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Texas oil fields

Old 06-28-2012, 08:41 AM
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Default Texas oil fields

Just seeing if anyone has looked into this? Seems like some real money to be made if working for the right company and things keep booming.


I keep going back and forth on what to do. Currently, I work as an instructor and part 91 contract pilot. This year will probably bring 40-42k. This might be considered good pay unless you are like me and have a wife and two kids. With a family of four, this is still fairly crappy...I've come to realize. Every day I ask myself, where exactly is this going?

One of the guys I'm instructing is a big guy at an oil company. He has been training me to get my CDL. He says they cant get enough people to pull rigs, chemicals, oil etc.

I have mulled this over plenty. This is all difficult to even stomache because I did get a bachelors in aviation and have been doing this for a couple years now.

Every single company is hiring down here. This company is paying 21-23 bucks per hour based on experience. They have an affordable premium health care. So no more Medicaid for the kids. Overtime, all the time. Thirty bucks a day per diem.

Okay...so you say that the oil boom won't last, it might not...BUT, getting 6-12 months experience on a flatbed or even fuel tanker writes your ticket later. Even the guys doing local freight(central, old dominion, etc.) are pulling down 60+ a year.

We are still young, yes...but as a family we need structure and are ready to settle down somewhere and buy a house. I love flying but love taking care of my family even more. Also, I'm the only one working because the kids are still young. One thing I will not do is have my wife go to work so the kids can go to stranger-care so that I can keep flying. I will give up flying in a heartbeat before that happens.


I started flight school before they all came along. I got married in my last year in college and also had my first child then too. I was at that point I started to see all this unfold. When we had our second child, it all became more clear....being a pilot is great but with part time work 80-100 hours per month...also comes part time pay.
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Old 06-28-2012, 08:53 AM
  #2  
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Joined APC: Jan 2009
Position: Airbus 319/320 Captain
Posts: 880
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Originally Posted by Fourpaw View Post
Just seeing if anyone has looked into this? Seems like some real money to be made if working for the right company and things keep booming.


I keep going back and forth on what to do. Currently, I work as an instructor and part 91 contract pilot. This year will probably bring 40-42k. This might be considered good pay unless you are like me and have a wife and two kids. With a family of four, this is still fairly crappy...I've come to realize. Every day I ask myself, where exactly is this going?

One of the guys I'm instructing is a big guy at an oil company. He has been training me to get my CDL. He says they cant get enough people to pull rigs, chemicals, oil etc.

I have mulled this over plenty. This is all difficult to even stomache because I did get a bachelors in aviation and have been doing this for a couple years now.

Every single company is hiring down here. This company is paying 21-23 bucks per hour based on experience. They have an affordable premium health care. So no more Medicaid for the kids. Overtime, all the time. Thirty bucks a day per diem.

Okay...so you say that the oil boom won't last, it might not...BUT, getting 6-12 months experience on a flatbed or even fuel tanker writes your ticket later. Even the guys doing local freight(central, old dominion, etc.) are pulling down 60+ a year.

We are still young, yes...but as a family we need structure and are ready to settle down somewhere and buy a house. I love flying but love taking care of my family even more. Also, I'm the only one working because the kids are still young. One thing I will not do is have my wife go to work so the kids can go to stranger-care so that I can keep flying. I will give up flying in a heartbeat before that happens.


I started flight school before they all came along. I got married in my last year in college and also had my first child then too. I was at that point I started to see all this unfold. When we had our second child, it all became more clear....being a pilot is great but with part time work 80-100 hours per month...also comes part time pay.
Fly as a hobby and not as a career. If I had to do it all over again and I was in your position, it would be a "no brainer". Take care of your family first and foremost and the rest will, by Gods good grace, come in it's own time. Good luck.
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