Part of the «River Pilots» series. It’s a pressure-filled job vital to the U. But Grue, 31, doesn’t have the kind of resume one would expect for the elite position, which pays three times the average airline pilot salary and twice as much as federally licensed pilots who perform virtually the same job on the same river. In fact, Grue dropped out of school after the 10th grade. He pleaded guilty to drunken driving in and was sentenced to 90 days in jail six years later for violating his probation. He tested positive for marijuana in and was forced into drug rehab. He got a high school equivalency diploma only last year, and he didn’t get his first maritime license from the U. Coast Guard untilgiving him less experience than all five people he beat out when the dies was awarded in April.