I spent a career flying fighters and jets are jets, and Boeing does not train all the pilots and computers are easy and being overwhelmed by “computers” is a rare thing, and Boeing jets are not fly-by-wire like Airbus.
Data management is a challenge but if trained properly you fly the jet, first, then handle issues if they happen.
Well, you are outdated, which should not surprise you.
The 737 Max is fly by wire.
You are correct that Boeing does not itself provide the training, but the Airlines Pilot Association, as well as several carrier unions, complained bitterly that Boeing did not provide clear information about the new automated flight control system on the MAX airliners.
Jon Weaks, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association said that the pilots “were kept in the dark.” He also said “We do not like the fact that a new system was put on the aircraft and wasn’t disclosed to anyone or put in the manuals.” The move from the older 737 NG model cockpit to the new 737 Max system consisted of little more than a one-hour session on an iPad, according to Dennis Tajer, the spokesman for the APA. United Airlines, a buyer of the MAX, doesn’t even have simulators specific to the MAX model.
You are correct that computer conflicts are rare, but as computer systems become more active in the total control of the aircraft, it becomes more important to train pilots on resolving differences of opinion between the computer and the aviator. In cases where this comes up, the window to take action can be quite short. While Boeing does have more manual control options than Airbus, they are creeping in the fly-by-wire direction, and the 737 MAX is more highly computer controlled than any of their other models outside of the Dreamliner.
To be fair, you having a career with military fighter aircraft is vastly different than what these pilots face. You are a “stick-time champion”. Commercial pilots, not so much. I grew up among jets. My father flew the F5 and the A6 Intruder in the Navy, and T38 jets for NASA, retiring as a full captain.
“Boeing jets are not fly-by-wire like Airbus”
I defer to your expertise in military jets, but I recall reading that both the 777 and the 787 are fly-by-wire. Not the 737-8, apparently.