Leaving Aviation for HVAC/Plumbing or Similar
11-02-2023, 04:57 PM
#31
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2021
Posts: 293
Originally Posted by rickair7777
Sky, have you given any thought to coming back to the airlines?
If there ever was a time, it's now
If there ever was a time, it's now
To the OP, not sure if you come back to this forum often, or been lurking around here since you posted, or if you’re still in the profession, but have you considered freight at all? You don’t have to deal with some of the things you listed, like pax, TSA, and FA’s.
11-04-2023, 04:18 AM
#32
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2022
Posts: 263
Not sure if OP ever went through with this, but as someone with a Master Plumber and HVACR license, take it from me:
If you’re at a major airline, or even at a regional with a good shot of moving up, you’d have to be out of your mind to leave flying for a trade. It is hard to find another career that can offer you the same combination of pay, schedule flexibility, and enjoyment that major airline flying can offer you.
Most of the people who say “go into the trades” or “trades pay great” are people with no relevant experience and just repeat what they read online. Most of the work is hard, dirty, and exhausting. You might not be dealing with poop all the time, but you‘ll have a bunch of fun driving hours every day and fixing or install fixtures you’ve done a thousand times before.
You think pilots are bad? You’ll deal with coworkers who are not that educated and you’ll feel stupider just being next to. I’m not saying it’s not a good path for some people, but not coming from professional aviation. You’ll never come close to what you can make flying unless you have your own shop, and that’s not a guarantee.
You need to realize that for every millionaire owner you read about in the trades, they likely have at least a handful of guys working for them making $25/hr if they’re lucky. Many of the large commercial contractors that work on big jobs are companies that have been around for decades, many even 100 years old. They are then passed down to the kids who continue to build on what was started.
There’s a lot more to think about if you need to PM
If you’re at a major airline, or even at a regional with a good shot of moving up, you’d have to be out of your mind to leave flying for a trade. It is hard to find another career that can offer you the same combination of pay, schedule flexibility, and enjoyment that major airline flying can offer you.
Most of the people who say “go into the trades” or “trades pay great” are people with no relevant experience and just repeat what they read online. Most of the work is hard, dirty, and exhausting. You might not be dealing with poop all the time, but you‘ll have a bunch of fun driving hours every day and fixing or install fixtures you’ve done a thousand times before.
You think pilots are bad? You’ll deal with coworkers who are not that educated and you’ll feel stupider just being next to. I’m not saying it’s not a good path for some people, but not coming from professional aviation. You’ll never come close to what you can make flying unless you have your own shop, and that’s not a guarantee.
You need to realize that for every millionaire owner you read about in the trades, they likely have at least a handful of guys working for them making $25/hr if they’re lucky. Many of the large commercial contractors that work on big jobs are companies that have been around for decades, many even 100 years old. They are then passed down to the kids who continue to build on what was started.
There’s a lot more to think about if you need to PM
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