Nurses and Pilots and Priests, Oh My!

Apologies to L. Frank Baum for my cheap parody of his classic economic and political satire, The Wizard of Oz of which I am a huge fan.  I suspect Mr. Baum wouldn’t mind a little parody of his satire, especially if the purpose is to make a point.  (Note: Yes, “The Wiz” is satire!  You thought it was a really scary children’s story?  Come on!  LSD wouldn’t be invented for another 80 years!  The truth is that it’s a really scary ADULT story but that, as they say, is a different story).

Anyway, what do Nurses, Pilots, and Priests have in common?  

Besides the formal or implied vow of poverty, celibacy, and obedience, not so much people might say.

I’m not so sure.    

Common sense tells us that the Roman Catholic Church finds candidates for priesthood from the worldwide body of faithful Catholic people.  (I shudder to imagine how the Earth would shake if a young man or woman in rural Iowa woke up one day and informed their Missouri Synod Lutheran family that they had decided to become a Roman Catholic Priest!).  Traditionally, some slice of the kids born into Roman Catholic families would enter the priesthood and that served the Church for 1900 years, give or take a couple hours.

The Daily Diatribe has learned, however that while the number of people on the rolls as members of Catholic churches has about doubled since 1970, the number of priests has more or less remained the same.  This is considered to be a “priest shortage” by some and a “crisis” by others.

Much has been written on the reason for the declining (as a percentage of total members) interest in the calling of the priesthood but I suspect it comes down the the “Pay and Benefits.”  Leaving the spiritual aspects, eternity, and the hotline to the Almighty aside and just discussing the earthly rewards, I don’t think that many modern young people are finding the career very attractive.

As a priest, one is required to take a formal vow of poverty, celibacy, and obedience.  

I think it’s safe to say that “priest candidates” don’t expect the rewards to match the effort/sacrifice required.

The Nurse population, as compared to the number of people requiring nursing care, is also dwindling.  With the aging of the “Baby Boomers” (yours truly included), a bigger percentage of our population is moving into their waning years while the number of caregivers declines.  While they are paid better than priests, Nurses still have a long and expensive investment in education, a burden of continuing education to maintain their licenses, and a high tempo, long working hours career that takes a toll on their feet, backs, hearts, and spirits.

Back in the Jurassic period when I was a consular officer in a far-away land, there was a special kind of immigrant visa that allowed for those with “special skills” in shortage in the United States to apply for and receive permission to immigrate to the USA and receive permanent residency and a “Green Card.”  Registered Nurses were one of the special skills qualifying for this type of visa.  All that was required was have a BS in Nursing, pass an English Test, and pass the State Nursing License exams required to become a “Registered Nurse.”  There was no shortage of hospitals willing to pick up the tab for the expenses associated with relocating a qualified nurse.  While I believe that nurses are paid too little, the pay and benefits they receive in the United States, from the point of view of nurses in India, Thailand, The Philippines, etc., seem like a lottery jackpot.

There are lots and lots of nurses in these countries who would give up important body parts for a chance to work as a nurse in the USA and receive only average pay and benefits for their work. 

So why do we still have a nursing shortage?

To American young people, the career is not as attractive as it used to be.  The investment required to qualify and maintain licensure is not justified by the pay, benefits, and quality of life.

When an individual feels underpaid, too busy and/or tired to enjoy life, and works in an environment of rigid rules and regulations, the violation of which can lead to illness, death, or unemployment, it can begin to feel like poverty, celibacy, and obedience…  For overseas candidates, the burden of the English Test and State Boards sets the bar pretty high.  For a family that has already footed the bill for the university degree, it has proven a struggle to continue to fund more training and education necessary to pass the tests.  At some point the family of these nurses, finances strained by the cost of nursing education, would expect their nurse to go to work to support a sibling’s education or look after the parents.

In short, there is not enough nurses because either the investment/reward ratio is not considered attractive enough by potential candidates, or the arbitrary (and sensible!) standards required by the profession are either too expensive or too difficult to meet to make it worth the effort.

If we paid nurses more and sought to ensure they had a better quality of life, there would be more people willing and able to enter the profession.

I think it’s safe to say that not enough “nurse candidates” expect the rewards to match the effort/sacrifice required.

Saving for last the one closest to my heart, let’s talk about pilots.

I was recently “shopping” for flight training and I found that for $50,000 or so, one can go from ordinary mortal to “Commercial Pilot” in about six months.  That gives one the privilege of being paid to pilot an airplane but the number of jobs available to pilots of this experience level is nearly ZERO.  Federal Law now require most candidates to have at least 1500 hours of flight experience before they can wear the coveted wings of an airline pilot i.e. be co-pilot of that Regional Jet or Turboprop airplane.  In terms of flying safety, that’s a good thing, but where is that pilot going to get the other 1250 hours of experience?  It costs around $150 per hour  to rent an airplane to do it.  (That’s $187,500 by the way).

A pilot can become a flight instructor to gain the experience.  Yes in the upside-down Alice-in-Wonderland world of professional aviation, the vast majority of instruction to new pilots is provided by pilots who they themselves only recently became pilots and don’t yet have the 1500 hours required to get hired at a regional airline.  Add to the expenses at least another $25,000 to become a flight instructor.  And one more thing, it’s not impossible to get hired by an airline without a Bachelor Degree but in order to be competitive, you really need to have one especially if you intend to fly for a “major” airline (Delta, United, American, etc.).

(Parenthetic comment here:  If you’ve ever gotten on a plane expecting it to be larger or you heard – or uttered – the words, “I hate these little prop planes” then you were on a “Regional” airliner).

So let’s look at a typical civilian trained pilot candidate.  He or she has gotten a bachelor degree, commercial pilot certificate, and flight instructor certificate, racking up $100,000 in student loan debts in the process.  That means this pilot starts off his or her career paying about $800 a month in student loan payments.  When he or she accepts that first job as a flight instructor, he or she might earn $2000 per month.  Since most flight instructor jobs are not salaried but rather hourly, during slow periods it can be even less.  By the time taxes, loan payments, and cell phone bills are taken into account, this kid has maybe $700 or $800 left to live on.  Chances are they still live with Mom and Dad as this is barely enough for transportation and food.

They remain enthused about flying and are willing to make the sacrifice for two or three years because that will help them get to the next level:  Regional Airline Pilot.  

Things will get easier then, right?  They’ve got the fancy uniform, wings, etc..  Life is great!

But the salary is about the same.  Now they are pretty much required to pay for health insurance so their disposable income may actually be less than as a flight instructor.

Don’t be fooled by airline claims that they pay “$25 an hour” to new pilots (one large regional airline I know starts first officers at $17/hour).  They are only paid for the hours they fly, not their hours on duty.  They might fly six to eight hours a day but be on duty as many as 16 hours.  They might “credit” 80 hours in a month (100 during holidays) so their basic pay might be $2000 to $2500 per month.  After taxes, student loan payments, and health insurance, there is not much left.   In five years as a regional airline pilot, I was often on duty 200 hours a month which meant I was getting paid about $15 an hour most of the time.  (We are not talking about getting paid to commute to work here.  A pilot is legally “ON DUTY” from one to two hours before the first flight of the day to at least 30 minutes after the door opens at the end of the last flight AND ALL THE LAYOVERS IN BETWEEN, none of which is paid time.  When the airplane breaks down and crew and passengers have to wait in the airport and the flight attendants deliver your complimentary drink, they are working FOR FREE.).

We had first officers with families who got Food Stamps.

This is why young pilots often hot bed in cheap apartments with five or ten other pilots in order to save money.

A junior captain at a regional airline might make $50,000 or $60,000 a year after working at the airline from three to ten years, depending on the economy and the airline’s growth or shrinkage.

But it’s all an investment toward that coveted Major Airline Pilot job.  And worth it, right?  Well, there’s no guarantee that a regional airline pilot will ever be a major airline pilot.  Telling a kid he should join the aviation program at a university because he can become a major airline pilot and make lots of money is like telling a high school kid he should join the football team because NFL players earn millions of dollars.

The odds are not all that different.

Certainly they are not predictable.  Two good friends, colleagues from my airline days, recently interviewed at one of the big major airlines.  These two have spotless records and are straight arrows, highly skilled professionals who play well with others.  In short, they are EXACTLY what the public would like to see in their airline cockpit.  For reasons known only to the HR deities, neither of them (one man, one lady) were selected by this particular airline.

It is not easy, folks.

And let’s remember that airline pilots, depending on their position (Captain or First Officer) not only have to pass a stringent medical exam every six or twelve months but also have to pass written, oral, and practical tests every six or twelve months.  This is not “continuing education” as nurses and teachers know it.  This is like a new final test, Bar Exam, or Nurses Board once or twice a year.  

In the industry, these tests are known as “jeopardy events” or events that place your career (and family’s well-being) in jeopardy.

If teachers, Doctors, Lawyers, and (especially!) politicians were held to the same kind of standard, there would be a lot fewer people interested in those careers as well!

Fail to perform on exam day and a pilot can lose his or her job.

Fail to perform on a work day and, well there are 100 or more people in the back counting on you.

No pressure though…

Being a pilot is work.  Hard and tiring work.  Ever take a long airplane trip?  Remember how tired you felt at the end of it even though you got a chance to close your eyes for a while and get up to go to the toilet when you wanted?  Pilots don’t get to sleep, must stay alert for the entire flight, and have restrictions (due to security) on how and when they can take care of of the most personal needs of their bodies.  They usually come to work one to two hours before takeoff, don’t leave the airport for an hour after landing, and often have a long wait for a long van ride to a crappy hotel for maybe eight hours rest before they have to start all over again the next day.

When they get home for a day off, they REST because they are tired.

Often too tired to enjoy the time off.

Pilots invest huge amounts of time, money, and energy into becoming pilots only to start a job where they qualify for food stamps.  I once checked the the salaries of a large city bus service and found a bus driver first year salary was around twice that of a first-year regional airline pilot.

Pilots work such long hours and have so little time off at home, they find it hard to find time to enjoy their families (plan on being away from home the first ten Christmases after you become and airline pilot) or even their hobbies.

The rules under which they live their working lives are rigid and uncompromising.  Misunderstand a clearance from air traffic control or, in a moment of distraction, fly higher or lower than the altitude assigned and you can find yourself in trouble with the FAA.  Have a bad day during a jeopardy event and you can find your career in jeopardy.

Poverty, Celibacy, Obedience.

The only thing I don’t understand is why more don’t become priests.  At least you can get that job without taking on a lifetime of debt in exchange for the privilege of supporting someone else’ business.

On the simplified pilots food chain with Major Airline Pilots on Top, Regional Airline Pilots in the Middle, and Flight Instructors on the bottom (Yes, I know there are other types of pilots – agricultural pilots, cargo pilots, helicopter pilots, etc.. – I’m just examining the most common route to the Major Airlines), there is a decidedly unequal supply and demand situation.

There are plenty, tens of thousands, of pilots who want to be Major Airline Pilots.  No real shortage there although the major airlines are a bit behind the hiring curve at the moment so they are working quickly to get caught up.  The vast majority of candidates are Regional Airline Pilots.

Because the compensation and quality of life for regional airline pilots remains usurious at best, those airlines will be having trouble finding replacements for the pilots who either accept a job at a major airline or just give up on the industry altogether.  There is a definite shortage, both current and future, at this level of the food chain because fewer fish are taking the bait.

And since the fast majority of instructors become instructors because they want to be Major Airline Pilots and fewer and fewer are taking the bait, there are fewer of them as well.

This is probably not a huge problem because since fewer people want to be pilots (because they can see the incredible numbers who get stuck in the Regional level) fewer will need to be trained.

To summarize, the Major Airlines will only suffer from the so-called “pilot shortage” to the extent that the Regionals will be unable to provide low-cost service because of the shrinking number of pilots willing to work at the Regional Airline level. 

The Major Airlines are currently eating their young.

Thanks for reading!

cma

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