CIA drug import/export pilots make pretty good coin. Just don't get high off your own supply.

 

Anytime you aren't doing what you want to be doing on behalf of someone else is working.

 

True, however there is a significant difference between sitting around waiting and being pushed to get work done requiring the extra hours.

Example: I was putting in 14-15 hour weekdays and coming in on weekends for a few months while working for a company. The amount of time I put in was never good enough and getting work done quickly only made management push harder. I was an exempt employee so I was not compensated for the extra hours. I was just expected to get any work done that was put on my desk, in my email inbox, or on my voicemail. Calculating my hourly rate, I was making as much per hour as a Walmart employee. However, I was doing extremely complex work. Fortunately I no longer work for the company and am surprised they are still in business based on their management style (or lack of management style). Feel sorry if anyone here is invested in their stock as they are a public company and their problems run company wide (no, I won't disclose the company). If you ask a manager in an interview to describe their culture and they respond back, "What do you mean?" Don't think, just RUN!!!

Just want the original poster to know that his situation isn't that bad, it could be a whole lot worse.

 

Isn't Colgan now Pinnacle? I thought Colgan sold the company a couple years back.

 

You have my sympathy. I always thought pilots get paid pretty well (and you should given the responsibility and skill & training required) and that it's a pretty cool gig. Had no idea you guys get squeezed to that extent by mgmt. I am sure it has to do with # of pilots needed vs. # of pilots available. It still makes no sense mailmen and even meter maids gets paid more than airline pilots. Don't you guys have an union?

 

Meh....at least he has a job. Shouldn't really complain considering the real rate of unemployment is in the 20-25% area (the government lie is 9.7%). Since his wife has a good job he should just knock her up and become Mr. Mom.

 

20%-25%
Source?

 

I haven't done it, but if you don't mind, I'll still comment on my experience in hopes that it's worth reading. And also, how about helicopters, same story?

I'm doing mechanical engineering. I like the creativity and the science that are a part of my day-to-day; it keeps me interested. The economy is soft, so I have a boring job. The fun one dried up; they lost my program and laid of 80% of the company. This job is fairly secure and pays pretty well, plus it's pretty much 9-5 with no strings. When the economy gets better I can go look for a more "fun" job again, or if that doesn't work I'll just keep hitting the books until I get a PhD and can teach and do research on whatever I think is neat for a living. Anyways, I love the career, but the job today is pretty "meh." But I don't feel like changing careers or even industries--just maybe companies or the even just the work on my desk week to week, and by staying in school (working on my MS now) I know I'll have an out later if things never really pick up.

My wife did the MD thing and is finishing her first post-grad year, so she's finishing year 9 post-high school. It's about 6 more years before she's done and can practice as a radiologist. I think she'll love it in the end--it's a great fit for her in a lot of unique ways--but she says if she were to start over she would have simply picked something else--interior design, actually. That may be true, but since it looks like she'll love the job, I bet in 10-15 years time she'll finally feel it was worth all the effort.

And my brother is 27. After thinking to use the military to either do the P.A. thing or just be a career officer, he finally had his epiphany. He figured out this year he really wants to do biomedical engineering. He's effectively a sophomore/junior in the program working to an MS, and he's broke as dirt but he really loves it. I think he'll really enjoy the career--it's a very good fit for how he thinks and what he's interested in. Boring jobs maybe, but we'll see...

If you just hate the wages, that's not enough reason IMO. The poor in the US are pretty rich, and being richer doesn't change much fundamentally except the size of home and brand of car you own. I don't think that's your problem though.

If you hate the structure / hours / other demands, maybe a change in companies can fix it, maybe not. Poor management can make a great career miserable. My wife would have likely picked a career in surgery but didn't; the sacrifices they have to make for their career throughout their career--too much time, and always on call--make it difficult to enjoy time with the family, and she wasn't ok with that. Hmm... sounds familiar.

Regardless of the reason though, if you keep hating your job--if you hate it for multiple years of gritting teeth and hate it enough to give up 10 years of progress for a new life--just figure out what you really WANT to do every day and start over. You won't have any regrets. But you really will have to start over.

 

I was a Music Teacher. After defending my job 5 times in front of the School Board over 6 years, I got out.

I work in IT. Better pay, more flexible hours (although more hours, sorta).

I suppose to be fully certified, I could get my CCNA and the like, but otherwise, it was a smooth transition.

YMMV.

 

7 year radiology program?
interventional?