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I'm on a hiatus from tech after nearly 20 years at a FAANG, I'm now an airline pilot. The money sucks and the hours are long, but somehow the simplicity of the

I'm on a hiatus from tech after nearly 20 years at a FAANG, I'm now an airline pilot. The money sucks and the hours are long, but somehow the simplicity of the mission (go from A to B, don't bend any metal) appeals to me. Being able to switch the phone off after work, not having to worry about stupid office politics, planning, or performance reviews is quite liberating. The view from my office desk is unbeatable! I'm sure this job will lose its lustre soon enough, and maybe I'll return to tech, but for now it's fun.

pyth0 4y ago
> not having to worry about stupid office politics, planning, or performance reviews You don't have performance reviews as a pilot? Maybe that should concern me next time I'm flying
- catonmylap 4y ago
  I heard an interesting podcast where they interviewed a German pilot. And he said that in order to get promoted(getting to fly a bigger plane, in his case) the only factor that counts is the years of experience. There is nothing a pilot can do (this might depend on the airline) to speed up this process. The reason is that they want to avoid pilots taking risks in order to "get better", like being faster, more fuel efficient etc.
- faeyanpiraat 4y ago
  I mean what would increased performance mean in this case? You have to arrive at your destination at a specific time, if you go faster that is going to be a problem..
- veryfancy 4y ago
  Puts a different light on "demonstrating impact"
- inoffensivename 4y ago
  We have line checks, but if you're doing your job according to standard operating procedures, it's just like flying any other leg. Not something to lose any sleep over. I used to dread every performance review in tech.
- jjav 4y ago
  Do any other fields of work have the insane performance review style as tech? None of my accountant, lawyer or doctor friends do. For example at a previous tech company the levels were something like this (going by memory, not exact): 1 - Fails to meet expectations. 2 - Meets all expectations, delivers on time with only occasional mistakes. 3 - Exceeds expectations, delivers ahead of schedule with better quality than asked. 4 - Consistently invents new technologies and promotes them within the organization with demonstrable financial gain to the company. 5 - Invented the field (literally, that's what the description said!) So unless you're one of a few people in the world (who didn't work for that company), it's impossible to be rated a 5. A 4 is also nearly impossible, sure maybe once a decade you might achieve that but nobody on earth does that every year. Doing your job solidly well is clearly a 2, but a 2 is also seen as a straight road to RIF. In what other industry is that so? So basically everyone is competing for 3 (mediocre bonus) or 2 (RIF). Sure, a few 4 and 5 get handed out to the friends of the VP but not for meeting that impossible criteria, only through politics.
  - curiousguy 4y ago
    Why do you think you need to achieve 4 or 5? Or even 3? Salary in tech are so high that even with a mediocre bonus, it’s still a good life. For the last two years, I aimed for just meet expectations. Easy job, no stress, just taking some time to relax. Last few months, I decided to continue progressing in my career so I started taking more responsibilities. The point is that work is not linear, it’s fine to relax a bit or even downgrade your role.
    - jjav 4y ago
      > Why do you think you need to achieve 4 or 5? Or even 3? Because if you do a solid good job that's a 2, but a couple 2s fairly quickly gets you on the RIF train to getting fired. Which is nuts. So everyone has to outcompete their team trying to get those 3s. And the manager is put in the nasty position of having to rotate the 2s (which they must hand out since there's always quotas) among the team so that hopefully nobody gets RIFd while still meeting the quotas. (Assuming a 5 point scale here, which is fairly common, but I've seen other scales but the same principles apply.) My partner was a manager at the G of faang for many years and twice a year the whole month was blocked off for 60-80 hour weeks just to fill endless review paperwork. And their employees spend all of the six months between reviews scheming ways to fill that next round of paperwork. It's all a monumental waste of time, effort and cause of unnecessary stress for everyone. None of this nonsense exists in other industries, at least as far as I know from talking about it with my circle of connections in other professions such as law, medicine, accounting.
adamsmith143 4y ago
>The money sucks Is this true? I thought Major Airline Pilots could make upwards of $200k per year. Or are you doing something smaller scale?
- inoffensivename 4y ago
  You start off low, it takes a few years to start making that kind of money. In terms of dollars made per effort expended, I think it's quite an easy job.
- bombcar 4y ago
  It's like acting, there are actors and actresses that make millions, but there are so many people who WANT to do it that you have to eat shit for years to even get a chance at the top of the line. But if you're willing to make $40k-60k you can start out at a small commuter line in a few months, and slowly work your way up from there.
- kayge 4y ago
  The average seems to vary pretty widely depending on airline+seniority, but it also sounds like the major US airlines are beefing up pilot salaries over the next couple of years: https://fortune.com/2023/03/01/delta-airlines-pilots-new-contract-pay-increase-34-percent/ https://fortune.com/2023/03/01/delta-airlines-pilots-new-con...
miteshm 4y ago
That sounds so appealing. I would love to learn more about how you got started on the path. Do you mind connecting with me through email (in my profile)
__derek__ 4y ago
> I'm now an airline pilot How did you make this move? I've day-dreamed about this, but curious to hear details from someone who did it.
- inoffensivename 4y ago
  I started taking flying lessons about 7 years ago, and about 4 years ago I got my instructor certificate. I taught people how to fly on weekends and after work until my 1500 hours came up, then I applied to an airline and got a job. The flight instructor thing was actually occasionally rewarding, especially when people landed the airplane by themselves for the first time. Seeing the look of joy and satisfaction on their faces is one of the better parts of this whole flying thing. :)
  - __derek__ 4y ago
    Gotcha. You were a hobbyist before. That makes sense. I hear you on the instruction. I used to teach climbing courses as a volunteer, and it was always nice watching people grow more confident.
- pilotdeveloper 4y ago
  It's also possible to go to a cheap country to build hours on your bill and getting there faster. In Argentina you could get a wet hour of a Cessna 150 for $50. 1500 hours is 75Kusd. In two o three years you could be there

pyth0 4y ago

> not having to worry about stupid office politics, planning, or performance reviews You don't have performance reviews as a pilot? Maybe that should concern me next time I'm flying

catonmylap 4y ago
I heard an interesting podcast where they interviewed a German pilot. And he said that in order to get promoted(getting to fly a bigger plane, in his case) the only factor that counts is the years of experience. There is nothing a pilot can do (this might depend on the airline) to speed up this process. The reason is that they want to avoid pilots taking risks in order to "get better", like being faster, more fuel efficient etc.
faeyanpiraat 4y ago
I mean what would increased performance mean in this case? You have to arrive at your destination at a specific time, if you go faster that is going to be a problem..
veryfancy 4y ago
Puts a different light on "demonstrating impact"
inoffensivename 4y ago
We have line checks, but if you're doing your job according to standard operating procedures, it's just like flying any other leg. Not something to lose any sleep over. I used to dread every performance review in tech.
jjav 4y ago
Do any other fields of work have the insane performance review style as tech? None of my accountant, lawyer or doctor friends do. For example at a previous tech company the levels were something like this (going by memory, not exact): 1 - Fails to meet expectations. 2 - Meets all expectations, delivers on time with only occasional mistakes. 3 - Exceeds expectations, delivers ahead of schedule with better quality than asked. 4 - Consistently invents new technologies and promotes them within the organization with demonstrable financial gain to the company. 5 - Invented the field (literally, that's what the description said!) So unless you're one of a few people in the world (who didn't work for that company), it's impossible to be rated a 5. A 4 is also nearly impossible, sure maybe once a decade you might achieve that but nobody on earth does that every year. Doing your job solidly well is clearly a 2, but a 2 is also seen as a straight road to RIF. In what other industry is that so? So basically everyone is competing for 3 (mediocre bonus) or 2 (RIF). Sure, a few 4 and 5 get handed out to the friends of the VP but not for meeting that impossible criteria, only through politics.
- curiousguy 4y ago
  Why do you think you need to achieve 4 or 5? Or even 3? Salary in tech are so high that even with a mediocre bonus, it’s still a good life. For the last two years, I aimed for just meet expectations. Easy job, no stress, just taking some time to relax. Last few months, I decided to continue progressing in my career so I started taking more responsibilities. The point is that work is not linear, it’s fine to relax a bit or even downgrade your role.
  - jjav 4y ago
    > Why do you think you need to achieve 4 or 5? Or even 3? Because if you do a solid good job that's a 2, but a couple 2s fairly quickly gets you on the RIF train to getting fired. Which is nuts. So everyone has to outcompete their team trying to get those 3s. And the manager is put in the nasty position of having to rotate the 2s (which they must hand out since there's always quotas) among the team so that hopefully nobody gets RIFd while still meeting the quotas. (Assuming a 5 point scale here, which is fairly common, but I've seen other scales but the same principles apply.) My partner was a manager at the G of faang for many years and twice a year the whole month was blocked off for 60-80 hour weeks just to fill endless review paperwork. And their employees spend all of the six months between reviews scheming ways to fill that next round of paperwork. It's all a monumental waste of time, effort and cause of unnecessary stress for everyone. None of this nonsense exists in other industries, at least as far as I know from talking about it with my circle of connections in other professions such as law, medicine, accounting.

adamsmith143 4y ago

>The money sucks Is this true? I thought Major Airline Pilots could make upwards of $200k per year. Or are you doing something smaller scale?

inoffensivename 4y ago
You start off low, it takes a few years to start making that kind of money. In terms of dollars made per effort expended, I think it's quite an easy job.
bombcar 4y ago
It's like acting, there are actors and actresses that make millions, but there are so many people who WANT to do it that you have to eat shit for years to even get a chance at the top of the line. But if you're willing to make $40k-60k you can start out at a small commuter line in a few months, and slowly work your way up from there.
kayge 4y ago
The average seems to vary pretty widely depending on airline+seniority, but it also sounds like the major US airlines are beefing up pilot salaries over the next couple of years: https://fortune.com/2023/03/01/delta-airlines-pilots-new-contract-pay-increase-34-percent/ https://fortune.com/2023/03/01/delta-airlines-pilots-new-con...

miteshm 4y ago

That sounds so appealing. I would love to learn more about how you got started on the path. Do you mind connecting with me through email (in my profile)

__derek__ 4y ago

> I'm now an airline pilot How did you make this move? I've day-dreamed about this, but curious to hear details from someone who did it.

inoffensivename 4y ago
I started taking flying lessons about 7 years ago, and about 4 years ago I got my instructor certificate. I taught people how to fly on weekends and after work until my 1500 hours came up, then I applied to an airline and got a job. The flight instructor thing was actually occasionally rewarding, especially when people landed the airplane by themselves for the first time. Seeing the look of joy and satisfaction on their faces is one of the better parts of this whole flying thing. :)
- __derek__ 4y ago
  Gotcha. You were a hobbyist before. That makes sense. I hear you on the instruction. I used to teach climbing courses as a volunteer, and it was always nice watching people grow more confident.
pilotdeveloper 4y ago
It's also possible to go to a cheap country to build hours on your bill and getting there faster. In Argentina you could get a wet hour of a Cessna 150 for $50. 1500 hours is 75Kusd. In two o three years you could be there