jrh
Well-Known Member
Here's something I've been thinking about lately:
The contract I have with my current employer will be coming to an end in September and I'll be free to leave, if I want to. By then, I'll have ~4000 TT and ~800 multi. All of it's in pistons, aside from about 35 or 40 hours of single engine turbine time (Piper Meridian).
I came to my current gig because I wanted to change up my life, travel the world, have an adventure, and build my resume while I was at it. Mission accomplished. No regrets.
I'm not dying to move on, but I can't see myself staying here long-term, either.
So what should I do now, in order to have a decent life and keep building my resume? My long term goals are broad and not well-defined. I'd be willing to fly for a major airline--emphasis on *willing* to. It's not a dead set goal, but I think the upsides would outweigh the downsides. Same for an LCC. Or a really good corporate gig. Or air ambulance, depending on the operator. Or aerial firefighting. Basically, I'm trying to get in to a career sort of position, something I can last 5+ years at.
Thing is, I have zero interest in doing the traditional regional jet dance. I've ridden around on enough jumpseats to know even the "good" regionals aren't good enough to meet my standards for pay, QOL, and stability.
I'm also not into the turbine freight scene, either. I know a lot of people go to places like Amflight to build turbine time. Not knocking them, but I'm not willing to take such a big hit in pay and QOL in order to chase turbine time. I'm not a time builder. I'm a pilot who wants a good job in the here and now, which will lead to an even better job later. I don't want to get "dead ended" by going to something like a single engine turbine job, an Alaska job that will lead to nothing but other Alaska jobs, etc.
With all this in mind, what would you do? I have some contacts at a couple charter operators and might be able to get in with them, flying King Airs. If I go that route but decide I don't like corporate flying, will I realistically be able to go to a major, or even LCC, with the turbine time I'd have built? Or will it really only be relevant to other corporate/charter gigs? What if I stick with my airline for another year or two and try to get involved with titles outside of line flying, like being a regional chief pilot or work for the training department, even though it's all in piston twins? Would those help me get anywhere?
It's funny, because so many new pilots can't wait to build time and check boxes. I've kind of drifted through my career, slowly building time and checking boxes along the way. Now, I have a long list of minimums met, yet I don't know what to do next.
The contract I have with my current employer will be coming to an end in September and I'll be free to leave, if I want to. By then, I'll have ~4000 TT and ~800 multi. All of it's in pistons, aside from about 35 or 40 hours of single engine turbine time (Piper Meridian).
I came to my current gig because I wanted to change up my life, travel the world, have an adventure, and build my resume while I was at it. Mission accomplished. No regrets.
I'm not dying to move on, but I can't see myself staying here long-term, either.
So what should I do now, in order to have a decent life and keep building my resume? My long term goals are broad and not well-defined. I'd be willing to fly for a major airline--emphasis on *willing* to. It's not a dead set goal, but I think the upsides would outweigh the downsides. Same for an LCC. Or a really good corporate gig. Or air ambulance, depending on the operator. Or aerial firefighting. Basically, I'm trying to get in to a career sort of position, something I can last 5+ years at.
Thing is, I have zero interest in doing the traditional regional jet dance. I've ridden around on enough jumpseats to know even the "good" regionals aren't good enough to meet my standards for pay, QOL, and stability.
I'm also not into the turbine freight scene, either. I know a lot of people go to places like Amflight to build turbine time. Not knocking them, but I'm not willing to take such a big hit in pay and QOL in order to chase turbine time. I'm not a time builder. I'm a pilot who wants a good job in the here and now, which will lead to an even better job later. I don't want to get "dead ended" by going to something like a single engine turbine job, an Alaska job that will lead to nothing but other Alaska jobs, etc.
With all this in mind, what would you do? I have some contacts at a couple charter operators and might be able to get in with them, flying King Airs. If I go that route but decide I don't like corporate flying, will I realistically be able to go to a major, or even LCC, with the turbine time I'd have built? Or will it really only be relevant to other corporate/charter gigs? What if I stick with my airline for another year or two and try to get involved with titles outside of line flying, like being a regional chief pilot or work for the training department, even though it's all in piston twins? Would those help me get anywhere?
It's funny, because so many new pilots can't wait to build time and check boxes. I've kind of drifted through my career, slowly building time and checking boxes along the way. Now, I have a long list of minimums met, yet I don't know what to do next.