Airline Pilot Forums

I thought I would start a thread here that may add some practical value - particularly now with increasing furloughs, etc. Would it make sense, as a service, for APC to have a forum covering:

1) Networking for furloughed pilots - both in, and out of flying? A board where people could post job opportunities to help furloughed pilots put groceries on the table?

2) Ideas about supplemental income generating opportunities for pilots and families? An example would be legitimate sources of supplemental income and a discussion of these issues. This would be valuable for pilots to connect with each other and gain experience from someone that has already gained some experience in a given area (like Skyhigh with real estate).

3) A third value to this forum would be to allow pilots to scope out rip-offs before being sucking into them.

Just a thought - it may provide help and is not as "negative" as actually giving up a dream, it is simply pilots helping pilots during the doldrums.

Thanks

I can't see adding another forum. We can't have a forum for everything. But perhaps renaming this forum to be more inclusive? If we were to call it "Leaving the career/.......?", or just another name that might peak an interest in both those leaving and supplementing?

It is only a thought - I will leave it to the Founders and Mods to decide if it is appropriate. These are tough times for airline folks, and "leaving the career" is sometimes neccesary. If we could have a clearing house for ideas on how to create a supplemental income, or create back-up plans for furlough it would be neat. Also, although these times are rough, even in good times a pilot has four opportunities a year to lose their job (two physicals, 6 month comp check).

Here is one idea that I have heard of and my wife is checking out for her - Medical Coding. You can do this from home (or reserve), it can be done at any time of day, and it pays well - $35-$50k annually. I do not know much about it, but it would seem a good supplement as well as a back-up plan. There are also some reasonable franchises out there to do - as well as many bad ones. Let's here some ideas and stories!