Originally Posted by
Dimka
Hello forum!
I’m currently a freshman at UND studying commercial aviation and aviation studies, as well as obtaining all certificates up to the R-ATP (after instructing for a year).
For those who have been to a flying university (like UND), and graduated pretty much into a regional; how was the step from living in a dorm/apt. to relocating and starting your initial training at a 135/121 operation? I am a big planner and I’m nervous about how it will be like to make such a switch in life style and if it is a financially-stressful event (I’m on full loans right now).
Also for those who have been at an airline for a while, what’s it like switching domiciles all the time and having to find new places to live? I feel like it would drain my pockets immediately having to find new places to live.
I know some of it is personal information that you wouldn’t discuss on a public forum, I just wanted vague opinions on it.
THanks!
Dmitri
As a fellow UND grad with an obscene amount of student debt, and my first one 121 regional job paying less than $25,000 my first year, my parents sent me $200 a month just so I could buy groceries. Within the first two months, they closed down the domicile I thought I was going to get, and I moved halfway across the country, found the cheapest apartment I could find, and had a 30 minute drive to the airport.
At some point I moved in with a friend to create savings, but that still wasn’t enough as it took over five years to make more than $40,000. I was just treading water. Finally, I decided to move in with three other pilots in a cheap part of the country and drove 3.5 hours to work each week. It took me over five years upgrade, people hired two months before me upgraded within 2.5 years. At other regional airlines it took almost 10 years. You never know what you are going to get. Sometimes it really sucked. Other times I was the most senior FO in base and averaged 18 days off a month. To this day, the favorite part of my life was living with those three other guys when we were all first officers at the same airline.
Create friendships and have fun along the way. That’s my best suggestion. Live within your means as best you can, and that should be easier now more than ever considering the new pay rates and bonuses.
Also, we don’t switch domiciles all the time. A lot of that is choice, sometimes they close, but if you choose wisely it is more than likely going to stay open. However nothing is guaranteed. Further, if the airline closes the domicile they pay for your move usually. Like others have said, if you have a place that you really want to live, just move there and commute. If there is a domicile that you really want to live in, choose that.
Best of luck.