CrakPipeOvrheat

This is the one I applied to just this February. By the time they have another I'll be too old. I didn't pass the Biographical Assessment the first time around so I have no reason to believe I would the second time. On another forum the word is they got 28k apps in an 11 day window and cut 26k on the biographical assessment.

USMCFLYR

Wow!
I don't know what the biographical assessment entails but it seems to be a herd thinner if they use it as a means to cut 26K out of 28K apps.

outaluckagain

Dispatchers at the majors earn quite a bit, but it is the regionals that pull it down. Atlas pays pretty well, or at least a few years ago they did. Not sure if they still hire their own people though.

captain152

This just proves my point in my post. Whatever they're looking for is either insane or stupid.

wrxsteve

Yeah I heard the recent ATC slot was crazy. All the CTI students are going ape sh*t on how off the street candidates have just as much a shot as they do. Then again, Ive heard stories of off the street people out scoring CTI grads who washed out at the OKC facility.

That would of been priority number #1. However, who knows when the next hire date is and how they pick people, besides the fact the openings are low. It will be a crap shoot just like the recent Feb board.

I'm sort of in the same position as you, however Its for medical reasons too.

Dispatching seems like a fun job. Training isnt long, even if you dont meet the fast track requirements. Pay looks like crap esp in regionals, all the money is in the majors and you will have to be in it for the long haul to get those high numbers.

Ive also been looking at airport operations (specialist). Most starting salary for the entry level with no experience looks to be around mid 40s-50s, and it seems that you can move on to better positions that go into the 70-90s, maybe over six figures if you become director or manager of a large scale airport. Benefits looks great too because the airport is governed by the city/county. Anyone have any other info on this route? It doesnt get talked too much on these forums. I know one the members here is apart of AAAE. This route is also a possibility for you.

JamesNoBrakes

I know a little about dispatching, took some classes, looked into it. It's somewhat like the pilot gig, crazy hours, being on-call, etc. No commuting, although you do have to ride up front every once and a while for part of your currency. Pay at the regionals seems to follow that of pilots. Working for a large 121 is once again the carrot that's dangled and those jobs can be pretty darn lucrative. It's definitely a good cert to have added to your quiver IMO, but there are so many other aviation jobs out there that would keep you immersed in aviation and many wouldn't have the crazy hours. I wouldn't discount the dispatching gig, but I will plead with you to not have "airline pilot tunnel vision", the thing that caused many of us to get into this industry, which led us down the path of "flying=flying for an airline", and of course there are so many different kinds of flying and flying for hire out there, not to mention the management and support necessary for those jobs to exist.

SkyHigh

I learned that the guy who drives around the airport in the white truck with the yellow light made much more than a regional captain changing burnt out runway lights.

The hardest thing about changing careers is leaving the devil you know for the devil you don't know. It can be very hard to leave even a bad job for the unknown. I got lucky by being laid off. The older I get the more I realize that it was an incredible stroke of luck that my airline employer went under. It made it easy to change directions.

Sometimes it helps when applying to a new employer is to avoid mentioning that you were a pilot. Say that you worked for an airline in flight operations or something.

Skyhigh

SkyHigh

Another thing I have learned is that real jobs are hard work. Seems silly to mention however as pilots we are able to lull ourselves into thinking that we are having fun. A real job makes it difficult to create any illusions about having fun while at work.

Over time however almost any job can become challenging and rewarding though. The satisfaction that comes from being respected by your employer, earning a fair wage, and having access to a regular life is also very endearing to having a real job. It is nice not to have to worry about medicals or checkrides. Your value to the world is based upon what you can do over what you will do. Over time your sense of accomplishment and self respect returns.

I tell my kids that if you want to have control and affluence in your life to find the biggest pile of crud and dive in head first. If the job is unappealing and difficult enough few will follow and your value to the world will become greater over time. We get what we pay for in life. As pilots we expect to play and work and as a result we get a pretend paycheck and imaginary life.

Skyhigh

USMCFLYR

Doubtful, but I like to see the actual numbers - not just the famous SkyHigh 'I heard....'

Now just to be clear on the details too....are you trying to describe an actual airport manager whose responsibilities go far beyond driving around in a truck and changing light bulbs or are you trying to describe some basic airport maintenance worker? What airport would this be btw?

SkyHigh

USMCFLYR,

I was referring to a job posting at PDX I saw years ago while I was flying for a regional. At the time a new captain at my company earned around 40K. The advertisement was for a common airport maintenance guy and the starting pay was 55K plus the full show of benefits.

At the same time the starting pay for a basic firefighter in the same area was 49K. As you know better than I most common government jobs pay better and offer much better benefits than a private sector position. Five years ago I applied for a position at my local garbage transfer station. The job started at 52K and came with all the frills. The city's new position was to run the compost program for only four hours per day, a sweet gig for sure. They gave it to an internal applicant. Anything that is government related usually does very well when the full wages and benefits are taken into account.

On this very website I saw a banner ad that promoted assistance in getting jobs at the post office. It claimed 72K per year which is more than I would have even guessed. I have a friend who works for our local post office so I asked if the 72K was accurate and it was confirmed. How much do you earn flying a king air? Much more than a civilian counterpart I imagine. I bet you earn more than a legacy airline captain.

Skyhigh