Friday, October 16, 2009
Still on the Job, but at Half the Pay
How do you feel about the pilot on your plane making only $34,000 a year? How many job do you suppose he will have to work in order to make ends meet?
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S/he is choosing to be a pilot, if s/he is unhappy with the pay, s/he should look for another job. But I see no pressing issue to be concerned about.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Steven. This article speaks of an unfortunate salary cut for 130 pilots. Surprised? I'm pretty sure we're in a recession right now. Tons of companies have had to make THOUSANDS of layoffs. Fyi: a layoff means your salary goes to ZERO. There are millions of people in this country without jobs; Mr. Lawlor ought to count his blessings.
ReplyDeleteYou can't help but feel bad for the guy - nobody wants to have those qualifications and make that amount of money. It is just a sign of the times. I do agree that he should be happy that he still has a job though, and who knows, when the economy starts kicking again, he may be able to be promoted back to his old job
ReplyDeleteThe question specifically asks how I would feel if the pilot on MY plane is making only $34,000 per year. This number is obviously a sign of the tough times, and I would worry whether or not the pilot is in his/her highest spirits (no pun intended...Spirit Airlines? Ok, bad joke). If the pilot is making so little each year, how can we trust that he is taking his job seriously? The economy is affecting everyone. A pilot is someone we trust with our lives, so I would be a bit concerned with his low salary. Also, if a pilot has this need to work more jobs, I would be concerned about how much sleep he would get and whether or not he'd be able to focus on the job. I would not feel comfortable with a fatigued pilot; I would be concerned with my own safety.
ReplyDelete-Allison Silverstone
Wow. Totally agree with Allie. I would be very concerned to know that my pilot is flying on low morale and no sleep.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ally and Daniela. To know your safety is in the hands of a pilot who "doesn't really care" and/or is falling asleep on the job, distresses me.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm pretty sure we've already discussed this in class, but I'm pretty sure that I don't want someone who is holding my life in their hands as a pilto to have a low paycheck, tons of stress, and six other jobs, but I have to agree with Moshe that it's a recession, so all we can do is attemt to empathize and then just worry about orselves. In a recession, the guaranteed jobs are the jobs that associate with absolute needs and goods, and also jobs that flourish during recession times, unfortunately, "pilot" isn't one of these because, since less people want to pay to fly during a recssion, airlines have to cut salaries of their pilots. Oh well.
ReplyDelete-Garrett Mabel
As far as many career choices go, people choose what they want to do based on personal reasons. If said pilot loves the job and wants to work only a job he enjoys than he is making the sacrifice of earning less money, a strictly personal decision.
ReplyDeleteIf a pilot is only making $34,000 a year instead of $75,000 a year it would not make a large difference to me. If this pilot is a pilot that used to be payed $75,000, must mean that they know what they are doing and are safe. If airplane companies all of a sudden decided to hire people who do not really care that they will not be making $75,000 a year and they are not really safe, then I would not like it. This pilot who is now only making a fraction of what they used to make will probably have to get two or three more jobs to cover the difference in income.
ReplyDeleteWell, $34,000 is, as we all know, not enough income for a man to support his wife and children. It is sad that the pilot has to take such a cut in his salary, but it's either that or no income whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteHe needs at least another job or two to support his family, or should try a different career with a more promising paycheck.
Honestly, I'd be a bit concerned having a pilot with such low pay flying my plane. If he's being paid so little, how many jobs is he working? 2, 3? When will he sleep? And will he be stable and alert enough to fly my plane, to perform an emergency landing? It's a nerve-wracking proposition.
ReplyDelete-Erika Alfieri
I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. The life of a pilot has been turned into a cartoon in the last several posts. He'll need nine jobs! He'll sleep on duty! He'll stop caring and crash and kill us all! Seriously? First of all, it is a fact, a hard, statistical fact, that flying is BY FAR the safest method of long-distance travel. It's much safer than driving, taking a train, etc. Second of all, commercial pilots receive extensive specialized training, more so than doctors, even. They are the highest form of specialists, and take their jobs very seriously. No pilot would fly under protest because lives depend on them and they have a civic duty and an oath to withhold. Anyone who knows that shouldn't be concerned about their safety in the hands of a pilot.
ReplyDeleteWell said Moshe, we are in total agreement.
ReplyDeleteMY PILOT IS GONNA CRASH THE PLANE BECAUSE HE ONLY MAKES $34,000. AHHHHHHHHHH. Give me a break.