I’m in the same boat, never had an interest but I compared options at a job fair and now I’m pretty deep into it, I’m not a recuiter but I help a lot of former co-workers out with their career paths so if you find yourself curious at all- remember my pseudonym and feel free to reach out for more info.
The more comrades in the industry, the better.
P.S. my pro tip is that most people I know don’t care 1 crumb about planes, they’re boring!
You have decent options career wise IMO.
If you decide to reroll your career you could always go for a trade. Cliche answer but you’re in Florida which is golden for aerospace education (A&P license), that would be a 16-24 months of school before you can start working. The field is great right now because demand is still very very high and competition (people forget this career stuff is an involuntary competition) is low.
It’s also a trade broad enough to allow for people with little to no mechanical aptitude to succeed (requires more legal knowledge than anything, ha). I knew a 20-year-social worker who decided to switch things up and she’s still doing quite well 5 years in.
Another advantage is that an A&P license counts for 35-45 college credits so you can put that and what you already have towards a 4 year degree and potentially knock it out in 1.5 yrs or less.
Finally there are a surprising amount of foreign entities that register their aircraft in the U.S due to legal and fiscal benefits. This does require them to hire U.S A&P holders though- meaning that there are a variety of opportunities abroad.
I think that he can only be as convinced of leftist ideals as leftism is successful where you live, which it’s probably not
Unfortunately fascist thinking is just so much more attractive, given it’s immediate gains and contemporary rise
Bringing this up because I think you can still be friends, I’d just recommend not worrying so much over the guy- he doesn’t sound principled and will likely continue to be pulled toward what’s the most successful
Don’t mistake my unsolicited advice as me being dismissive tho.
I can feel the way your stomach must have wretched when you had to digest what probably felt like a slap in the face of your hard work when he regurgitated reactionary thought.
I’ve never put in the same amount of work for anyone, but the feeling I get just speaking with someone who has genocidal opinions but is otherwise outstanding is similar.
Hoping things work our for you.
Vaxxed?
You’re wrong because most of the left-adjacent efforts in the U.S are actually counter-productive, not useless.
As others in this thread have mentioned, conditions need to deteriorate in the U.S for class consciousness to proliferate. Yet the two largest left-adjacent orgs in the U.S (DSA / PSL) are putting in immense effort to elect soc dems and self proclaimed socialists who will attempt to save capitalism from itself FDR style. Of course no effort in re-distributing the spoils of imperialism is possible without the imperialism part, so none of these figures can really do anything to put an end to global exploitation- just make U.S citizens more comfortable with it happening. And that’s also where the supposed rise in class consciousness meets its ceiling, imperialism. What incentive do U.S citizens have to end their source of luxury? Having to see the suffering on their tiktok feed? Well that problem’s just been solved.
It’s doomer to think that their’s zero hope for the U.S. It’s reality to mention that despite decades of genocidal war right wingers and cult members (think Waco) are out flanking leftsists in domestic armed struggle.
But really how funny is it that there’s now a perfect excuse (that I agree with) for the left adjacent in the U.S to sit around? We’ve now been given the Materialist conclusion that the perfect time to strike will be some sort of depression in the U.S.
As if there wasn’t already one in the past, ha. I suppose we’ll just have to wait around and see if it’s different this time, or if the actually armed, actually trained fascists take the advantage first.
I like romance and they’re not making dramas like they used to
He’s an opportunist- an exploiter through and through. He’d be a republican right now if they weren’t slated to be in the dump for a little while.
I need to submit that I was initially tempted to make some sort of low hanging joke “par for the course in regards to poli sci students” or “he’ll fit right in with the other dems” but beyond inappropriate these jokes reveal what we all know: His type are well rewarded by capitalism.
He’ll likely continue to do well, continue to climb. Or he’ll find some other career path well trot by others who exploit and compete the way we’re all incentivized to.
None of this is an excuse for him, and I’m sure you know it better than I. But I felt that it might be worth reiterating to emphasize that it’s not your fault.
It’s better not to compare yourself but if you must, find comfort in knowing that the work you do builds genuine relationships while he is in a race with no finish line (unless aspiring to be like Kirk) surrounding himself with other exploiters in what can only be the beginning of a hollow-unfulfilling life.
Sell it to me and I’ll rent it out for you, that way you don’t have to deal with the guilt
spoiler
/J