The Source for Trucking News, Opinions and Trucking Jobs | Trucking to Piloting

I’m sure this is a great program and even though this has nothing to do with trucking. Reading this article reminded me of the hundreds of articles about truck driving schools and the truck driver shortage. Including this comment -

Herald.com | 10/11/2004 | Minorities given new hope at flight school
…Jones said the goal is to reach 100 young adults who want to fly — and take advantage of a pilot shortage that experts say could be acute within the next four years as more veteran pilots retire.

Here’s this truck driver wanting to learn how to fly and become a pilot.

Times haven’t been much better here. Green is now a truck driver, makes about $19,000 a year, spends days riding alone away from his girlfriend and his two toddlers Deanna and Tristan. Sometimes he was gone for as long as two months, he said.

$19,000 a year? When all the “driver shortage” press says that truck drivers can earn $37,000 their first year! This doesn’t sound like he’s doing it part time being on the road for two months at a time. I think the ATA’s estimate is a bit high, it’s more like mid-twenties to low thirties the first year. If this guy can’t even break $20k a year, something is really wrong.

A truck company recruiter told my class a long time ago that 99% of us would not be in trucking past six months. Schools are making a killing training truck drivers, but as people find out, there’s more to trucking than just driving a truck.

The same can probably be said of pilots. Knowing how to fly is only part of being a pilot. I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade and this is a great opportunity for these people. Any career school should evaluate the person to the job instead of only filling seats for the sake of filling seats.