That’s awesome you sound optimistic. I am happy you have a solid back up plan based of your passions and attributes. You are not the first nor the last to change careers out of aviation. I changed at the end of the lost decade and have found amazing stability and pay. Just when I was looking at going back though this all happened. Quickly reminded me of the reasons I left. I will just continue to fly for fun and watch from the sidelines how things shake out.

I’m also an aspiring LTA guy so I figure the stability will allow me more time to get my commercial balloon rating. I’ve enjoyed flying but after 20+ years of doing it professionally, I am not sure if I have any more of this nonsense left in me. It’s just too damn unstable.

best of luck to you. I’m at a regional and am getting burned out. Also looking to find a more fulfilling career that I’ll enjoy. The flying doesn’t do much for me anymore.

Funny you mention that. Even before everything happened to me this year, I was starting to get burned out as well. When I first started my flight training I remember seeing the big bizjets roll by and thinking to myself “man, one day, that’s gonna be me.” Fast forward 23 years and I found myself getting off the big bizjet after flying around the world, rotating crews, being up for 30+ hours, eating crappy international catering watching an L3 Cub roll by thinking to myself “man, one day that’s gonna be me”. I’m tired of the hair trigger instability. There are other equally noble professions.

Goes to show that having solid back up skills can save your as$. When this virus has passed you can always go back to flying, or not.

I switched from a stable engineering job to fly charter and got burned out in a year. Went back to the office job and instructing part rime. Fast forward a year and I was looking at possibly joining airlines, however, this virus only shows how unstable this career may be and how disposable pilots are. I am seriously thinking of just staying in my job and instructing on the side (I truly enjoyed instructing last 7 years). I am also thinking of more advanced instructing such as in Bonanzas, Cirrus, Tailwheel etc...…..maybe even getting into rotorcraft and eventually becoming a helicopter instructor.