Hi there. I am currently active duty coast guard and am facing a big decision.

I want to learn to fly helicopters and hopefully get a job flying to/from oil rigs, or flying for DHS, or medivac, or the agricultural industry, or the government. BAD. if i stay in the coast guard i will have a security blanket of free medical and a half assed pension way down the line, and i would be fixing helos and flying as flight crew, but i know that when im older i will always be wondering what its like to fly for a living.

so that said, im trying to find information on how the industry is for helicopter pilots in this country (in the current ****storm of economic chaos). I also have dual canadian citizenship so i wonder if there are jobs available for helo pilots in canada. Are the ratings transferable to another country or would it be an easy/inexpensive lateral to get the same license/ratings in canada?

are there any helo pilots that could give me some insight on how the job market is for rotary wing pilots in this country/canada? im used to living off of pennies, and im not expecting to make a whole ****load of money any time soon, but in ten years time it would be nice to be comfortable financially, as im not planning on having any kids (though sometimes **** happens.......)

i will be applying for ERAU's aeronautical sciences degree program with minor in helicopter operations, which will include all my rotary wing licenses/ratings, and with the yellow ribbon program this program would be free less the cost of books. i will be working part time as a skydive videographer during school, and if all else fails i can always fall back into becoming a skydive tandem instructor. so i think i have a pretty decent plan but im looking for insight into how the actual industry is and if there are jobs for rotary wing pilots. i will have a security clearance for the next 8 years as well so that might help out with getting a civilian government job as a pilot (hopefully)

thanks for reading this novel
chris