourself and know a lot of people in the industry)? So if someone wants to be proud of that, ain't no stopping them!
But I thought anyone can be a pilot with ease? Like driving a truck?
Oh yeah! Just know where 'autopilot' is in case of an emergency...
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