Stuck around 850 hours getting frustrated.
 

I've been stuck here for about 5 months, no outlook on landing a job. I've applied at numerous places made the phone calls and nothing. I'm getting frustrated with all thats associated with the love of flying for a living. I don't know where I am going wrong.

It seems people I know that have less hours and experience than me get jobs I only dream of. I know it's a rough road, I've been at it since 2005. I don't want to quit but I don't know which direction to go!

End rant :mad:

Where have you applied to and where have you gone to put a face to the name?

Well same here, I built a mere 1500 honest hours in ten years of trying. You just keep looking for skydiver pilot, CFI, aerial surveys, jobs like that. I did all those jobs. A lot of people find a steady full time job instructing or pipeline inspection or what have you, and knock it out in a few years. If you find one of these jobs, make sure you are getting the quantities of flight time you need to fulfill ATP or Part 135 requirements, a ton of daytime local vfr is not enough. If you have bills babies and loans, flying full time might not be feasible for you since these entry level jobs pay nothing and you are paid in flight time rather than money. But keep going, you'll get there.

What type of flying have you been doing to get to 850? Are you willing to relocate? My biggest success getting out of the "low time" stigma, was my willingness to move when an opportunity came.

I was able to get a job almost on the spot at 400 hours when the industry was in a worse place than it is now by being willing to move across the country for it. If you're not getting offers at 850 hours with the regionals almost all hiring then something is wrong. I'm betting what's wrong is that you're not willing to relocate.

I relocated for a Crappy caravan job, you can do it too with the proper budgeting.

If you have a CFI, you should have no problem getting a job. Especially summer time, flight schools pretty darn busy.

Disagree 100%. This post is way off.

1. Regionals are NOT all hiring, and of the ones who are, some are only hiring for attrition.
2. There is no shortage of pilots at ANY of the regionals as far as I am concerned. NO shortage. Maybe later, but not now.
3. Any minor weakness in qualifications (tickets, busts, low ME, etc.) still counts.
4. MUST hire people with 1500 hours, or close, it per the new ATP rule. In fact, you must have the other times required to take the ATP checkride that he does not have, almost certainly.

This guy faces the same uphill effort any new pilot faced in the last 25 years.

I have done charter flying for a local outfit since 250 hrs. I left for reasons I would rather not get into, just say planes were not up to par. Relocating is pretty much out of the question, I don't mind being gone for a few months but can't relocate.

As far as the regionals hiring at 850 where? ATP requirements are 1500 they will not look at you unless you have 1499 or more. I applied to numerous airlines about 9 months ago. Every reply began with " Sorry, you will not have enough hours by the time the ATP rule takes effect".


I do not have my CFI, I've been thinking about going back and getting it. I have a decent amount of Turbine time, 400+ multi, 82 actual, 140 ish night, I have a good amount of cross country time being thats was pretty much all of our flying besides Banner tow.

If you aren't willing to relocate then good luck, you face a very steep uphill battle.

You know you can fly VFR 135 with 500 and IFR with 1200... You have thrown out some numbers but how much of that is PIC? You are not really in a bargaining position and definitely need to be open to relocation... If you are not, I would think twice about spending any more on additional ratings, Etc.

Jobs won't come to you, you got to go to the jobs. Simple as that. Past employer screwed you around? Use that experience to find the next job and use the contacts you've built along the way.

There's your problem


There's another problem.

If you're not willing to relocate then you're not going to do well in Aviation. I relocated for three years as a CFI building hours, then I spent a year and a half commuting across the country at the regionals. As much as relocating sucked commuting sucked a lot more. I could have been 100+ seniority numbers higher if I had relocated earlier instead of waiting around feeling sorry for myself.

I'm not sure you'll get much sympathy on here saying that you're unwilling to relocate and are frustrated with your position in aviation. Everyone on this board has either paid their dues or is still currently paying their dues. Mostly the latter.

Brandon,

Have you looked at some Alaska 135 VFR operators? I know you can't "relocate" but you could live up there for a few months, get a few hundred hours, and get on with your career. A few places up there have 2 on 2 off schedules, and I saw today on the Orange website that ACE Air Cargo in Anchorage is taking B1900 FO's with 500 hours. Alaska is a different environment, but lots of guys did their time up there and its really paid off. Just a thought.

If you don't live in an area with a lot of GA and charter traffic, an are not willing to move, you are going to continue to be frustrated. Places like Orlando and Atlanta have multiple GA airports with high levels of traffic, which offers opportunity. If that isn't your story, and you can't get a banner tow, skydiver, glider puller, CFI gig, then get 3 jobs, buy a cheap Cessna 150, and fly it for 650 hours. Then sell it and go get a job, but you will still probably have to move or commute.

Totally agree. I started out dropping skydivers and towing gliders, never got my CFI and got on with a seasonal 135 VFR job up here in April that will run through Sept. I got hired with 830 TT and am already at 1020 which is all cross country (and half of that is over 50NM). I'll be looking to move up to 135 IFR work when I'm done up here, then from there to either air ambulance, charter work or Skywest (only regional I would consider). Hands on flying experience is important to employers up here as well as a great work ethic. Pay is pretty decent up here aswell... about 3k a month where I'm at. Send me a PM if you want any further info.

I hope it wasn't with Pacific Wings.. and for the OP... don't move to a Pacific Wings job.. you'll regret it.

It isnt Pacwings. I knew some of the people who roughed it out there though and sometimes my gig sure feels like I'm right there with them.

Can I ask why you can't move? Family reasons? Financial reasons? Comfort of home reasons? Don't need details, just general topic...

The regionals are hiring like crazy, but they wont touch him with 850 hours. You are required by law to have a minimum of 1500 hours to operate for a 121 carrier.

Where you live? Ever try these guys? They have a bunch of domicles and no mins to apply.

AirNet Career Requirements | AirNet.com

Dude, you gotta be willing to move. The best advice I was ever given was "...buy a small pickup truck, (dont make payments) and only have enough stuff to fit into the bed of it. You will move a lot your first 10 years or so of flying full time." I've moved 6 times in the last 2 years, twice for the regional I'm flying for, and I'm expecting a few more moves until I get to one of the companies I want to work for. I tried to stay local, unwilling to move, but it didn't work out.

Dues are to be paid, and you will have to be willing to pay your dues every step along the way to move up.

Didn't mean to be harsh or anything, but it's the nature of the industry... keep pushing for it

Things trickle down. When the majors hire the regionals lose pilots and hire. When the regionals hire CFI jobs and time building jobs lose pilots fast to the regionals. When I said that the regionals are hiring like crazy so he should have no problem finding a job I meant that CFI jobs and time building jobs are probably desperate for pilots or will be desperate for pilots soon.

Actually, not so much. Where I currently instruct, for the first time in like 2-3 years they have people calling and applying all of the time that have at least some prior experience, and when they hired a couple instructors a few months ago, they actually turned down some people with a decent amount of experience because they had so many applicants to choose from.

I'm looking to move on from instructing, but there isn't much of anything for pilots under 1500 hours (unless I had parents willing to fund me while I live on a $14k/year paycheck).

Once people hit the ATP mins threshold I'm sure that opens up a lot more opportunities, but there are a lot of pilots stuck in limbo waiting for ATP mins, and not really enough time-building jobs to go around.

I think Brandon didn't like the responses everyone gave, took his ball and went home.

Yes, and the OP has not logged on for weeks. As a service to those who are still here, thread closed.