Hey all,

I've been poking around this forum for a little while now and have found a great deal of useful information.

A little about my current situation though. I'm a 24 year old married father of two little ones( 2 and 7 weeks). I work as a CFI,II,MEI and also a contract pilot. The pay is decent and so are the benefits( health insurance, 3 percent match retirement). I'm sitting at 1200tt and 130 multi...100 being turbine. I've also a got an associates/bachelors in aviation.

I know a lot of people that work at the regionals and talk about how great it is, but I don't know anyone with a family going through the process so I question this route a lot. I have heard of plenty of people getting furloughed. My thing is I can't take a risk at a new job with this possibility. I did get an interview notice from xjt but haven't replied yet because of my uncertainty.

For us, it just comes down to the bottom line each month. I have to be able to pay the bills. I would be leaving a 35k a year job for 20k hoping for better. We would move to Houston though, that being where all our family is. Im just not sure what it would take to get based out of Houston.

Any input would be great.

 

What are you looking to get out of your aviation career? If you want to fly for a major, you will have to take a regional job, or expand your part 91work to glass turbojets.

As far as stability...there is almost none at any level of the aviation industry. But the bottom of a regional seniority list is a very bad place to be for job security. Well SKW is the notable exception...they have never furloughed pilots and like to brag about it. They have even refused to furlough when they should have, just to keep the bragging rights, so they are probably your best bet as far as that goes.

That's the nature of the industry. If you want a shot at faster career progression you will need to take the regional hit. You might get lucky in 91, but odds are that you will have to wait longer there for TPIC in a decent-sized jet


1. Get hired by an airline with a base there (XJT, SKW, Golgan, Others?).

2. Get enough seniority to bid in. It's pretty junior for SKW, not sure about the others.

 

To help you out - IAH is obtainable. Some get it out of training some have to wait. I just flew with a guy advancing to IAH - he has been on property for about 9 months.

I'd take the interview to see what would happen. It seems like a decent time to get on to XJT, as they have plans to hire a bunch this year. Speaking to CAs around here most are itching to get out. There are a lot less lifers here then most FOs think. First year pay sucks (anywhere) but you can make it to 35K by year three. Living in base, training in base and having the wife like where you live are definite pluses.

 

I'm pretty sure all of the SKW flying out of IAH is 700's (that was the reason for it in the first place). If that's the case, then second year would be about $40K.

 

You can make 35k/yr once you hit second year pay... you will be off reserve or very close at that time, unlike when I went through XJT.

IAH would be doable after training or within your first year... people are always swapping around bases, so you would be able to get it.

The bads: You will be away from home a lot until you get swapped to IAH, then you may be home a lot. You can pick up trips if you want to fly more (aggressive pickup), or you can sit back and just wait for them to call you (that's what I did). Also until you get to IAH you will have to have a crashpad in whatever base you're at (it's cheaper than hotels while on reserve), and that will run around $200/mo.

IAH is a good size base, and so bidding for particular days off should be doable... those random birthdays in the middle of the month usually aren't a problem if that is what you want to bid for. I wouldn't expect weekends off or holidays for a couple years though. You may get one or two weekends a month, or random holidays off depending how you bid.

As mentioned above, it really depends what your long term aviation goals are, and also how well you can live off $25k your first year. Good luck.

 

Didn't mean to let this thread go.

I think I'm going to sit at where I am right now for a little longer. Even though I have the minimums met, and soon to have the new ATP minimums met, I would like to relish the job I have now a little more. I enjoy coming home to my family every night and being able to have a schedule that I create. I'm studying for my ATP written and will get that done when I feel ready.

Even though I got the interview notice from XJT, I've decided to not get the first class medical so that I don't advance through their interviewing process. If I can't get hired this time next year with 6-800 more hours and an atp written done, then what does that say about the place I'm applying to?

Also, I would like to put away a little more cash for what is to come the first year. I'm really thinking life wouldn't be that bad if I could live at my base.