CantTaxiToACS

So now what? I’m sure there are a lot of other CFIs out there in this same spot. Perfectly qualified a few months ago, degree, current, class date etc. SittIng around now with the mins and no ATP-CTP or ATP, what to do?

Pay over ten thousand to get ATP-CTP and ATP done? Then not get picked for the slim slots because we don’t have jet time. Keep building worthless dual piston time? Continue to be angry that friends who just made it to the airlines before us will most likely get to keep their jobs with more government stimulus?

There’s literally nothing to do. I truly wish I was a freshman in college now getting my ratings or a freshman seven years ago. Definitely got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. No way hiring of non-ATP/jet pilots will take place within the next 12 months minimum. I’m not gonna waste my time in a 172 anymore, and 135 places aren’t calling. I’m a pretty type-A guy. But this is the first time in my life that I haven’t had a clear direction or motivation of what to do next. Everything I’ve done in aviation so far that made me so happy is now completely worthless. Maybe writing this out will finally help me move on and do something else for the next two years.

ErlichBlachman

As a (due to Covid) former regional guy… dude, I would kill for a CFI gig.񹙋񹙋񹙋

I remember the frustration of instructing my way through my hours and just wishing there would be a new reg or something that would let me into a jet cockpit asap. I ended up going the 135 route, after about 500 dual given, when things were good back in 2015. It was definitely a godsend.

That being said, with all that’s going on, I would hop back in the right seat of a 172 any day. Most of my buddies still “working” in the 121 world are barely keeping current with the scraps scheduling can give them. We as pilots thrive on doing the thing we’re good at so these days are depressing to say the least. No one is happy.

My COMPany went under (guess which one), so there’s no real end in sight to this dry spell for myself or my workmates. What it’s all taught me, personally, is that it doesn’t matter what you’re flying, as long as you’re flying. I’ve been renting a 172 every ~90 days to maintain currency and damn, I miss GA flying. Even instructing… and I never thought I’d say that.

My advice is to simply wait this all out and do what you must for the foreseeable future. Pay the bills, keep a roof over your head, have food on the table, etc. You said “Maybe writing this out will finally help me move on and do something else for the next two years.” So let’s just sit on the idea that this will all be over in the next 2 years. Assuming that’s the case, if a 2 year hiatus in your career progression is too much to handle in terms of a potentially lifelong career of flying, well, maybe you just don’t have the right level of passion. And if that’s the case, then it’s better to find that out now than years later with far more time put into it.

Ultimately, I hope you and everyone else in your position finds themselves gainfully employed and content with their futures in as short a time as possible. Things will get better. The only question is when.

Edit: Based on the previous threads threads you’ve started, I feel compelled to mention that I’m 26. Seems pertinent info about your opinion of things.

Hacker15e

"Literally" nothing to do? Or nothing to do that you can think of in the limited stovepipe of the CFI-to-regional-to-career-airline pipeline?

There are many interesting things you can go find to do in aviation that don't require an ATP but will still be interesting work and will continue to advance your airmanship and development as a professional aviator. This is an opportunity to go off and explore those things without worrying that you're squandering away that precious seniority number that drives young pilots to take the shortest course possible to a regional right seat.

Tow banners, live on the beach, and get a bunch of taildragger time. Go up to Alaska and learn bush flying. Find an air tours operator and give rides to tourists in a biplane. USFS air-tanker or lead-in pilot. Plus all the "normal" time building gigs like hauling jumpers, aerial survey, night freight dog, etc. If you are willing to stay a CFI either keep what you have or find a different one, but as long as you're putting food on the table you can always learn something new on the side: go get an A&P or go get a seaplane or glider rating.

The options are only limited by your willingness to get out of your comfort zone and your imagination, which you'll have to open up to both seek out and find interesting and different flying jobs.

HotDogSonicBoom

100% agree with you. I was telling all my buddies that are looking at furlough or are reaching ATP mins but have no regional to go to to look into applying for a cargo job up in the Dakotas with me.

All of them said, “hmm. I don’t think I can handle living like that. I’m gonna try my luck elsewhere.”

A lot had the impression that the furlough would be short and they would get the call back soon.

None of them are flying now and all of them are gonna be sitting for a while with no flying ahead of them. I mean, our place is shutting down once UAL gets the green light to push the 145s to C5.

It may feel like pure luck that I got a SA227 pic seat, but it really wasn’t. I was willing to move and pick up everything for it. I did the same thing when choosing a flight school and I did the same thing with goin up to Alaska and flying 135 ops.

I’d suggest to the OP the same thing as above: try something creative. Go look for a 135 gig in western Alaska. It is dangerous but it’s PIC time, and I’m not talking CFI PIC time. A lot of the guys I flew with up north respected that type of flying cause it’s still pretty pure. Not flashy, but necessary.

I really wish you some luck man. Good luck.

I have a CFI friend I’m trying to tell to take a 135 SIC SE Caravan gig right now... his response? I’m gonna wait until 1500 and I am not gonna leave my hometown to pursue it. Wow. Just absolute wow. So it’s still out there man.

firefighterplt

I think it’s a lot worse than many people think. Those banner towing jobs aren’t viable for the typical ‘low timer’ anymore. Buddy of mine has former regional captains beating down his door, calling about CFI jobs that he doesn’t have to offer.

Not that this means anything, but it provides context—I’m a former
fighter dbag, and I applied to dozens of aviation ground jobs, to include scheduling, FBO ‘chick’, line service, fuels, etc. Not a single callback, not even to pump gas. I went airport to airport with my resume, knocking on doors. Lots of highly qualified people applying for not-so-many jobs. It’s brutal out there, especially if you’ve got a family you can’t just uproot for a $10/hr FBO job in Desolate, USA.

Aviation is hosed for traditional low-timers, unless you’ve got an ‘in’. As such, I’m aggressively pursuing non-aviation ventures.

Sorry bud, I feel your pain. Sometimes you’ve gotta take your bolter like a
man.

njd1

As someone who had his aviation career ripped from him when I was your age and waited several decades to get back in, I have to say, welcome to the club.

Your "literally nothing to do" comment reflects a myopic vision of the world and your own abilities. You dreamed of being a pilot and nothing else. Tunnel vision like this is quite typical of the young, unfortunately, but you need to snap out of it and this will likely be the impetus that forces you to do exactly that.

For what it's worth, I wound up leveraging my abilities in technical work and went into engineering. From this perch I watched the aviation industry for the last 30 years endure one black swan event after another. All the while I made good money and stayed involved in aviation in my own way, owning and wrenching on my own airplanes, doing competition aerobatics, instructing, towing gliders and throwing perfectly sane people out of perfectly good airplanes on the weekends. In other words, I lived the dream...which, if it's not obvious by now, does not by default require two jets strapped to your back.

My advice is to go back to school for a useful (i.e. STEM) degree. That will eat up four years, by which time I'm confident the industry will be back, the pilot shortage will be even worse because of all the people who bailed on the industry in frustration, and you'll be able to command a reasonable salary. Best of all, should you choose to come back (and you may not, when you realize the money and satisfaction that can be gained doing challenging work in other industries) when the next black swan event occurs in 10-15 years like clockwork, you'll be better prepared to walk away....perhaps into that side business you were developing over that time in full realization that aviation is better viewed as a part time job vs a full-time career.

highfarfast

Aviation has a tendency to weed out the the guys that just 'don't need to fly'. Things I've done over the years prior to working for a regional airline include flight instructing, areal survey, powerline patrol, areal photography, aircraft ferry, Alaska 135, and part 91 corporate. I would also have hauled skydivers or cargo or towed banners if needed (or any other flying job because I wanted to fly) but never did. In the process, I've lived in six different locations along the way.

If you really want to fly, you'll find a way.

biigD

If it made you happy, how could it have been worthless?

Cyio

I agree with everything that you are saying, however not everyone can just uproot their lives. The job market is hyper competitive right now, in most fields, but especially aviation. When two companies close and toss ~2500 qualified pilots onto the street, the pickings get slim.
Again, I agree with what you are saying, however again, not everyone can just up and move.
This is the best advice. I have a current regional job and I should be safe from any furlough talk, but I am actively working on degree plus several other career options.

Best of luck to the OP, I suppose you can take some comfort in knowing you are not alone. In addition, if you can manage to stick it out, the demand for pilots should be fairly high here in 5 years.

firefighterplt

Additionally, if you truly don’t think you can do anything but fly, this is a necessary eye opening experience. This very likely will not be your first industry downturn if you stick with flying. Additionally, you may find yourself to be unlucky enough to lose your medical in the future—then what?

Now’s a good time to cultivate a non-aviation backup plan/side hustle. This is an excellent example of why we should not put all of our eggs in the basket of a single volatile industry.