What to do with my GOOD PAYING job
 

Just wondering what everyone thinks. I am a company pilot flying a PA31-350 When I am not flying I work 8 to 3 with an hour paid lunch. I currently have 1500 hours and 740 hours of twin PIC time. I make $40K a year with paid benefits (salary). Due to the lack of flying I am only putting about 150 hours a year in my logbook. Most of my time is cross-country with a lot of Southern Cal. flying. QUESTION?? Just wondering if you think it would be good to stick around after my contract is up next year or move on. I have a great QOL happy with my pay and get treated like gold. Hard to find in aviation. BUT, lack of flying, will it hurt me if something happens to this job in 5 years or so? Career wise what would be the smart thing to do? I am also 35 years old and washed out of regional airline training. I never made it to the sims. Hopefully all this information will help you guys give me some good advise. I also have a CFI and MEI. Thank You

Hard Times
 

If you leave that job you most likely will spend the rest of your life trying to duplicate it without satisfaction. Especially now with the current economy I would stay.

Skyhigh

I completely agree with SkyHigh(this is a rare event!!!). Seriously in this market, you gotta be crazy to let a job go.(unless it's a safety thing). Don't take this the wrong way either, but your times and experience aren't going to get you hired on too many places anyways. There's guys with turbine hours and type ratings out there without jobs.

If you're wanting more hours in the ole' logbook, maybe start teaching after work? I mean you're off at 3pm, that's plenty of time to get in at least one lesson a night after work. Also gives you a chance to network a little more. Never know when that student of yours is a big-wig at a company or knows the right person!

Yea man, why dont you see if your current employer will allow you to Instruct on the side. If not then be thankful for what you have.

Thank you for the advise. I do like my job just wish I could fly more. I also realize that getting 40k to be home everyday is very rare. I just wonder about the future, say 5 years down the road when I only have 2500 hours in my logbook and no turbine time how my career will be then if something happens to this job. I also know that good pay is hard to find. Also I really enjoy the people I do work with and the aircraft is maintained very well. We have our own mechanic on payroll and we have a blank check for anything the airplane needs. I am very lucky just wondering what everyone else would do in my shoes a year or two from now. Look for turbine hours or stay and relax and enjoy the semi-retired life.

Keep what you have now, and if you're interested, start looking elsewhere as the economy starts to turn around.

QOL is always king...

Wait . . . I thought that was cash!?!? :D

Stay where you are, and find a hobby if you're getting stir crazy.

Believe it or not, your in a good place right now - Congratulations.

Why did you wash out of flight training? Do you have any indication you would qualify for anything else?

I washed out of training because I didn't pass my systems final. I missed it by two questions. I needed a 80 percent on the test. Being very honest I went into class and knew nothing about the aircraft I would be flying and just seemed to be behind the entire class. I did fine on the indoc test, all limitations and flows just came up short on the systems. I was also dealing with trying to sell a house/foreclosure. No excuses just came up a little bit short. I am not real happy about that but I did study and did not screw off during ground school. I honestly gave it 120%. I was released from class before the sims even started.

Enjoy it for gods sake. IF an opportunity presented itself that would be different, but I certainly wouldnt be leaving that job before I had a sure thing. There are a ton of guys in this industry who would love just such a gig.

You would have to pry me away from that job with a crowbar.

I believe their are alot of people like you in this industry right now who are in jobs the at they dont want to spend their carreer at but cannot justify leaving at this time. I am one of those, just keep up the faith and this economy will turn around sooner or later, at least thats what I keep telling myself.

Trade ya, I'm selling real estate right now and contract flying for about 7hrs a month.

Old timer flyer
 

It almost sounds like you have the almost perfect flying job. I've been flying for 36 years, looking for a job like that. I also went through regional training, for RAH, but quit after Sim 6 (only 8 Sim sessions). No regrets, I realized the regional thing was not for me. Still looking for that perfect flying job....Stay where you're at until you are SURE you want to move on to something else. Good luck!

Grass is always greener on the other side. That is until you step on the lawn and see all the weeds. Stay put.

seems like they like you a lot.
Would they let you get your ATP for "personal development"?
Instruct on the side, on weekends or whenever you want, but for heavens sake stay where you are!
Next time you fly it, forget about your other duties and imagine being paid $266/ hour. Beat that.

If you did not have any jet time going in then I would not take very hard to have failed the systems test. The ability to memorize tons of new information without supporting experience does not constitute proof you are incompetent as a pilot and in fact you might have been a very good one. Just out of curiosity, what airplane was it? It may be prove you aren't a quick memorizer, probably so, but some people require practical experience to support new information in order to organize and be comfortable with it. Such people are more circumspect in how they approach new topics and are better at analysis because they really know how the subject works rather than accept a more shallow, superficial understanding. They prefer to prove things for themselves rather than be fed random facts, or take them at face value, and their motive is different as well. Regionals are businesses, they like people who get it quick because they people cheaper to train. They do not care about how people learn or the advancement of knowledge.

I am wondering if I know you. Were you at Mesaba in late summer/early fall of '07?

I was training in the EMB 120. From what I understand it is one of the harder ones to learn the systems in. I really understood the systems just do really bad on written multple choice questions. No excuses I didn't make the grade. Looking back I would have done a jet introduction course first. Also it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have a great QOL and home ever night. It just worked out much better for me this way. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Right now I am happy to have a job I can live off from. Thanks for all the feed back. I wish everyone else well that is trying to find work regardless of what it is in these extremely hard times we are facing.

I've got to say, I think you have a GREAT attitude. Taking ownership of your mistakes and realizing that things happen for a reason, not letting it drag you down and putting forth the effort to making a better situation for yourself.

And as many have said, you may not get rich at your current job but you seem quite happy and content with it...and that's worth quite a bit of salary IMO.

I think he has a great attitude too, and by my experience this is a common trait among people who learn a little more slowly but they prefer to go more deep into things.

I just took a systems test on the C750 and did not make 80% on it either, not even close. In my class of 4, three of us failed the part on C750 systems, but none of us has any jet time at all. The guy who passed was a college dropout who had thousand of hours in DC9s and more than a hundred SIC hours in the C750 itself, but couldn't work a basic weight and balance problem. He just knew what was going on and it clicked for him. Luckily since the other 4 of us weren't there for a type it didn't matter, but it was kind of interesting. I do not make excuses on this, I happen to know one girl who took the same test with no jet time at all and she passed with an 89%.

Lots of good advice here. Instruct on the side (the networking is invaluable) and maybe try for a regional later when the economy turns around and your mind is less cluttered. It's a drop in both QOL and salary, though. You've already got what a lot of people want.

That Chieftain ain't gonna run forever, either. They might eventually replace it with something ... turbine powered. :)

Perhaps you answered your own question. I would join those that have advised you to try to instruct on the side from your main gig. However, lots of flight schools are hurting right now, too. The one that I am at has turned away several furloughed regional pilots looking for a replacement gig. Best of luck!

Weasel, here is your current situation:

1. You have a $40,000 a year job.

2. You have time on your hands.

3. The aviation market is drying up, as we speak, on a daily basis, while you are still employed!

4. R/J jobs don't pay more than minimum wage.

5. You are probably in a job were there is no micromanagement.

6. You are home every night without the daily death march though the terminal with your overnight and flight bags and dealing with TSA.

With the above being said... what's the downside?

WIth free time... fight insruct... go back to school... work part time elsewhere.

An airline that would wash you out for two points ain't worth flying for. Good luck and enjoy life.

Sounds like everyone else feels the same way I do, I am in a great place. I like the people I work with and they treat me great. And best of all I am flying a very well maintained aircraft for people that appreciate me and treat me great. I think I will just work on my next step, getting my ATP and try to pick up some hours on the side. Most important enjoy having a good QOL and a job at this time. Thanks for everyones opinions, and once again good luck to so many people looking for work. I know it is tough out there and it will get tougher. I lost two jobs due to company sellling out in the past two years, plus the wash out. I realized keeping on keeping on is the only way to look at it. You still have to get up and put your shoes on everyday. Thanks again and good luck to everyone and happy flying when you can.

I understand how you feel, I have been flying with my company for 3 years but due to the economic down turn they are getting rid on one airplane, the caravan and keeping the 1962 baron. And they are cutting my hours down to about 350 hours a year. I keep thinking if it gets much worse than I will be one of the next people to be laid off. So do I sit and wait it out or do I be proactive about my future and switch careers into something with a future...FBI...Although I wont be flying for a living I will be able to have a living to fly!

Stay where you're at. My dad flew a Navajo for many years, and went on to have a great career (20k hours and most jet). Enjoy being content, as you get older it get's harder and harder. A lot of us look back and would love to go back to a simpler time and just enjoy ourselves. Also, you're learning a lot of good aviation stuff flying a piston twin single pilot; arguably some of the most demanding flying out there.

IMHO, Get the ATP and get into bigger equiptment, turbine if you can. Believe me I know it's easier sad than done. I'm furloughed airline that had 10 years seniority. The pay may be less now but as the years go on you do want to be competitive with other pilots. The more experience the better. In the airline industry seniorty is everything. The sooner you get hired the more secure you are. I'm assuming you want to go the airline route because you accepted the previous job. Don't worry about washing out of the last job, it won't hurt you as much as you think if you don't let it. It's a life lesson and will make for a good conversation during an interview. Now if your happy where you are and think you want to stay there for a career then by all means stay. But since you asked the question I'm betteing you want to move to something better.

Stay put!
 

As everybody else has been saying, stay put.

Since I assume you flying P91, you shouldn't have any limits on flying. Use the MEI, Get a CFII ( didn't see if you had one) and get the ATP. See if your employer will help pay for it. It may help lower his insurance. Win, Win.

As a part time instructor (MEI,CFII) and contract pilot with a full time desk job, I average 400-600 hours and supliment my income by 12-15K a yeay.

I would love to leave my day job in manufacturing ( I hate it but it pays good), but if I left it and went to a regional, My salary wouldn't much more than my part time income! Yikes!:confused:

Every time I get the full time pilot fever, (I'm 43 ) I picture trying to support my wife and kids on regional pay and realize how much fun I have flying now.

If your day job involves working in the flight department, see if you can convince them to upgrade to turbine.:D Plenty of cost benifit info out there if theres a need for it.

I am in a similar situation and I agree with everyone else's answers here. Try to do as much instructing on the side or even work at a local fbo. The networking is the big thing. My current employer I met at a flight school and now he is talking about buying some heavy metal and giving me a second job as a sales manager. Bigger planes, bigger paycheck, more/diversified experience only because I worked on networking and stuck with it. Keep the right attitude and you'll be getting where you want to be in no time.