I am 30 years old, married with two young kids. Currently flying a Gulfstream for a private equity group, living about two hours outside a major metro city which happens to be a junior crew base for a few legacy's. I'm currently on a salary of $170,000 and in addition, we get get a 12-15% bonus check each year, and a small 401K match that only kicks in if we contribute. Raises based on merit and no yearly COLA increases. I don't expect to see my base salary ever to go over $185,000 here, but at the same time I don't have a crystal ball.
QOL is pretty good. Over the last two years, I've averaged 11-12 duty days per month and around 9-10 RONs. Trips range from day trips, to about 12 day stints. Average is around 5 days gone I'd say. All expenses paid for on the road and we get to keep all the points (which is a nice perk to fund my personal vacations). Mostly domestic flying with a couple international trips each year to keep me interested.
I get 3 weeks of vacation a year plus 4 hard days off a month as PTO days of my choosing. Usually not too difficult to get time off when needed. They have no problem using contract pilots to fill the gaps for time off. Otherwise, we are on call until about 6PM everyday, unless the airplane is out flying with another crew or down for MX.
Most trips are scheduled anywhere from 2 weeks to a month in advance. There are a few pop-ups (1 day notice or less) now and then and while on a trip, plans tend to change. You were planning on coming home Friday, now you're back Sunday. They will however bring you off a trip if you have vacation or a PTO day.
I'm home on most holidays. If the airplane is parked over a holiday, they will airline us home.
Overall, I'm pretty happy. However, lately I've been thinking about entertaining a childhood dream of mine to fly for the airlines. My background has strictly been 91/135 up to this point and I've never been interesting in the airline world. However lately, I've found myself peering over the fence more and more over the last year as it seems that the pay and bennies have really surged back for the legacy pilots.
Plus, I think it would be nice to just show up to work, walk on to the plane, grab the paperwork, shut the door, go fly and go home (also shut off the phone!). I know that's a bit of an exaggeration....but my job is entirely the opposite of that. Lots of prep to do including but not limited to... flight planning, catering, needy passenger requests, cleaning, loading bags, ground transport, trip changes, it goes on and on. Looking into the future, in 20 years, will I still want to be dealing with this crap? I'm not so sure....
When comparing baseline salaries, I'm thinking it would take 5-6 years to get to pay parity and after that, legacy pay will totally eclipse mine. Not to mention by year three at a legacy, I'd say most guys are pulling in at least $140K so I wouldn't be poor by any means until I caught back up. I think another benefit that legacy guys have is DC with their 401K. That's huge.....even the best Part 91 gigs aren't contributing that type of coin into their employee's 401K. Corporate is way behind the ball when it comes to retirement bennies, IMO.
Finally, having a set schedule would be nice. While we have a decent target of when we'll be working, as I said above, plans tend to change. It would be nice to know when I'm working and when I'm not. I could also do away with the 12 days trips. It's hard to be away for that amount of time with a family. Though, I would be racking up a ton of Marriott points for the flip-side so I can take my family on nice vacations during time off! That would be a loss for sure as I don't see non-rev bennies being a gain. From what I've heard, it's damn near possible to non-rev a family of four anywhere these days.
The question is, would I be giving up too much and would it be worth it?
In terms of stability, I feel both jobs are equally vulnerable so I don't consider that a factor (airlines with terrorist attacks and rising gas prices, while a few bad investments could burn a corporate flight department).
I know I'll be working a few more days a month and first year pay will be a struggle, but we'll figure it out. Right now, I enjoy long stretches at home (albeit, on call) at times. I don't know how the family will react with me being gone 4 days a week for the first couple years. I think that might be a shocker. I'll probably be missing more holidays, birthdays, school stuff, etc for the first couple years as well.
Overall, it seems that I'm chasing better pay and retirement bennies, number one, followed by have more of a set schedule, LONG TERM. However, I've always heard, don't chase the money, and if you're happy, why rock the boat. On the flipside, I'd like to be that widebody Captain (even FO) one day working 8 days a month grossing over $200K.
It just seems that at my age, I could potentially be missing out on a great career at an airline and so I'm just trying to play all my cards here.
Please, someone knock some sense into me!
Any advice is appreciated and no, I will not be basing my decision solely on the feedback from APC.
