galaxy flyer

Don't get me wrong--I agree the pension shouldn't be passed up. There are a slew of opportunities beyond the majors in 2023, just I will be at the other side of what might be an historic hiring spree. There will be loads of corporates, FAR 135, in addition to majors. And, heck, 15 years as an F/O and 5 as a narrow-body captain ain't bad. I know EAL guys who managed just that at NWA.

GF

Rama

I think the wise thing is to take the pension. You may or may not make the big bucks flying, but the regular monthly pension payments are something you will never see at an airline as a newhire today.

mspano85

Nothing wrong with being a career flight instructor on the side! When you retire you can take on other challenges!

That is my plan! One step at a time. I only plan to "rush" through my rating in the sense I'm doing part 141 rather than 61, but I plan to instruct for many years and use the money I make on the side to pay off any debt I accrue from the training.

firemedic

Yea not to mention, would be nice to have a side job not related to fire/medical......somethin different. Right now I work part time for another service that does ems.....kinda overdosed on it

bcpilot

First of all starting out at 32 or even 43 is not late. I will personally be 40 when I reach the Atp mins and join the class at a regional. I know a lot of people personally who are older than me and are preparing to be pilots.

If you want to wait 9 yrs for a pension, then I'd recomend that you use these 9 yrs to get ready for a flying job. Also, have a good plan on how you want to use these 9 yrs. Remember that you will need to reach 1500TT at the very minimum to be ready for a regional. Once you cross that number, you can start doing some GA stuff, air ambulance, etc etc on the side without giving up your job. Possibilities are endless but will depend on where you live. Having a couple thousand hours with lots of varied experience in the next 9 yrs is also achievable....

But where to start...

If have already have a private, then I'd suggest that you think about buying your own single engine plane & work towards instrument & commercial in your own plane. Do the CFI/II also but only if you want to.

Then you will have some years to build time in your own plane. You can instruct part time on your days off and even offer time building pkgs to others for $35-$40 per hour depending on what airplane you have.

This is a cost effective way for people who have a stable good paying job & in the long run this will workout cheaper than renting from a school and then slowly building time as a cfi. And you will always be busy & flying..

Feel free to ask for help and best of luck..

firemedic

That's an interesting twist on it......gettin plane etc......not sure i could do that ....I make decent money but that mite be tough

Rocketsurgeon

This is an interesting topic. If it were me I would do what one of the other posts said. Fly on your off days, get as much experience and create as many contacts as possible. Get to your CFI as soon as possible. This will help you get the ratings done as fast as possible and you can actually use your CFI. I definitely would not make a move out of your current job until you have your 20 years. The financial stability with that would be awesome. The only downside will be that you will have potential missed opportunities in the aviation world until then. However if you are instructing even part-time, that will be a good way to stay proficient and current and keep an ear into the aviation market. Good Luck!

firemedic

Here is the flip side to the whole scenario. The way our pension works.....at 20 years, we get 50% of base salary. Every year you stay after 20, it goes up a few %. When you hit 32 years, your maxed out at around 72ish%. You can't collect till age 52.....which means if I retire after 20 years.....it'll be 8 years until I can collect .....50% of base salary. So not like I retire in 20 years and start gettin payments from pension

Pilotpip

If you're like most firefighters I've known, the shifts leave you with a couple days per week of downtime. Most have side jobs doing construction. Why not take that to get your ratings now and instruct part time? You have 9 years to decide if you want to retire and go to the airlines or continue doing the CFI thing part time while you are still at the fire department. Take the money you make instructing and put it in the bank to supplement your income when you retire or continue with the FD and fly as a hobby and means of making extra cash.

Tloc

Don't give up on the sure thing (pension). Finish what you are doing and then start your new career. Good luck!