rickair7777

Your employment/career background will not be held against you, as long as it was all legal.

For mid/upper tier airline (and corporate aviation) jobs, you have to compete for the jobs. Folks with management/leadership experience will have an advantage, and they will expect you to present as a polished professional at an interiew. All in addition to your flying experience and skills.

A few airlines will be looking for an "upward trending" career trajectory. They might not want someone who did blue-collar labor for 30 years and the decided to go fly (unless he owned the business, we do actually see a lot of that in the airlines). But if you did military, then worked while earning a degree on the side, that seems like an upward trajectory to me.

Caveat: It's remotely possible that somewhere along the line an interviewer might not like you because you didn't come up through more traditional white-collar channels. But that's life, not everybody is always going to like you regardless. But aviation is full of folks who came up different paths. Nothing to loose sleep over.

wrxpilot

Your friend is definitely quite impressive! The only issue I would have with the trades as a lifelong career is it will tear your body up. But if one is sharp like your friend, it would definitely make sense.

But for the least amount of work/highest income, it’s very hard to beat a major airline pilot job.

rickair7777

Yeah I live in a very nice neighborhood (several pilot neighbors) but plumbing service is easy... my plumber lives down the street. A sharp guy can make a killing in the trades, obviously you have to own the business and have at least a couple folks working for you. Especially nowadays, since many millenials just want to goof off on their phones while sucking lattes in mom's basement.

maggie83

I never owned a sole proprietorship or a limited liability partnership. After the military I worked construction for a few years and then left to start my undergrad. I guess some airlines will look at that negatively.

I've experienced white-collar disgust/disdain and I'm sure some particular people at airlines will do the same. I just hope it's only from a few and not the majority.

Thank you for the insight.

CFI Guy

It’s definitely hard on the body but the key is to learn when you are young and put that together with some business knowledge. My friend hurt his back recently and has admitted he’s slowing down on doing the labor himself after I’ve been teasing him for years on being the stinkiest millionaire I know. The problem is the work he’s doing requires such a high level of expertise that one mistake will cost a fortune.

He’s at the point where’s he’s buying businesses and hiring managers while he collects a check. He purchases the buildings and the businesses pay the rent. Once the buildings are paid he’ll collect the rent to pay for his TBM and fund his retirement. His 18 year son just spent the summer here from Germany learning the trade. It takes 8 years to become a master plumber there. He’s being primed to take over.

ir

Totally agree. I asked my friend one day if he hires apprentices and he said yes but he cannot find people. It takes a brain to do the job and he cannot attract talent. He hires them on at minimum wage. If they stick around for 6 months (show up for work, not drunk or high) they get a raise. After 3 years they become a journeyman. $100K+ (in LA/SF) for guys who do basic work, unclogging drains kind of stuff. If they take it serious and get a few guys under them (rinse/repeat) and the sky is the limit.

6 figure job, paid on-the-job training, guaranteed work and no takers.
Plumbing is a “crappy job” but as my friend always reminds me “no one ever wants to call a plumber”. It’s never going out of style.

Duffman

I get that in 3 years it's a 6 figure job, but 6 months at minimum wage in the Bay Area? That's probably why he's having trouble finding smart, motivated people. You get what you pay for.

maggie83

Regarding the 6 figures in construction, I don't miss it. The hourly wage and benefits I received did not outweigh the excruciating environment of my specific trade. I remember my second year in I worked enough overtime that my annual income went from 50k to 82k but my body paid for it dearly. I spent my free time with a heating pad and Advil.

Just rereading all the comments, thinking about what lies ahead in my future. Overall, everyone's posts are positive and encouraging yet realistic. I appreciate it. I've started practicing with Blender and Photoshop too. Been thinking about making a scenery package for X-Plane of the airport I'll be training at.

I'll still be here checking for anymore input, personal experiences and advice.

rickair7777

Depends on what a few years is. 15+ some folks might wonder why you waited so long. Less than five, after transitioning from the military, might have just been saving money for college.

I would expect less of that in the airlines, far less in aviation in general. In say something like the finance world everybody had to come up from the same schools and same path. Not so in aviation.

What you really need to consider is whether you can pull off the interview in an articulate, professional manner coming off as someone they would want representing their company to their customers (pilots often get to do that, usually at the worst possible time when things are going wrong). If the answer is no, you might be limited to lower-tier majors or regionals. There are a lot of pilots out there, even a lot of good ones, so the top-tier have the luxury of cherry picking candidates for additional criteria. Consider how you would contrast at an interview if the guy who did his face to face interview immediately before you was a retired USAF Col.

Again this is not something significant enough to lose any sleep over. You're a college grad and a vet who did some construction work, not a "construction guy". I did some roofing back in the day.

CFI Guy

It’s $15/hr which is poverty in LA/SF but I think you’re missing the point. Someone is paying you to learn. Last time I checked you don’t collect a salary in college. You do however rack up a 6 figure debt for a piece of paper that guarantees you squat. That is unless mommy and daddy foot the bill for your art history degree so you can work at Starbucks.

Sorry I know that’s sarcastic but my friend is a good guy who gives people a chance in life. He’s hired people on their second or third chance (out of prison, halfway houses, rehab, homeless) who might otherwise aspire to be a shift manager at McDonalds or maybe Chik-Fil-A where at least you get Sundays off. They get periodic raises. He pays employment taxes plus health insurance for them. He also has to pay his guys to teach someone who may have never held a hammer or screwdriver in their life. They make mistakes and guess who has to fix them.

If I was an 18 year old kid living at home and unsure about going to college this is a viable option. Unfortunately, there is a college for everyone and Aunt Sallie Mae is quick to enslave young people with crippling debt that congress made virtually impossible to discharge in a BK.

People are eager to take out huge loans at high interest rates for flight training which guarantees them a low paying job for years and MAYBE a shot at a major one day. Don’t forget you still need that pesky 4 year degree as well.

I’m just giving respect and credit to the OP who is afraid of getting looked down upon for hard work. For all the kids who want to fly and wondering how to pay for it this seems like a good option (or the military GI Bill). It’s also a good back up plan if the flying thing doesn’t work out or the economy takes a turn for the worse.

maggie83

It was actually 5 years that I was in and started college right after. Wanted to leave a year earlier but was foolishly persuaded with a raise and stayed another year until I finally made the choice to leave. Not making that mistake again. I realize now that the adage "it's never too late to go to school" is not entirely true.

I don't think or feel that I would have to pull it off. I know with certainty I'm not good at pretending so "faking it 'till you make it" is out of the question for me. And as for the USAF colonels, I might have signed off the preflight on the aircraft they flew over Iraq. Maybe they'll put it in a good word about me... if they remember. Lol.

Very true and thank you. Unfortunately not everyone has the opportunity to go to college immediately after high school or even anyone in their family to ask for guidance. Life had a wonderful time kicking me down on a few occasions that has lead me down my path. I am late, but I am also ready to begin.