03 February 2023 , 10:19
643
0
We all have our dream jobs - whether it's something we always wanted to do when we were kids or a hobby we've picked up in later life that we'd love to do professionally if given a chance.
But one man has taken his passion too far, as he's started demanding that his wife refers to him as a pilot, despite having never flown a plane or had any flight training.
The man said he actually works as a manager of a restaurant but is an "extremely passionate aviation enthusiast" in his free time and has his own flight simulation equipment, as well as forking out "thousands" on flight-related textbooks.
Although he's never been to flight school or received any formal training, the man believes he's as good, or "possibly even more knowledgeable" than the average pilot - so believes his wife should refer to him as one.
In a post which was originally made on Reddit before being taken down and re-shared on Twitter, the man wrote: "Since my wife and I have been together, I have worked as a manager for a restaurant chain. I am an extremely passionate aviation enthusiast in my free time. I have spent thousands of dollars on flight textbooks, sim gear, and even built my own a330 setup.
'I don't want children staying up late at weekends - I really need adult time'
"I have never actually flown a plane or started flight training, but I have considered it for a long time. Even though my skills are not a career, I still consider myself as adept or possibly more knowledgeable than the average pilot."
The man then explained that he and his wife were recently invited to a barbecue by one of his wife's co-workers, whom he had never met before.
When his spouse was introducing him, she told her colleagues that he was the manager of a restaurant - which left him seething, as he immediately "corrected" her and insisted he was actually a pilot.
He added: "We exchange casual conversation and Greg [the host] asked what I do for a living. My wife chimes in with 'He manages a [insert fast food chain], it certainly comes with some benefits' (I'm assuming she's referring to free food) in a voice that implied nothing was wrong with what she said.
"I very quickly corrected her and told him that I am a pilot. My wife already knows how insecure I am about my job and how I'd much rather be introduced by my hobby. I've earned the title of pilot through my 500+ hours on a sim and thousands of dollars put into my craft. I think it is incredibly disrespectful for her not to acknowledge my skills and training. Just because I don't have the title of pilot on an overpriced piece of paper doesn't mean I'm not a pilot."
After leaving the party, the man and his wife got into an argument, with the woman saying she refuses to call her husband a pilot when he's never flown a plane, and the man calling her "insensitive".
He wrote: "As we pack into the car to leave, the argument starts. She feels as if I don't deserve my title as a Pilot because I'm not professional. I told her she is completely insensitive to the work I've done and she will never understand what it's like to study so much. Am I really the a**hole for asking to be respected?"
The baffling post was shared on Twitter by Abby Vesoulis (@abbyvesoulis), who captioned pictures of the Reddit thread: "The woman—me—was too stunned to speak."
After thousands of retweets and likes, the woman had to update the tweet to insist she didn't mean to insinuate that she was the wife mentioned in the post.
She added: "Also, to clarify: this man is (luckily) not MY husband. 'The woman was too stunned to speak' is a pop culture reference that I now realise may come off as confusing in this context. I would personally divorce a dude like this SO QUICK."
'My hubby wants to name our baby after his mum but her beliefs are too extreme'
Commenters on the post were equally horrified by the man's claims, as one responded: "You aren't a pilot. Once you earn money flying planes you are a pilot. I feel sorry for your wife having to deal with this."
And another wrote: "If you are ashamed of your job title, get a different job, don't pretend to be something you're not. That's so cringy."