What else can pilots do?
 

What type of employment or education does our training/skill set/mindset make us eligible for in the world?

I've got a couple of ideas of my own, but i'm rather curious to see what ya'll have to say....

Street hooker, ditch digger, stable hand, guy who hands out "The Watchtower" on street corners. Take your pick.

I'm about maxed out at V1, rotate. Oh well...

Make sure you join a Fraternity in college...one of your Bro's can probably hook you up with a job doing almost anything. It's not what your degree is in or what your work history is, its who you know.

Earn a degree in something other than aviation for times like these! Or if you break you leg while not on the job. I did in IT, but I'm kinda out of the loop...it's been awhileeeeeee! Have to start at the bottom again being a Client Server Analyst...grrr!!!

Do you really think if you had a degree in something else you'd be any better off? Not sure anybody is hiring many Engineering or Business degrees either.

Good time to get more education and another skillset, one which might end up paying more if things don't turn around in the aviation world. I keep seeing "truck drivers wanted" ads too, I'm sure we could do that one if we tried hard enough.

Is there any way to make whining and complaining a full time job? I'm quite good at those.

We'd ALL be billionaires. That is, until somebody is willing to come in, and bytch, moan, and complain for ONLY a million dollars. Then we'd all be screwed.

We'd also be mad because scope on the very right to bytch, moan, and complain was given up.

You're good, Dojetdriver!

The Dispatcher exam is very similar to the ATP.

I hate traffic enough as it is..... imagine getting paid by the mile! At least the clock is ticking when you're in line at O'Hare.

I've been a truck driver for companies like Schneider National, CT transportation, Barr-Nunn, and a few others on the side. I've driven from one side of the country to the other and just when I think I've seen it all, there's something else... It is not as much fun as you think it is - QOL SUCKS! There were a few times I was out for 6 weeks on the road and then home for a few days before turning around and heading back out. The driving forward part is the easy part, it's backing the darn thing up that is the trick. Some of the places I've backed into have been "blind side" back ups - meaning backing up the trailer into a hole (dock, alley, etc) and not be able to see around it while sitting in the cab of the tractor. Flatbed driving can be the most hazardous of all of the driving that I've done because you may have to do your own tarping of the load. Depending upon load size and if there is no safey line available, you can fall about 10-15 feet! And there were a few times trying to tarp in some of the worst wx was punishing... Then there's HAZMAT and tanker loads.... I suppose I could go on here, but I think that will give you an idea of what you may have in store for you if you think about truck driving. I've pretty much have given up truck driving for a lot of reasons and a long time to come. I've still got my Class A Commercial Drivers License (CDL) with all the trimmings (all endorsements). The training is tough to get through and can be very expensive in some cases which is why I still have my CDL current. I'm going to stay flight instructing and ride this tough time out and hope for the best. Good luck to all in this tough time!

You know, like nunchuk skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/P...amite-fs15.jpg

i always thought short haul would be enjoyable, long haul would suck...although, i think the same thing about flying airplanes....I might have a better outlook though if the our seat cushions were changed sometime closer to every 30 years or so, as opposed to once a millennium.

I got a job as a ramper/gate agent while I'm on furlough, and after only a few weeks on the job, the station manager is ready to hand over the keys and let me pretty much run the place. Whenever a technical or ops based question comes up in the manuals, I'm the first one she calls to have me translate that "pilot talk" into english

I'm not sure, but good point. I read an article and it mentioned the are jobs that are recession proof. IT oddly enough was one of them if you possess the right skills.

Flight Attendant, especially if it'd get you contacts at a major....

hahahahaha:rolleyes:

I am not on furlough and would love to have a Gate/Ramp job to supplement income while we pay off bills since I refuse to work "OT" while we have pilots out!

city Bus drivers. I think the bus drivers in Chicago make like 80k/year. might be a good old boy club kind of thing tho, but i bet an airline pilot would be qualified

I know one pilot that decided he'd rather go work at a Lockheed FSS - he'll be making better money than me for about the next 12 years, assuming I stay on a perfect career track :rolleyes:

ATC, 121/135 dispatch, private FBO ops (management and such), consulting, NTSB, FAA, any entry level office job (with a degree), and of course fast food and customer service industry....did I miss any?

You can do anything you want, what you went to school for means very little in the "real world", its knowing the right people and using whatever experience you have to show how you are a capable individual, i.e. Pilots are able to work under extreme stress, team players, work well with strangers etc..........

Sales is where the money is, and that is ALL PERSONALITY, if people like you, they will buy what ever crap your selling.........

I am going to do some substitute teaching on the side, I just hope I am nto too tempted by the HS girls :)

Then dont go confiscating anyone's camera phones..

*SIGH* GROAN :rolleyes:

I think ATC would be a rather simple decent conversion.

That actually sounds like a really good idea ... I hear they get paid per day, and it's like $100 or so depending on what state you work in.

I'm gonna have to look into that one ... thanks Saab

drink...fart...sleep...eat...complain...sit...etc

well...those are the skills i use most at my job...

except the drinking part...that's afterwards...don't wanna get anyone fired up now would we...

You're going to substitute teach? All the while balancing your career as a pilot and your duties as an f/o rep? Glad to see our f/o's are covered up in EWR. Maybe you should keep stuff like that to yourself Joe.

I've been subbin everyday since my early fall furlough. It's really not that bad. I will say this though about being a sub. I know most people who have done the CFI thing learned very quickly to value your life. I've been through alot as a CFI but nothing like a sub. I've seen 2 guns. 1 shootout. One cafeteria riot(not to be confused with a foodfight). Too many fights(blood) to remember. Walked into several classrooms with students making sweet, sweet love. By the way, turns out that gets you expelled. A gun gets you a 10 day suspension but sex...youre goin to alternative school. I know several police detectives by name. Driving a barbie jet around was never this fun.

Wow... glad I never got caught :D

Hahaha that's crazy man! The law needs to be a little more lenient on beating kids especially in school. I remember growing up in Texas back in the day. Man, those teachers would spank my ass with a paddle all the time and look how I turned out to be...:D

I don't see how subbing a few days a month interferes with my duties as an F/O rep 95% of what I do is via Phone :), I actually do community service at an old age home in Central Jersey, hasn't kept me from my duties as the F/O rep as of yet :) Its amazing how much time is really in a day

Well that's very good of you to do, I had to give up on my civic activities when I got this job. I wasn't trying to bust your balls, but rather trying to get you to see the perception take on this....we all know who you are, being in your position you should be careful what you post on the forums.

Yeah I understand, living in base, even with just 12 days off leaves me with a lot of time off, doing 1 & 2 day trips is nice because I am home every day :)

Subbin isnt all that bad. I just kind of pretend like I am Jon Lovitz in High School High. What does sincerely and incredibly bother me is when first and second year teachers complain endlessly about how bad their job is. It makes me sick to hear a 22 year old complaining about making only $33,000 a year starting out of college. They "joke" about food stamps and welfare all all that. Thats when I start using phrases like "real job" and they get angry until I explain that I was an instructor for 3 years out of college not making a dime working seven days a week. Then I tell them how much I make(made) as an airline pilot and what I had to do to get there(and I realize getting hired with just over 1000tt, I've had it MUCH MUCH MUCH easier making it to a regional that most) working nights, weekends, SUMMERS. Then we discuss how much flight training costs in addition to college and things like sitting reserve and crashpads and time away from home and checkrides and furloughs. I know these forums are full of pilots complaining about their jobs but I got to say that teachers have pilots beat any day of the week on the amount of complaining done.

Most of us know dry motoring...we married em.

My wife actually taught for two years, got fed up with it, and changed jobs...now, after a year out of the biz, is thinking of "going back in" feet first with a sub position, little less responsibility. But yeh, i could normally squash most arguments with "well, least you're at home when all the craps going wrong, it still goes wrong for me, but i get to say goodnight to the desk clerk."

you the waterskier who was at pattonville? If so,i think i remember flying with you several times.

nah not me sorry. definitely a waterskier but not so sure about the pattonville. our contract isnt the best. our mgmt isnt the best. basically not much about TSA is the best but damnit, every single TSA related thread gets eventually closed. now thats somthin to be proud of. pretty fine pilot group too.