Originally Posted by rickair7777

Military. Solves all the scheduling and conflict issues. You TELL the airline when you're doing military and they give enough time off to get there, do it, and return well rested. Federal law prevents any whining or hassles on their part...they REALLY don't want to go there. I never heard of any large airline giving pilots hassles. Try to go in as an aviator or at least an officer.

If you're a commuter and you can do your monthly drills in your home town, then you get an extra weekend at home every month.

Another good military trick is to finish year one at the airline (so you're done with your probabationary PC's), then go on military leave for a year or two. Your seniority accrues while you're gone, you get paid more by the military, you come back and presto, instant captain!

Real estate is another popular pilot hobby, but things are cooling a bit. Actually, your airline pilot status will help you in any sales job...the customers will find you interesting.

I have a friend at AAA who does high-end residential tile work work. He has a good rep, and people trust him in their home cuz he's an airline guy who lives in their neighborhood (as opposed to Julio from the Home Depot parking lot). He got into it by doing his own house. Nice fallback position in case of furlough too.