serious question about career
 

Ok, so I am 40 years old. I am CFI/CFII with 1000 hoursTT and 65 ME. I havent really been on here in a while because I got disgruntled a bit with this industry. I am a former police officer and currently inthe military part time.

There is still an interest in working for a regional airline as a career. No one is hiring right now andit looks like it may be a few years. In the meantime CFIing really isnt paying the bills. I need to decides do I continue this or go into another field all together.

Now that they are raising the requirements to 1500 hours and probably 300-500 ME how do I get that experieince? I dont work ata big name flight school I work at a flying club and get maybe 20 hours a month of flying in. Any advice would be very helpful. Thank you.

Any thoughts on ANG being that you're already in the military ? I don't know of age limits on that, or perhaps try catching on with the FAA for a couple years to do checkrides or be someone's POI ?

to old now its under 30 at the time of UPT

Yeah. Wayyyyy to old to fly inthe military cut off age is 27 to fly. The FAA gig sounds interesting. i am also interested in the forestry service.

You should look into law inforcement. You already have a background in it. I remember talking to the sheriff's department, where I use to live, and the pilot that was currently running it said that he would let me fly but I had to become a officer first.

The police background could really help you with some interesting possibilities. Do it until you get your time and if you want to leave then leave.

Your law enforcement experience might make you a good candidate for a pilot position in the Boarder Patrol. The mins are usually around 1500 but can be reduced with you instructing experience. I don't know if they have an age limit though...anyone know?

Definately stay in the law enforcement job. If you think back to your first few years on the job when everything was exciting and new and you loved your job, that is how you will feel again when you take the airline job. Then when the reality of trading your 70k a year police job for a 30k a year FO job hits, you will like flying less. After your first year of reduced rests, lousy schedules and being away from friends and family for days on end, you will like your new job even less. The airlines take ALL (well almost all) the fun out of flying and it becomes little more than a job.... much like your at now at the PD.

My advice; stay at the PD, keep the seniority you have in this unstable economic times, enjoy a good Govt job with full benefits and retirement, and fly for fun on the side instead of working that extra detail or overtime.

LOL. Please show me a $70K a year police job.I quit the police dept in 2007 to pursue aviation. I went tto CFI school full time. I amnot a cop anymore but thinking of going back into it.

The cut off age for Federal Law enforcement is 37.

To be a police pilot they want you to be a street cop for certain number of years and then that is stil no guarantee you wil get in. People get to the aviation unit and stay there til the retire or die. Its hard to get into a LE aviation unit.

But Ido like the idea of going back into it until something better comes up.
Why does everyone on here say fly for fun and forget LE? Thats very interesting cause I am ata another website called officer.com and everyone there says get out of LE. lol


So basically what I have deduced is people just arent satisfied with thier current situation. I want to fly for a living. Not neccessarily the airlines although it would be nice.

What part of the country are you in? The West Coast and most of the urban northern parts of the country and especially the northeast are all very well compensated. Having done that job here in my home state (northeast) I know for a fact that 70k is/was about average. I still have many friends on the job and the typical average base in my state NOW is around 40-55k. You get another 10-25% added onto your hourly rate depending on education level, and then the rest comes with just a little overtime or detail pay (which also included the education money). Many of the other guys I worked with topped over 100k per year, but they worked as much as an airline pilot and were never home. :) I, like you, always prefered to go flying rather than work overtime or details. I didn't wait until I was 40 to try and make the change though, I did it much younger. Like I said. Knowing what I know now... I'd stay at the PD...

The guys at Officer.Com are probably the same types we see now at the airlines.... they're strutting through the terminal with their Ipods in their ears carrying their backpack and attacking every rule and policy that is seniority based since they don't have any.

Very true, everybody always sees the grass as being greener in the other backyard. Now, I've been in both backyards, and if I were you, I'd stay in LE. If you already have enough time in for a retirement check down the road, then that could change things. You could go ahead and prepare to live on PBJ for a few years as a pilot... work another 20-30 in aviation and build your personal 401k to augment your PD retirement. I'd still say you would be better off at the PD.

In God We Trust, all Others Checked NCIC. Have you finished all your ICS classes?