# Was being an airline pilot a prestegious job? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 6, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-being-an-airline-pilot-a-prestegious-job/545733 "2010-07-06T16:42:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-being-an-airline-pilot-a-prestegious-job/545733/41 "2012-10-11T13:11:35Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > On a serious note, in some population groups, prison time for male family members is almost a given, so the likelyhood of you practicing Family Medicine is actually pretty high (but also rather sad). Hey, kids I delivered in the 80’s have been my patients in the last decade. (OK, no more hijacks of thread topic) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-being-an-airline-pilot-a-prestegious-job/545733/42 "2012-10-11T15:36:23Z")
> [@Hank\_Hill](#): > > I’m an airline pilot with a major US carrier. I made $165,00 last year as a first officer. For your sake I hope you meant $165,000 and not $16,500. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-being-an-airline-pilot-a-prestegious-job/545733/43 "2012-10-12T14:19:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Sure, Qadgop, being a doctor and a pilot is okay. But the real prestige is being able to tell people you work in a prison, am I right? But what about being a pilot flies into a prison to doctor people? Or a doctor in a prison THAT FLIES!? Or a prisoner of a doctor who… Sorry. I’ll stop now. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-being-an-airline-pilot-a-prestegious-job/545733/44 "2012-10-12T14:20:42Z")
> [@slaphead](#): > > But what about being a pilot flies into a prison to doctor people? Or a doctor in a prison THAT FLIES!? > Or a prisoner of a doctor who… > > Sorry. I’ll stop now. Put. The bunny. Back. In the box. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-being-an-airline-pilot-a-prestegious-job/545733/45 "2012-10-12T15:05:44Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > andWell, i haven’t seen Mythbusters, but from the reading i’ve done, i think it’s much harder than most people seem to think. > > If you’re interested in the world of piloting commercial aircraft, i highly recommend the work of Patrick Smith, who writes the Salon blog [Ask The Pilot](http://www.salon.com/technology/ask_the_pilot/index.html). Smith discusses all sorts of airline and air travel related issues, and some of his recent articles have dealt specifically with the issue of automation and the difficulty of flying a plane. > > [Does Cockpit Automation Foster boredom?](http://www.salon.com/technology/ask_the_pilot/2010/05/19/cockpit_automation/index.html) > > [Both Pilots Sick: Could You Land the Jetliner?](http://www.salon.com/technology/ask_the_pilot/2010/06/17/when_pilot_becomes_incapacitated/index.html) > > [The Cockpit Automation Myth that Won’t Die](http://www.salon.com/technology/ask_the_pilot/2010/06/24/planes_don_t_fly_themselves/index.html) > > From last article listed:And from the middle one:He’s not saying it’s impossible, but it’s certainly harder than it looks in the movies.Depends on the carrier, and the country. FWIW I got to fly a commercial flight simulator once. I am not a pilot. Take offs are easy. Flying is easy. Landings are the hard part. I shot 4 landings. The after the first they would have used a dust pan to pick up the pieces. After the second they would have needed heavy equipment as the pieces would have be larger. After the third there might have been survivors. For the 4th the instructor put me in clouds and I flew the instruments (glass cockpit) all the way to the ground and greased the landing. The instructor complimented me and said I did better on that landing than many of the paying students their first time flying in weather. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-being-an-airline-pilot-a-prestegious-job/545733/46 "2012-10-12T15:40:43Z")
> [@slaphead](#): > > But what about being a pilot flies into a prison to doctor people? Or a doctor in a prison THAT FLIES!? > Or a prisoner of a doctor who… Or the guy who designs flying prison hospitals? He’d be a pilot prison doctor ARCHITECT! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-being-an-airline-pilot-a-prestegious-job/545733.md?page=2)