this new part time job of mine

[94touring]

Well as you guys may or may not already know I'm a pilot.  With the thousands of airline furgloughs and my flight work that slowed up in Arizona, the girlfriend and I moved to NC, where I'm originally from and where most of my family is.  The economy is not very good for getting any kind of job, but I did get hired by Delta (again) to do non piloty type work.  When I was in flight school a few years ago I worked for Delta as the guy that throws and damages your bags :).  So I got that kinda job again, but they also threw in the fact I have to do ticket counter and gate.  The ramp work with the planes and bags is easy and for the most part halfway fun while getting a small workout.  The ticket counter and gate on the otherhand is a fuggin nightmare for someone like me.  Its all dos commands.  Which I'm not sure if delta realizes this or not, but dos is totally 80's.  So here I am trying to learn how to input a gazillion codes into outdated crap while people are pissed off that their flight is delayed or canceled.  Not only that but the people showing me all the codes to input are doing it at lightening warp speed, as if I can actually retain or keep up with all the info thats flashing before my eyes.  So its just A display TD/date key/ilmatl enter DTGC display enter  oe14y/oe13y/date ilm enter...........  and on and on and on.  "you can remember that right?"   Ahhhh no, how about you guys give me a book with this stuff in it so I can sit up here and hope to god I can fumble through it correctly with someone screaming at me that they can't get into Prague tonight.   

Enjoy your flight ma'am, I'll be the guy not flying today.     

[MPlayle]

I have not worked anything like the booking/flight check-in software, but I do remember working on the terminals of that vintage.  I used to be pretty good with DOS itself, though that was a long time back - 80's and even into the early 90's.  then I went and became specialized into very basic low level microprocessors.  Now, I am way out of the mainstream and it is extremely difficult to break back into more mainstream programming.  I feel your pain, but you will get through it.

Your story did make me laugh, though.   :D

[94touring]

I hope the resumes I have floating around the few random places hiring pilots gets noticed soon.  Its a little discouraging knowing they are flooded with resumes right now.  Till then its decifering code in the matrix for Delta.   :o 

[MPlayle]

At least it is something.  I am having trouble even getting a store clerk job - they keep declaring me overqualified and won't consider further.  Even when I try to explain that I am going back to school, basic job employers get stuck on the "overqualified".

Jobs in my primary field are a tighter and more competitive version of your pilot field.

[94touring]

Yeah I have 1-3 years of waiting for furgloughs to be recalled before its back to easily getting employed again flying.  Sucks. 

[xcc_rider]

My work recently hired back someone who left and became a pilot for XXX airline. He flew the little commuter prop jobs during his flying years. Laid off and back to the oil industry. Not happy and I expect him to leave as soon as a job comes available.

Ironic, I've been trying to retire for 6 months now...      dan

[94touring]

Was thinking I was going to get hired to teach at the flight college I went to in Oklahoma, but seems as though thats slipping through my fingers.  Pretty disapointing to say the least.  I could move back to Tulsa, make good money, have job security (for the most part), and live the good life.  Instead the rumor is the Wilmington station for Atlantic Southeast Airlines (delta connection) is losing the bid, and I'll be right back out of a job...or working for peanuts for the contract company that takes over.  Well, smaller peanuts.  Perhaps acorns, or sunflower seeds.