Originally Posted by
Razorback09
^ I've been seriously considering that. I know for sure that I'll be getting my CFI and the university I'm attending has an awesome deal where they will hire you as a senior and you can stay as long as you like. Any other ideas? If I flew for a small regional airline would the hours be as crazy as they would with a large airline? Also what kind of jobs could I get flying a float plane? (I'm going to come out of college with a Commercial license, CFI, Multi-engine rating, Instrument Rating, and Multi-Engine instructors rating and im planning to get a Seaplane rating also
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Freelance flight instructing would allow max flexibility and nights at home, and it's easy to get into. After you build a reputation and get into some advanced skills (MEI, GPS, Glass, Cirrus, etc) you can make an acceptable living at it. The downside is the risk, stress, and monotony. Light airplane general aviation is simply not as safe as most turbine jobs. A good pilot can control a lot of the risk, but if you do it long enough, you will have a near-miss or two...or maybe it won't be a miss
You could probably find a small turboprop regional with one base and few overnights. But in the long run the work environment and pay would wear you down.
Most large regionals have local trips (home every night)...the problem is that they usually go pretty senior. I would guess in the typical regional domicile you could fly all locals after 2-4 years as an FO or 8-10 as a captain.
After you get some experience, a corporate job might be ideal for you...if you get the right job, you might only do two trips a month. In some cases, the owner might let you fly home commercially and then return later to fly him home. If he knows he's going to be in Aspen for a week, it would be cheaper to fly you home than pay for your hotel and meals.