Hello forum!
I’m currently a freshman at UND studying commercial aviation and aviation studies, as well as obtaining all certificates up to the R-ATP (after instructing for a year).

For those who have been to a flying university (like UND), and graduated pretty much into a regional; how was the step from living in a dorm/apt. to relocating and starting your initial training at a 135/121 operation? I am a big planner and I’m nervous about how it will be like to make such a switch in life style and if it is a financially-stressful event (I’m on full loans right now).
Also for those who have been at an airline for a while, what’s it like switching domiciles all the time and having to find new places to live? I feel like it would drain my pockets immediately having to find new places to live.

I know some of it is personal information that you wouldn’t discuss on a public forum, I just wanted vague opinions on it.
THanks!
Dmitri

 

First, relax. It will work out fine. It’s a road we’ve all been down one way or another. It’s a great time to be getting into the industry. I’ve seen this career work out for everyone I’ve known that didn’t create their own road blocks. Problems will come and go. The most important thing is to enjoy the ride along the way. Seems like yesterday I was telling my parents about what ratings I needed to get and in what order. Now, I’m wondering if it’s time to bid over to the 787. Enjoy it. It happens fast.

 

If you commute, it's pretty easy... you generally don't find a new place to live, just a new way to get to work.

 

I would reconsider staying enrolled at UND. Paying back a loan of that magnitude will probably be your biggest stressor.

 

I’m glad it worked out for you but most people won’t be figuring out how to bid over to the 787.

 

I would recommend not reading these forums, so you don't have to deal with nonsense like this.

 

You are way too early in the process to start worrying about the transition to 121/135. UND is a great place to prepare yourself to eventually make the transition. If you put in the time and effort while you are there the transition will be a very smooth one. Concentrate on what you are doing now and don't let worries about the future distract from your focus. Financially it will suck for the first couple years, but just keep your spending as low as possible and you will be fine. As far as paying back the loans, they have many different options to help you. I deferred mine as long as I could and then made payments based on income. Now I am making good money and I have no problem affording them. As far as moving bases, I would say you should stay wherever you are from and commute until you figure out where you want to be based and settle down long term. I would definitely not be trying to move every time you change bases. Hope that helps. Good luck and GO SIOUX!!

 

Focus on your studies, flying, and making time for yourself at this point. You’ll have 5-6 years to worry about a regional. Don’t burn yourself out, make sure you take the time to enjoy college. So take the opportunity to land on the grass, go somewhere fun and get food on XC’s, challenge your instructor to steep turn battles. Find a way to make the TCO fun.

 

Way too early to worry about that. This industry is ever-changing and will throw you curveballs. I’m a planner as well, but sometimes you have to just handle these things when they happen and go with the flow (i.e. equipment/base bidding, non-rev travel, where to live, airline selection...)

 

As a fellow UND grad with an obscene amount of student debt, and my first one 121 regional job paying less than $25,000 my first year, my parents sent me $200 a month just so I could buy groceries. Within the first two months, they closed down the domicile I thought I was going to get, and I moved halfway across the country, found the cheapest apartment I could find, and had a 30 minute drive to the airport.

At some point I moved in with a friend to create savings, but that still wasn’t enough as it took over five years to make more than $40,000. I was just treading water. Finally, I decided to move in with three other pilots in a cheap part of the country and drove 3.5 hours to work each week. It took me over five years upgrade, people hired two months before me upgraded within 2.5 years. At other regional airlines it took almost 10 years. You never know what you are going to get. Sometimes it really sucked. Other times I was the most senior FO in base and averaged 18 days off a month. To this day, the favorite part of my life was living with those three other guys when we were all first officers at the same airline.

Create friendships and have fun along the way. That’s my best suggestion. Live within your means as best you can, and that should be easier now more than ever considering the new pay rates and bonuses.

Also, we don’t switch domiciles all the time. A lot of that is choice, sometimes they close, but if you choose wisely it is more than likely going to stay open. However nothing is guaranteed. Further, if the airline closes the domicile they pay for your move usually. Like others have said, if you have a place that you really want to live, just move there and commute. If there is a domicile that you really want to live in, choose that.

Best of luck.