Well said. I haven't been at the regionals since 99 so I haven't seen the changes that have occured to the regional guys. However, I think we are about to have a record setting couple of hiring years starting late next year. In my experience majors like military and regional guys over corporate guys (although I know plenty of guys that have gone from corporate to majors). I have interviewed at United, Northwest, Southwest and TWA, I only got one offer (United Feb 2008) but between the 65 rule and the sharp economic downturn I never set foot on property. The reason I tell this story is that in all four of my major airline interviewing experience I only had one other corporate guy with me during any of those interview days. Most of the guys were regional guys or at the southwest interview military guys.

 

While I agree with parts of your statement, I disagree with the "established fortune 500 companies" part. The owner of the plane I fly is a CEO of a very large private company not on the 500, and is personally wealthy. Even if in some strange set of circumstances his company (which is thriving in this economy) went under, he would need the plane for his family. He is in the market for a new plane as we speak. I find it hard to believe there are not more individuals like him out there.

There are some great 91 jobs out there. I am glad I left 121: Uninspiring, repetitive schedules, and boring, depressed, and ****ed-off crews.

Yes, there are uncertainties with any market, but the airlines have not exactly been the safe haven for job security lately, if ever.

Whatever you choose, good luck and fly safely!

 

You can discount one's corporate knowledge when they preach that "Fortune 500" departments are the only way to go....

Many are very disfunctional, like the airlines. Many pay less than they should, and many are run by the loser who happens to want to sit in the office and micromanage pilots all day.

A good, small, non-management company part 91 can be a fantastic job.

 

I love mine!

 

I did 4.5 years at the regionals before I finally was able to hold Captain, did another year and left for a small corporate job. That fell apart and I was unemployed for six months before walking into another job posted on the internet. I was hired because the two Part 91 pilots quit not long after delivery (wanted more money and no Part 135) and a) I was typed as the job was an Embraer Legacy and I became the Chief Pilot on it and b) I put a package together rather than a resume.

I really loathed the airline life after five plus years at my regional. But I was also a commuter. After 2+ years gone from the airlines guess where I ended up? Delta and I am so glad I applied and so thankful I got hired as I never saw a corporate job with this QOL but this time mind you I'm not a commuter.

In the corporate world I will say this. I think one of the best jobs I saw in corporate was Bellsouth, it might still be a good job as AT&T but it's no longer where I lived. A lot of the corporate I saw was a two man operation for a private owner under Part 91 in what amounted to a deadend job where you flew almost exclusively on weekends and holidays and you were on a short leash. Saw one owner sell his BE350 simply because the pilots were unavailable one weekend. Also, the word 'divorce' meant unemployment, saw that too. And don't ask for time off in advance, you have too much off as it is looking backwards.

I also saw a lot of Part 91/135 "charter managed" jobs, wouldn't prefer that either unless I was in control of the trip approvals because if the charter company has it's way that airplane would never be home.

When it came to work ethic you seriously do have to enjoy more than just the flying. You have to want to do books, manage the maintenance, clean planes and so on. Unfortunately, and this is absolutely a swipe at those who make the same comment I just made, there are a lot of straight corporate pilots who won't lift a finger while at the same time lambasting airline pilots for not willing to put that extra effort in. It was pure hypocrisy and when it came time to hire my replacement we really struggled to find a pilot who'd take on the work load and the part 91 pilot that was hired failed miserable at it. The owner would've been better off with some of the younger ex-Part 121 guys willing to take on the job. BTW, our deal was we owned the building/hangar and it was our own tug, own fuel farm, own aircraft, own 'accountant', no mechanic, Part 91, Part 135, no assitance and part car/document storage manager and btw, don't screw anything up.

Right now I work 8-10 days a month and make more than I did as a corporate chief pilot and my pay was pretty good there. When I flew the 767 I worked 6 days a month except for May-August. All that to say, depends on the job and who you're working for.

I'd say a good Navajo, King Air or Citation level job for a company (not an individual) used for day trips is preferable to me over a privately owned big jet. In the airlines you'll see guys stay 20-30 years on narrowbody aircraft and only dabble in the international stuff at the end because seniority/QOL to them trumps the size of the jet. I think after having a big plane to manage I'd agree that that carries over to corporate.

If I could give one single piece of advice to anyone in aviation... make as many friends as possible and even when the guy is a total jackass, be professional. Networking gets you jobs, good networking gives you those jobs that don't require types. Sadly, a lot of owners won't throw down the $10-20K to train someone so that's where the types come in.

If you work for a contract company abide by their contract or expect to pay them back and you better never ever not tell your employer about the contract or you could end up out of your new job and your old one. Heard several stories about that when the employer got a bill from the contract company because they unknowningly hired their contract pilot who was still on contract.

 

also make sure your email has your name amd isn't something like [email protected] or [email protected].

And in your cover letter dont insult the reader knowingly or unknowingly. Loved a letter I got from a guy who said he didn't have as much time as an airline pilot because airline pilots simply build their time in the runup pad waiting to takeoff or in holding patterns and he built it one flight at a time. I tossed that one.

So dont insult corporate, airline or military or anyone for that matter and take each person you meet one person at a time. just a fwiw.

 

Forgot to Bid: Could you expound on the " package vs resume"? Just interested in other ideas.

 

What he said! Corp, you give sage advice for your young years

 

I put a portfolio together and stuffed it in the mailbox. I got a call that they found it. I was a nobody to them so it was my best shot of putting a face to a resume.

When I interviewed it was sitting on the owners desk and we went through it page by page believe it or not.

As with a lot of folks looking in the corporate world I didn't have a type in a common Part 91 aircraft so when I saw this job's aircraft (I was typed in) and location I went all out. I didn't want to have just another cover letter and resume but at the same time I didn't want to violate the #1 rule of either by having something that was not concise, professional looking and 1 page in length. So basically what I did was make an appendix to the cover letter and resume but with pictures and color .

I don't have it anymore so I don't remember the outline but I think it was basically the same structure and rules as any cover letter template- me, this job and what I can do for you. It was absolutely tailored to this specific job and employer btw.

When it came to me I believe it was in chronological order but only pertinent to the job stuff such as part 121 experience and 135 management experience. When I talked about my flying background as it related to his plane it was important not to just talk about the several thousand hours in type but also to talk about how I was trained, where I flew and what kind of conditions I flew in.

All positive and unassuming and goal oriented because I wanted him to know what I could do for him and the philosophy I would employ if offered the job (work hard and communicate well). Really it wasn't but maybe 7 or so pages with ample white space but I said what I wanted to say and combed it over and over. I'm far more creative than detailed oriented but people want to hire detail oriented employees so it took me a long time to write short.

I used a simple word document. Pictures did include me but trust me, I tried to keep those at a minimum, as in only on the front page, because I am nothing to behold. To emphasize I work hard and have a strong focus on communication I included (via a PDF printer and the copy and paste function) samples of the multitude of things I had created in my 135 time.

Take it or leave it but I was desperate and tired of being overlooked.

 

Forgot to Bid: Thanks! Although I've been fortunate to still have a good job through these trying times. I'm always looking for great tips to improve my resume and ways to present them and myself.