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Comment by dx034 | Hacker News Reader

> We work long hours, fly in dangerous conditions and go through years of training, but we do it because we understand that our work is vital to keeping our economy humming.

No. Pilots become pilots because they love flying and because it pays well (mostly the former). Haven't heard of any pilot who chose the job because it's important for the economy.

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Isn't this exactly the definition of capitalism and what is at the basis of the entire American economy? You can complain that a foreign company is hiring you for what you consider below-par payment, but unless you find a better paying job elsewhere, isn't this what capitalism is all about? Next to that - aren't American companies doing exactly the same? Why does IBM have more employees in India (80.000 I believe) than it has in the US? Not because the weather is so great in Bangalore - because the people work for $3000 per year(!!).

of course! and there is nothing wrong with it.

but it's disingenuous to claim you're motivated by something else in your pleading.

Exactly. I often see and hear the "Engineers from India are cheap and they are taking away our jobs". Why blame the Engineers. Talk to your Capitalist organizations which are hiring them. A worker no matter where he/she is from is the same as you, works to earn his living.

I don't think I'd believe anyone who said they do job "for the good of the economy." It's a laughable statement really.

I can imagine people honestly believing that. So many jobs today are utter bullshit, and so many more are enough layers of abstraction away from anything useful than it's hard to find any motivation other than paycheck. And there are many people who would like to feel they're contributing to something, not just selling their time for currency.

I think this view is very wrong. Lots of people take pride in the fact that they're doing some socially valuable job. That might not be their primary motivation but it's an important one.

Most of those are in the service, police, fire, or rescue. being a delivery driver (pilots are a form) and making such statements is just an odd romanticism or at least a bad attempt at making the job seem more important than it is.

You're confusing fungibility for importance. While one particular delivery driver or pilot may be less important than one particular "rockstar programmer," society is much more reliant on delivery drivers and pilots as a group than on programmers. That may change with automation but we're not there yet.

A lot of people get into jobs to help people, or help society. But to help "the economy"? I'm skeptical (in the sense of doing a day job because markets need it, not a job that's making the economy as a whole more efficient). If the market doesn't pay for a job, then "the economy" doesn't need that job.

Directors of Central Banks/Federal Reserve etc, perhaps. But yeah, pretty much no-one.

> Pilots become pilots because they love flying and because it pays well (mostly the former)

And increasingly so - pilot employment is no longer a sinecure but I have nevertheless seen pilots sacrify considerable career opportunities to get to fly professionally.

> they love flying

Do they really? I mean, if you love driving, do you become a bus driver?

It is not like it is flying your cessna around the place.

Yes, really, the aviation industry is populated mostly by enthusiasts. I'm sure some bus drivers love driving, but bus driving isn't a job with high barriers to entry and enormously expensive training taken up by people who could have taken easier professional jobs on higher salaries instead.

Maybe not buses, but (anecdotally) train drivers are often people who really like trains.

I only know the situation in Europe. But here, many get the license by taking out a loan without any prospect of employment. They then have to fly in Asia for dodgy airlines for some years to get enough hours to be considered even for a low-cost airline such as Ryanair. Getting a job at a full-service carrier or even long-haul is next to impossible. These are usually people with a good high school degree and often even university degree. They just do it because they love flying.

There's a TV show called "Worst Place to be a Pilot" about how young people from Britain risk their lives in Southeast Asia just to get a job as a pilot one day. I don't think people take these kinds of risks for many other jobs.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/worst-place-to-be-a-pilot...

Yeah, realistically, the best way to get a full service carrier pilot position is to go military, early, get your certs, training, time in there, and then make your way to civilian life. The big airlines tend to love military pilots.

Well if you love driving you can have just about any job and earn enough to buy and maintain a car. If you love flying you have a lot fewer career options that afford you to buy and maintain an aircraft.

Since when do pilots get paid well (speaking in general terms, in the USA)?

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