Is pay to play ever acceptable?
 

I'm a mid-late 40s physician, burned out, looking to retire in the next year. I've fortunately saved much and don't need to work (living a moustachian-type lifestyle at least).

I've otherwise been an airport rat since childhood, private pilot since college, and active in experimental (e.g. Young Eagles) and general aviation since. I'm now doing (what apparently a lot of others with a similar background are doing) some research in considering trying to enter the professional flying world.

I'm more interested in corporate flying vs regional work, or, on the other extreme, work abroad (I'm a veteran and have worked many years overseas as a civilian).

I have just north of 600 hours, all VFR single. I can afford pay-to-play, and I understand such programs chaps the hide of the supermajority of folks out there, for generally all the right reasons. At the same time, from my perspective, I've paid a set of dues in the military and later in medicine. To some people that might mean something?

This said, is there every any consideration of certain circumstances (maybe like mine) where a guy went through a pay to fly program that his future applications were not automatically thrown in the bin?

Thanks for any thoughts from any angle!

Got to get your IRA, ME/IRA, COM-SE/ME ratings first.

If there is a specific place you want to work ask them what their minimums are and what you have to do to appear more attractive as a candidate. That might include buying your own type rating if you can afford it.


I don't think many corporate outfits do pay to play anymore but I do think they have training contracts (must work x-amount or owe us the balance of your training experience if you leave early).

If you're interested in learning more about day-to-day of a corporate pilot follow these 3 YouTube channels:

Corporate Pilot Life
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtA...tIpVU06_Sq1FHw

Pilot VLogs
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC82...UAWdH06-GalyuA

Steveo1Kinevo
https://www.youtube.com/user/steveo1kinevo

I'd avoid any wholesale pay-to-play operations (ex. GIA aka Silver), that reputation will follow you around forever. It's not a deal-breaker, but some folks have a real hard spot for that, and if one of them is on your interview panel...

You could probably get away with it at a small corporate operation, nobody would ever know but you. But there's enough of a pilot shortage you should be able to find somebody to pay you to sit right seat in a jet somewhere. Even Great Lakes will pay you a little bit. Once you get 1500, you can go to a real regional and make $60K.

You'll some regional time anyway, no big-six major will likely hire you with just turboprop time (maybe SWA).

No. It won't mean anything to almost anyone. You are personally undermining the profession and the pay we deserve. It MIIIIGHT be looked past in a horrendous hiring environment, but this is NOT one of them.
You have way too many opportunities. Honestly, don't consider pay-to-play. It's not worth it. Further, such operations typically have notoriously bad maintenance, schedules, work rules, etc. Network, apply a lot, and find something that fits you.

It's a matter of perspective; prostitutes do view theirs as a legitimate profession.

Get all of your ratings and start instructing locally, you’ll learn a ton, network, and get your 1500 hours. Go to a regional for a few years then jump back to corporate (I think corporate was your goal?). That way you’ll have options and the experience to choose what works best for you. Just realize that entry level pilot jobs are arduous. It will become a J.O.B. Just like being a physician. Once past the entry level point, it could turn into a great lifestyle for you. You also could keep both jobs, be a contract corporate pilot that departments hire when a guy goes on vacation or requires an absence, best of both worlds.

Pay to play is seen as reducing the value of the profession and trying to just shortcut experience. Both are bad.

Like payday loan companies, it should be illegal

No, never. This needs to be industry standard that pilots who participated in a pay to play to get hours should be treated the same as those who crossed the union line.