8 minute read
Seat Belt Sign: ON
By Andrew Ross, Boeing 787 First Officer, Owner/Author VATH Publishing & The Airline Transition Manual
As I take-in the first light of the day in Tokyo, I am struck by one of those fleeting moments of unbelievable gratitude that pop-up every so often in my career. The thought goes something like this, Holy cow! How did you get here? How are you so lucky to be doing this? While it may seem like these moments would come often, as with any full-time job, we normalize a lot of our activities to the point of taking them for granted. There have only been a few moments where it dawned on me that I’ve “made it” in the traditional sense, and they each stand out in my head.
The first time was lining up to takeoff in my alma mater’s Cessna 421 to take a load of passengers from Chicago Executive (KPWK) to Southern Illinois Airport (KMDH) in 2008. Wow, I thought, they trust me to take them up to flight level 230?
The next was lining up for takeoff at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (KORD) at night in 2013 as a first officer for a regional airline in my Embraer 145. Wow… I’m really doing it!
My first time taking a plane full of passengers from Norfolk, VA (KORF) to Washington Regan (KDCA) in 2017 as a captain on the Embraer 145, I thought, Wow… I’m the captain now.
And, finally, this morning, in March of 2023, sitting half-way around the world in Tokyo marveling at how my career has taken shape, I think, Wow… what a ride this has been so far! Since my first flight in 2003, I have amassed some 8,700 hours in aircraft from the trusty but tired Cessna 152 to my current aircraft, the speedy and technologically advanced Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Outside of flying, however, I have been blessed with many other amazing opportunities. I count among them the ability to serve as a board member for the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA), a steering committee member for The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Education Committee, a board member for the Department of Transportations (DOT) Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force (YIATF), Check Airman on the Embraer 145 at my pervious airline, union representative for first officers in Chicago, union committee chairman for a communications group at a previous airline, owning my own leadership consultancy company, and finally, being an author and owner of The Airline Transition Manual with our parent company, VATH Publishing.
I’d like to believe I’m only halfway through my career with another 29 years to go, but of course medical issues pop up, airlines close or shrink, and a multitude of other barriers can come up to cut one’s career short. While my own career hasn’t been without its challenges (such as the AMR bankruptcy during 2011-2014 and COVID issues of 2020), I have still been overwhelmingly lucky and satisfied with what I’ve done so far.
Here is the “kicker”: if you had met young Andrew in middle school or high school, and looked into his education history, you would not pair up the above career or experiences with him. On paper, quite frankly, I was a poor investment. I wasn’t involved in any extracurricular activities, favored playing video games, taking mall trips with friends, and learning drums by myself, in place of taking my education seriously or building any meaningful experiences to help propel my future self forward. By the end of my sophomore year of high school, I had a very solid 2.3 GPA. I couldn’t have told you when I last studied for a test, and I viewed homework as a hurdle to playing video games and music. I’m pretty sure my parents, at this point, assumed I’d be skipping college and living at home until they kicked me out (though they wouldn’t admit it). My favorite memory of this is when my ACT scores came back, and my mom said, “HA! I knew you were smart.” That was not a resounding testament to my educational acumen.
The only thing I had going for me was my love for aviation. I collected model airplanes, had every version of Microsoft Flight Simulator starting from ‘98, would look up at every passing aircraft, and had dreams of flying the big metal birds. It is by chance that two things happened almost simultaneously to change my track.
First, a friend invited me to join the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) close to the time my high school counselor slid a brochure across her desk that advertised a business aviation career day at a state college, Southern Illinois University (SIU).
Bing! That is when the seatbelt sign came on!
The CAP gave free orientation flights in gliders. This was my first hands-on flight experience, and I was hooked! It paved the way for me to explore how to attain my powered flight certificates. This is where the second opportunity came in. I went down with my father to SIU to attend their business aviation career day and learned how to go about getting my private pilot certificate, as well as the general outline for what it would take for me to make this a career. This is where my heart sank a touch. A 2.3 GPA with no other balancing extracurriculars? I was not going to be high on a college admission desk with that resume.
So, I went to work. For the first time, I found purpose in school. I signed up for flying lessons at Illinois Aviation Academy out of DuPage Airport (KDPA), and flew one lesson a week until I was finally able to achieve my private pilot certificate, two weeks before I left for college. (In a funny bit of coincidence, my instructor was an SIU graduate.) I vowed to work harder in school and find success where I could, and boy was it hard!
I was determined to go to school for this and make it my career! While the GPA only recovered to 2.6 by graduation (one year is tough for a turn-around), my ACT and letter of recommendation from my instructor helped me secure a spot at SIU in the fall of 2005.
In college, I finally found my stride. I committed to not repeating my less-than-inspired performance from high school and joined many student organizations, including the NIFA flight team. I stayed involved, and by the time I graduated in 2009, there was no comparing high school Andrew to college Andrew.
I had purpose, I had goals, and I had a clear dream.
I could write articles upon articles and books upon books about my experiences, and, perhaps, I will. But for now, I want to articulate a few important lessons from which I believe all could benefit, especially readers who identify with high school Andrew.
1. Past performance does NOT indicate future performance.
This goes both ways, but don’t give up on yourself if you are at “the back of the pack”, or experiencing setbacks. Perseverance is always a key to payoff. Likewise, don’t rest off of your past success to sleep on current progress. It’s a rude awakening when you fail a test because you were too comfortable to study or prepare.
2. Show gratitude to those who help.
No matter who you are, we don’t do this alone. You will have instructors, counselors, friends, family, teachers, and a million other people who will guide you along your journey. We were not born with the ability to fly, someone had to help you. Be humble!
3. Never count yourself out.
It may be easy to come upon a challenge and forget that you have more to give than perhaps you have given so far. Whatever happens, whatever stumbles you make, the only thing that counts is getting back up and getting it done. Believe in yourself, and don’t count yourself out!
