After 30 Years, United Pilot Gets His Dream First Officer
A sweet moment recently occurred on a United Airlines flight when a father and son flew together for the first time as captain and first officer. This sweet moment also offers an important insight into parenting.
A United Airlines Father-Son First: And A Reminder That Passion Can Be Shaped
In a sweet video shared across United’s social media accounts, “United Captain Tom M. waited 30 years for this flight.” What flight might that be? A very special co-pilot onboard: the first officer was his son, Bradley.
It’s a feel-good story and there’s really very little that I can add, but a few thoughts anyway.
Sunday was my first Father’s Day without my father, who passed away last year. And while I was pleased to spend the day with my family, there was an empty seat at the table…oh, how I miss my father. He sang in the choir at church and as I looked up at the choir loft on Sunday morning, I missed him even more.
If your father is still alive, cherish your time with him. These memories of time spent together are far more valuable than you’ll realize until your dad is gone.
Second, I love how Captain Tom pushed Bradley from a very early age to be a pilot. While I try to expose my children to a wide variety of career fields, just like I try to expose them to a wide variety of activities ranging from tennis to basketball to ceramics to piano, my wife and I consider pushing each child into a specific career field.
So often, passion comes over time when we become good at something. Thus, the question is not so much “finding your passion” as it is putting in the time for a “job” to become a “passion.” If we start guiding my daughter, for example, to be a medical doctor, and introduce her in every way we can to that field, direct her studies towards that goal, and constantly support that effort, by the time she’s in her late 20s she will be a doctor…and even as AI threatens vritaully every career field, I cannot see robots fully replacing doctors even in her lifetime.
I mention this because this was Bradley’s path. Perhaps it may not have been as deliberate, but we see so many young pilots today in the skies who come from families of pilots or who, from a very early age, were encouraged and pushed to embrace aviation. The result is a lucrative job with great benefits. Starting pay for a United First Officer is over $115K/year and it grows substantially over time.
CONCLUSION
I think this video is not only a sweet father-son tribute, but a reminder to help our children develop interests and nurture them from a very early age…and sometimes even choose a career for them, knowing that the passion will come later and the comppund interest of earning and saving at a young age will help to promote financial security.
> Read More: The Necessity Of Father-Son Trips