Is there still hope for me?!
 

Alright, so it's officially the end of the year and it's time for me to make some changes. A year and a half ago I had quit my airline job for what I thought were greener pastures in a career change. Needless to say, it didn't pan out. Since then I have been picking up odd jobs just to stay afloat, all the while sinking more and more into debt.

I've been actively seeking a job doing ANYTHING for the past 3 months with little to no luck. I've tried Home Depot, Office Depot, even Pizza Hut won't hire me all on account of being "over-qualified." It seems that non-pilots really can't see pilots doing anything else for a living. This leads me back to aviation. When they say that it gets in your blood I'm pretty sure that it's a way of saying "pigeon-holed into a career".

Here are my qualifications:

2000TT, 1300ME, 1100 TURBINE SIC, 800PIC, EMB-145 SIC Type.

Stupidly, I let my CFI expire a couple of years ago since I was overwhelmed by recurrent at the time of renewal.

All I am looking for is a little good news, if anyone has it. I would really like to stay here in southeast Texas, but I'm willing to relocate anywhere if need be. I'm hoping to hear that maybe Eagle or XJT may be hiring in the next 6 months but I'm not even sure I can wait that long.

Any advice or constructive criticism is welcomed!

Your fine, come back in, regional's are starting to hire again, 2010 things will move, if you can sit this out the next 5 years, its going to move like the runs

Your story and flight times are about a duplicate of mine. One bit of advice, don't mention anything about aviation on applications when trying to get non aviation jobs. This is a killer and does not help get you in anywhere. It's actually better to have "holes" in your employment history than to mention aviation. Hell, for some of the jobs you applied for you might not want to even mention anything about college, if you have any. Unfortunately, aviation is an unstable, life commitment type of career....if that makes sense.

There are rumors of companies hiring soon, but I think a lot of it is them trying to pool apps in case the economy takes off soon. They want to be ready. I read a lot of financial web sites, and I see nothing that indicates things are getting better. Aviation is in lock step with the economy.When it's up aviation is up, when it's down aviation is down. Remove the aviation from your resume, apply for a regular jobs and keep an eye on web sites like this one.

Good advice. Its almost better to tell them you've been incarcerated than that you're a pilot. No dogs, no aviators! For a while places like Home Depot and Starbucks were havens for downwardly displaced professionals/pilots but all that has changed.

A good friend of mine is a manager for Kroger. He told me they hired a couple of pilots to stock shelves part time. One quit after the first day. The other kept flaking on him and he eventually fired him. He said both the guys were in so much debt and had no money that store management thought they would have been looking for OT and be good hires. They were both on the verge of declaring bankruptcy. My friends manager told him never to hire pilots again! I imagine this is not an isolated case, and word has gotten out about aviators!

Try to get a job with UPS or FedEx doing ANYTHING! Sling boxes, work the counter, drive the truck, work the ramp. Do anything they offer you as long as the paycheck says "UPS" or "FedEx" on it. Don't make a big deal about being a pilot. You're just a guy who needs a job. Do your job well and after being their a while make it known that you'd love to get into the flight ops side of things. Those guys love to hire from inside the company.
Also, renew your CFI! It's an easy process and it gives you another potential income.

Take caution with this route also. I went down this road with FedEx and pretty much wasted 3-4 years of my life. Work for them because you need a job now, but don't count on a bright future with them unless you have some connections. You are just a number and one of many who are trying to do the same thing. I know FedEx was always hiring in the hub, but you would have to move to Memphis.:(

Seriously man try Domino's instead, I know a pilot that is doing that while collecting unemployment, it keeps him afloat for the meantime. Oh yeah and just like the other poster said don't mention Aviation unless they think its going to make you a better employee/Driver or something.

If your still young and can remember your old friends from highschool and their phone number it might be a good idea to call up old friends and see what they're doing for part time gigs and see if they can walk in your resume to any of the local stores that are hiring.

How about truck driving or construction? A CDL costs something, but if you were to call around I bet you could find someone willing to train on the job for that. I used to know firms with non-CDL trucks in the fleet who would train in order to have a steady supply of drivers. Or, perhaps you can find a retraining assistance program for any of a number of jobs from the government on the state or local level. Construction is a little slow now in many areas in the housing side, but it's a zero investment job and you may actually be able to find day laborer work temporarily until a lead comes along for full time work. There are jobs out there, only a matter of time until you find one IF you are looking. Good luck (and hard work).

Just keep in mind in many states a cdl lowers your legal bac even when driving on your time. In nj it lowers you to .06 just because you have a cdl. I heard its as low as .04 in one state. Would suck to get a dui at .05 after a beer, just to do a few weeks of parttime work, or attempt to, and kiss flying goodbye. Just my 2 cents.