Difficult time
 

Did anyone else have such a difficult time making a decision to leave present career that is lucrative to take the regional job? I am having a heck of a time making that jump. I have a stable job that pays well and i am home every day and before i had the Comair offer i was usre i wanted to be an airline pilot and now i am not so sure!

You can't wait your whole life...Are you planning on being this decisive when flying?

-LAFF

Here's what I tell people who ask: "Becoming a pilot was by far the absolute worst financial decision I have ever made... but it has by far been the most satisfying thing I have done professionally.

Its always nice to be getting off the plane to head to the hotel and see the business types turn on their phones and start talking to the office.

Do what I did, consult on the side if you can. I was in IT so I did extra work for small companies. Find a way to make extra money, h3ll; deliver pizzas I've done that too. You will only regret it when you look back and realize you had the opportunity to fly for a living and you passed it up to make some extra dough.

Three things are sure about your decision: It is hard. You will be broke for 3 years minimum. You will love it.

My biggest prob is money. I have 2100 dollars in bills monthly and am trying to figure out how to swing it.

during reserve how often are pilots home, not working?

Reference my post in the other thread you started about financial planning, buffalo (http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/sh...t=7303&page=2). Don't sell out your family to chase your dream. If you can't afford it, you can't afford it and no amount of belly aching here on the forum is gonna change that. If you wanna float on your credit cards until you can make ends meet, that is your decision but more than one person has tried that and failed. Married life may be nice now when you are home every night and making decent money. But if you are away 12-20 days a month and are not making enough to cover the bills and piling up credit card debt and ooops, now you're furloughed (a very likely possibility at Comair) then you may find that you will lose everything just to chase your dream.

Depends on the company, time of the year you go online, F/O attrition, weather, where you are based, etc etc. There were months when I flew everyday I was on reserve and other months when I'd go 2 weeks without a call. I didn't mind going days without a call since I lived in base and it was like paid vacation but if you are sitting in a crashpad away from your family it sucks. Most companies guarantee you a minimum number of days off on reserve, usually 10-12. Of course, if you commute, you can kiss 2-6 of those days goodbye. And since it sounds like money is a serious issue for you buffalo, you are going to want to be flying as much as you can so there go even more days off.

my wife sugggested sell the house and move in with her parents for 1 year

seriously

Might be your best option. You should be mindful of the sacrifices ahead, it will get better after your first year, but your life style will change, just take the good with the bad, and you should be back where you were financially by your 3rd to 4rth year.

I know Skyhigh will jump in here any second to tell you what a mistake you're gonna make, but remember is your dream and your life. Your experinces will be different from others.

Wow buddy...Is it really worth it? What are you going to do when you get furloughed? What are you going to do when you have to take a pay cut to go to another airline? You said you're making good money doing what youre doing now. Do you just need to have that title "airline pilot"? Is it the RJ that is calling you? If you like what you're doing and are making good money, why would you give it up? When you get down to it, flying is flying.

what will you do when you get furloughed? or anyone?

You press on and apply to every other airline that is hiring, wheather you have all the quallifications or not. Because you never know who will say yes and who will say no. If furloughed and you don't apply then you pretty much made up the hiring department's mind. NOBODY HAS ALL THE ANSWERS......

The same thing any of us would do. Try to make ends meet doing something else for a while. But my ends are closer together than yours. I don't have a wife or kids or a mortgage that I'm trying to stretch regional pay to cover. Because I don't have any of those expenses and I manage my money well I have been able to put plenty away in case of a rainy day without having to raid my 401k. Ever heard of the homlessness ratio? Its basically the ratio of your current liquid assets and your current expenses. Divide the two and you will find out how long you can last with zero income. Might help you make your decision. Look buffalo, I'm not trying to be your worst enemy here. But sometimes we all need someone to kick us in the butt to help us see and to hear the things we don't want to see or hear. If you can make it work, more power to you. I wish you and your family the best. But the bottom line is this: Comair is not a very stable place to be, especially not now. If the deal with US Airways goes through, you may very quickly find yourself in a very tough spot. I'm not telling you not to do it, I'm telling you to evaluate the situation realistically and not just do it because they are the only one that will hire you and help you chase the dream.

Dude,

If you have to think about it this hard...don't do it. Especially with Comair - chances are good you'll be furloughed or stalled in short order as the latest SJS afflicted group gets delta's business.

If you can live without flying... go do something else. Heck, in most cities you'll make more, have a better union, better work rules and be home every night driving a bus than flying for a regional (and you're still responsible for the same number of people).

If not flying will cause you to break out in a sweat and assume the fetal position, well...you gotta do what you gotta do....

My $.02
Spongebob