Should I Continue?
09-11-2012 | 03:08 AM
#31
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 381
Likes: 0
Quote: Aviation makes for a great retirement job after the kids are grown and gone and the money is in the bank.
At one of those career fairs last year a regional guy said they are encouraging older (inactive) pilots to come back to to the profession. How else will they get around the 1,500 hour ATP rule?
At one of those career fairs last year a regional guy said they are encouraging older (inactive) pilots to come back to to the profession. How else will they get around the 1,500 hour ATP rule?
09-11-2012 | 06:40 AM
#32
Self Employed.
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,120
Likes: 0
From: Corporate Pilot
I figured as much.
Quote: Aviation makes for a great retirement job after the kids are grown and gone and the money is in the bank.
At one of those career fairs last year a regional guy said they are encouraging older (inactive) pilots to come back to to the profession. How else will they get around the 1,500 hour ATP rule?
At one of those career fairs last year a regional guy said they are encouraging older (inactive) pilots to come back to to the profession. How else will they get around the 1,500 hour ATP rule?
Skyhigh
09-11-2012 | 06:46 AM
#33
Self Employed.
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,120
Likes: 0
From: Corporate Pilot
This post
I don't usually answer posts but I am going to give it a shot for you.
The pilot shortage is crap, the schools and magazines have been talking about this for years, airlines also try to use it to talk the gov out of any legislation that restricts their ability to rape and pillage their pilots at will.
I heard all of this when I graduated in 1990, I spent 10 yrs flying regionals and cargo, I was hired in 2001 by a major cargo carrier , I won't mention which one,but it's not fdx. After 11.5 yrs here I make around 200k and I do actually hold week on week off schedules. However there is no progression and I honestly can't say the personal price I have payed and continue to pay is worth it. The majors are no longer a guarantee if you get there you will be lucky but the pay and benefits are not what they once were
I have missed so much with my son and daughter these are things I will never get back, while the money is nice in retrospect the memories would have been better. I am lucky I still have a pension and good pay and I am the only one of my friends who are not divorced, but my wife is a one in a million and has always been very flexible and willing to step up to the plate and be a single parent when required this is a very lonely lifestyle and not many can do it.
I guess what I am saying is this is your choice but it is very hard on your family and requires a lot of sacrifice
You won't make a living for awhile so be prepared. If I knew what I know now when I started I think I might have gone down a different path.
The pilot shortage is crap, the schools and magazines have been talking about this for years, airlines also try to use it to talk the gov out of any legislation that restricts their ability to rape and pillage their pilots at will.
I heard all of this when I graduated in 1990, I spent 10 yrs flying regionals and cargo, I was hired in 2001 by a major cargo carrier , I won't mention which one,but it's not fdx. After 11.5 yrs here I make around 200k and I do actually hold week on week off schedules. However there is no progression and I honestly can't say the personal price I have payed and continue to pay is worth it. The majors are no longer a guarantee if you get there you will be lucky but the pay and benefits are not what they once were
I have missed so much with my son and daughter these are things I will never get back, while the money is nice in retrospect the memories would have been better. I am lucky I still have a pension and good pay and I am the only one of my friends who are not divorced, but my wife is a one in a million and has always been very flexible and willing to step up to the plate and be a single parent when required this is a very lonely lifestyle and not many can do it.
I guess what I am saying is this is your choice but it is very hard on your family and requires a lot of sacrifice
You won't make a living for awhile so be prepared. If I knew what I know now when I started I think I might have gone down a different path.
Skyhigh
09-11-2012 | 12:31 PM
#34
On Reserve
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
my advice is to do both careers. I was in the AF for 10 years as a naviguesser (WSO) on B-1Bs. got my masters in public admin and moved back to California and work as one of those state workers with an awesome retirement and benefits but the office life sucks and is so routine. Ego isnt the issue because i have a position where i get to go to all the important boring meetings and eat the free fruit. I plan on retiring early with a smaller pension and some VA money and going back to flying. i can do this because i already have the big house, my son's education is covered, my wife's job actually pays a little more than mine, and over time got the certs except for my multi, and so i wont be stressed with lower FO income. i will actually make more when i combine the early retirement, VA and FO pay than what I make as a net income right now. the downside is that at my age i will stay put at only one regional airline. right now i think i am OK with that. i am lucky enough to fly some really nice rental aircraft at the Travis AFB aero club in Rio Vista, glass panels, fairly new, well maintained, leather, turbo charged, excellent prices, but it is not like flying at .72 Mach at 30,000. wish it was but the thrill is not the same.
as a side note, i also need avice about getting a CFI. i dont need it for the 1500 PIC total time but i will use it to help pay for my multi hours. other instructors, friends at southwest, delta and former UPS pilot claim i dont need it but it makes fiscal sense my concern is about getting a pink slip. i am about 30 months out from this airline plan and I know the initial CFI has a high bust rate. that has me worried about how it would look. not doing the CFI will delay me about a year to come up with the extra cash to buy the multi time. what do ya think?
as a side note, i also need avice about getting a CFI. i dont need it for the 1500 PIC total time but i will use it to help pay for my multi hours. other instructors, friends at southwest, delta and former UPS pilot claim i dont need it but it makes fiscal sense my concern is about getting a pink slip. i am about 30 months out from this airline plan and I know the initial CFI has a high bust rate. that has me worried about how it would look. not doing the CFI will delay me about a year to come up with the extra cash to buy the multi time. what do ya think?
Last edited by skork; 09-11-2012 at 12:57 PM.
09-11-2012 | 02:17 PM
#35
Line Holder
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 58
Likes: 0
From: Left and Right
So what's wrong with helicopters? I got a Comm RW addon 11 years ago and I had the time of my life flying helicopters.
Check out Air Methods website for hiring requirements for pilots, nurses and paramedics. It sounds like you are on the paramedic track.
BTW- avation isn't the only profession that has gotten beaten down. There are investment bankers, lawyers, bankers that are out of work or getting no bonuses. Even in my state of CT million doillar homes are now selling at a discount.[/QUOTE]
Having a paramedic background doesn't matter when flying EMS. Also, a huge thing to consider is the amount of flight time, in helicopters with turbine engines you will need just to meet the mins for the various EMS companies.
Check out Air Methods website for hiring requirements for pilots, nurses and paramedics. It sounds like you are on the paramedic track.
BTW- avation isn't the only profession that has gotten beaten down. There are investment bankers, lawyers, bankers that are out of work or getting no bonuses. Even in my state of CT million doillar homes are now selling at a discount.[/QUOTE]
Having a paramedic background doesn't matter when flying EMS. Also, a huge thing to consider is the amount of flight time, in helicopters with turbine engines you will need just to meet the mins for the various EMS companies.
09-15-2012 | 07:02 PM
#36
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 270
Likes: 0
I don't usually answer posts but I am going to give it a shot for you.
The pilot shortage is crap, the schools and magazines have been talking about this for years, airlines also try to use it to talk the gov out of any legislation that restricts their ability to rape and pillage their pilots at will.
I heard all of this when I graduated in 1990, I spent 10 yrs flying regionals and cargo, I was hired in 2001 by a major cargo carrier , I won't mention which one,but it's not fdx. After 11.5 yrs here I make around 200k and I do actually hold week on week off schedules. However there is no progression and I honestly can't say the personal price I have payed and continue to pay is worth it. The majors are no longer a guarantee if you get there you will be lucky but the pay and benefits are not what they once were
I have missed so much with my son and daughter these are things I will never get back, while the money is nice in retrospect the memories would have been better. I am lucky I still have a pension and good pay and I am the only one of my friends who are not divorced, but my wife is a one in a million and has always been very flexible and willing to step up to the plate and be a single parent when required this is a very lonely lifestyle and not many can do it.
I guess what I am saying is this is your choice but it is very hard on your family and requires a lot of sacrifice
You won't make a living for awhile so be prepared. If I knew what I know now when I started I think I might have gone down a different path.
The pilot shortage is crap, the schools and magazines have been talking about this for years, airlines also try to use it to talk the gov out of any legislation that restricts their ability to rape and pillage their pilots at will.
I heard all of this when I graduated in 1990, I spent 10 yrs flying regionals and cargo, I was hired in 2001 by a major cargo carrier , I won't mention which one,but it's not fdx. After 11.5 yrs here I make around 200k and I do actually hold week on week off schedules. However there is no progression and I honestly can't say the personal price I have payed and continue to pay is worth it. The majors are no longer a guarantee if you get there you will be lucky but the pay and benefits are not what they once were
I have missed so much with my son and daughter these are things I will never get back, while the money is nice in retrospect the memories would have been better. I am lucky I still have a pension and good pay and I am the only one of my friends who are not divorced, but my wife is a one in a million and has always been very flexible and willing to step up to the plate and be a single parent when required this is a very lonely lifestyle and not many can do it.
I guess what I am saying is this is your choice but it is very hard on your family and requires a lot of sacrifice
You won't make a living for awhile so be prepared. If I knew what I know now when I started I think I might have gone down a different path.
That being said, the doubts you have articulated suggest that flying might not be the right thing for you at this stage in your life. There is no reason you can't get your PPL now and fly GA while you pursue your first career, and then later make flying your second or third career. This approach might let you concentrate on things that are more important to you now, and you might get greater satisfaction from a flying career later in life.
09-15-2012 | 07:10 PM
#37
Da Hudge
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 17,473
Likes: 0
From: Poodle Whisperer
In the meantime, I've been gone maybe 20 nights this year with no end in sight of that changing. My wife is preggo and I will be around A LOT for our first child.
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