Advice to aspiring airline pilots
02-16-2007, 04:32 AM
#21
Self Employed.
Joined APC: May 2005
Position: Corporate Pilot
Posts: 7,119
Chase Happiness
Build a career that offers a real return. Make something that is worth while and not just pages in a log book. Create a situation that offers fertile soil to grow a strong estate, group of friends and family upon.
A stable job that pays well offers so much more than what the money will provide. The simple humiliations that are often associated with humbler forms of employment pale by comparison to the losses that a line pilot receives.
Chase happiness.
SkyHigh
A stable job that pays well offers so much more than what the money will provide. The simple humiliations that are often associated with humbler forms of employment pale by comparison to the losses that a line pilot receives.
Chase happiness.
SkyHigh
02-16-2007, 05:31 AM
#22
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2006
Position: B737 FO
Posts: 380
Originally Posted by SkyHigh
Build a career that offers a real return. Make something that is worth while and not just pages in a log book. Create a situation that offers fertile soil to grow a strong estate, group of friends and family upon.
A stable job that pays well offers so much more than what the money will provide. The simple humiliations that are often associated with humbler forms of employment pale by comparison to the losses that a line pilot receives.
Chase happiness.
SkyHigh
A stable job that pays well offers so much more than what the money will provide. The simple humiliations that are often associated with humbler forms of employment pale by comparison to the losses that a line pilot receives.
Chase happiness.
SkyHigh
I would say that if you really love aviation go for it, but if there are any doubts, don't do it because you may not like it. I have known many pilots that after awhile realize aviation is not for them and they quit to find other professions. You have to really love aviation to make a career out of it.
02-16-2007, 06:10 AM
#23
Self Employed.
Joined APC: May 2005
Position: Corporate Pilot
Posts: 7,119
Love
Originally Posted by Baronpilot
I would say that if you really love aviation go for it, but if there are any doubts, don't do it because you may not like it. I have known many pilots that after awhile realize aviation is not for them and they quit to find other professions. You have to really love aviation to make a career out of it.
SkyHigh
02-16-2007, 06:24 AM
#24
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2007
Position: back in the right seat 121
Posts: 145
Great advice to get the Turbine PIC time. Stay put until you get it. Then apply at one of the "BIG" cargo carriers (FEDEX, UPS) QOL is awesome compared to any AMR company or any other carrier (read week on week off), one or 2 legs out to a 12-18 hour layover, weekends off mostly. If on reserve, you will get a trip ever other day unless you trade into one.
The key is the PIC turbine. You need 1000 PIC MEL Turbine time to qualifiy. Why do you think UPS and FedEx have raised the mins to this. It is because the "legacy" pilots have figured out that flying boxes is not that bad and dare I say............good.
Just MHO
The key is the PIC turbine. You need 1000 PIC MEL Turbine time to qualifiy. Why do you think UPS and FedEx have raised the mins to this. It is because the "legacy" pilots have figured out that flying boxes is not that bad and dare I say............good.
Just MHO
02-16-2007, 06:34 AM
#25
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2007
Position: back in the right seat 121
Posts: 145
As for SkyHigh views, he is right. You must love to fly. You cannot do the aviation thing for the $$. I have had a great time doing what I love, but I put up with a lot of days away from home and some missed holidays, b-days. ect. The ailine industry is crazy to say the least. Your five year plan will change every 6 months.
Find what you love and have a passion for and you will be sucessful. The money and happiness will follow.
Find what you love and have a passion for and you will be sucessful. The money and happiness will follow.
02-16-2007, 06:36 AM
#26
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2005
Position: Straight outta LoCash
Posts: 176
Originally Posted by SkyHigh
Dentists <snip> ... building a business that could be worth millions someday.
We all make choices in life. A little sacrifice and non-self centered living offers huge benefits. Dentists, Doctors lawyers and policemen are busy building real lives while pilots play peter pan and waste their days away in the sky.
SkyHigh
We all make choices in life. A little sacrifice and non-self centered living offers huge benefits. Dentists, Doctors lawyers and policemen are busy building real lives while pilots play peter pan and waste their days away in the sky.
SkyHigh
Police officers in my mid-market city start at 21,000/yr, and it doesn't move up all that fast or to that much. Needless to say they are hurting for police officers.
Only the highest level doctors make the millions that people seem to think all doctors make. I have a close friend who is in family practice and he makes decent, but not great money. He works at patient first on weekends for extra money. My highest paid friends are all attorneys. I don't know any millionaire dentists, though I'm sure there are some that are cosmetic surgeons.
In short, do whatever inspires you; in the end, that's what will inspire others when they talk about you at your funeral.
If you "love yourself at all" you will do something that makes you happy, something that you will succeed at, something that works for you and your family, and something that you didn't need advice from an internet forum to figure out.
02-16-2007, 07:10 AM
#27
Self Employed.
Joined APC: May 2005
Position: Corporate Pilot
Posts: 7,119
Untrue
Originally Posted by RedOverWhite
Life, no matter, what you do, is real. That includes pilots, and even people who spend countless hours on internet forums.
Police officers in my mid-market city start at 21,000/yr, and it doesn't move up all that fast or to that much. Needless to say they are hurting for police officers.
Only the highest level doctors make the millions that people seem to think all doctors make. I have a close friend who is in family practice and he makes decent, but not great money. He works at patient first on weekends for extra money. My highest paid friends are all attorneys. I don't know any millionaire dentists, though I'm sure there are some that are cosmetic surgeons.
In short, do whatever inspires you; in the end, that's what will inspire others when they talk about you at your funeral.
If you "love yourself at all" you will do something that makes you happy, something that you will succeed at, something that works for you and your family, and something that you didn't need advice from an internet forum to figure out.
Police officers in my mid-market city start at 21,000/yr, and it doesn't move up all that fast or to that much. Needless to say they are hurting for police officers.
Only the highest level doctors make the millions that people seem to think all doctors make. I have a close friend who is in family practice and he makes decent, but not great money. He works at patient first on weekends for extra money. My highest paid friends are all attorneys. I don't know any millionaire dentists, though I'm sure there are some that are cosmetic surgeons.
In short, do whatever inspires you; in the end, that's what will inspire others when they talk about you at your funeral.
If you "love yourself at all" you will do something that makes you happy, something that you will succeed at, something that works for you and your family, and something that you didn't need advice from an internet forum to figure out.
Aviation doesnt offer what most would consider as a "real" life since in most cases provides low income and instability in trade for high costs of training, education and endless years of initial experience building.
It is false to assume that just because someone has a mundane sounding job that they are unhappy with it. A life of value takes sacrifice and a mature approach. We all have many different interests and abilities in life. Aviation most likely is only one option that most of us have.
Finding something you love and hope that the money finds you is great for selling self help books but does little in the real world.
Choose something you love but that also loves you back.
SkyHigh
02-16-2007, 07:44 AM
#28
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2007
Position: 737 Right Seat
Posts: 117
Yes but you will already have the multi PIC turbine.. then you can start your qualitiy of life..
I agree with swaayze.. I started flying in 1989 been furloughed 3 times 8000 hours just got typed.. get the type first build the captain time.. then move on..I will say this i am done till Brown calls.if they dont ill stay here..
Keep The Greasy Side Down!
I agree with swaayze.. I started flying in 1989 been furloughed 3 times 8000 hours just got typed.. get the type first build the captain time.. then move on..I will say this i am done till Brown calls.if they dont ill stay here..
Keep The Greasy Side Down!
02-16-2007, 11:53 AM
#30
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Mar 2005
Position: DFW A320 FO
Posts: 586
Yeah, my point with Eagle was simply not to move to a "better" intermediate-stop carrier too soon. Hopefully at 2000 TPIC you wouldn't need to do Eagle but if you wanted out of the turboprop job for jet time or a specific base the time to worry about those things is AFTER your logbook contains the PIC.
Certainly some folks will be fortunate and get hired at XJT or SKYW with a few hundred hours and be a jet captain with only a couple of years of industry experience; if that works out for you then by all means go for it. I'd caution those anticipating a 2 year upgrade because that's what it is "right now" -at the good regionals that may or may not hold as more majors RFP their feed and todays winner is tomorrow's loser because of a "new Mesa".
Certainly some folks will be fortunate and get hired at XJT or SKYW with a few hundred hours and be a jet captain with only a couple of years of industry experience; if that works out for you then by all means go for it. I'd caution those anticipating a 2 year upgrade because that's what it is "right now" -at the good regionals that may or may not hold as more majors RFP their feed and todays winner is tomorrow's loser because of a "new Mesa".
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