Advice for a non-newbie to keep progressing

Seggy said:
One thing you need to consider here is that there are going to be an awfully high number of senior airline folks retiring over the next 5-10 years. Yes, it will be a short step back to go to a Regional, but I truly think it will open more doors for you than to stay at 9K.
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This is a factor I've been considering. Nobody knows if there will be a pilot "shortage" or not.

I'm hoping I can build some turbine time and have decent pay/QOL in the charter/corporate/EMS world over the coming years. Then, maybe the floodgates will open up at the majors and they'd be willing to hire somebody, such as myself, who's been captain on a bizjet, rather than captain on an RJ.

Or maybe I'm being overly optimistic. Who knows.
 
Probably has something to do with sitting around on what amounts to short call reserve all day with very little flying. Having done a little of that myself I didn't find it all that fun.
 
jrh said:
Then, maybe the floodgates will open up at the majors and they'd be willing to hire somebody, such as myself, who's been captain on a bizjet, rather than captain on an RJ.
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I know that there are some very good corporate/charter jobs out there, but there are also some that are really, really horrific. Beyond anything you'd ever see at a regional airline. A friend of mine worked for a Long Island charter outfit that had him on call 24/7 (not even legal, but the paperwork said he was legal), backdated days off, had him signing 6 month recurrent training contracts, etc. He finally had to quit and eat the thousands in type rating debt. He was basically an indentured servant; even though the courts would probably toss out the training contract debt, the owner loved to sue his former employees just to drag them through the mud. Last I heard, that company was about to close its doors due to a lack of customers and employees to fly the jets, but the damage was done.
 
dasleben said:
I know that there are some very good corporate/charter jobs out there, but there are also some that are really, really horrific. Beyond anything you'd ever see at a regional airline.
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Oh, I don't expect life outside the airlines to be all sunshine and flowers. There are bad places in every segment of the industry.

As you can probably tell, I do my research and am picky about where I go. I doubt I'll ever find myself at the kind of place you're talking about.
 
jrh said:
I doubt I'll ever find myself at the kind of place you're talking about.
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Well, I hope not, but that's what my buddy said. :D

Good place when he started, but as the company started feeling the pinch during the recession, they clamped down and ended up hurting their business even more.
 
Derg said:
You know, if you treat it as a "job" and not as an extension of your personality, it's alright. But when the ego line asymptotically approaches your job line on a graph, that's where the problems start.
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Great point. Like Vx and Vy converge at altitude. Perhaps jrh likes the 'lower alt' type flying. Think 'oddball' type flying.

XXXXXXXXXX

moxiepilot, being self-employed is very often the best answer.
 
jrh said:
Oh, I don't expect life outside the airlines to be all sunshine and flowers. There are bad places in every segment of the industry.

As you can probably tell, I do my research and am picky about where I go. I doubt I'll ever find myself at the kind of place you're talking about.
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Its not the company, its the type of flying which is important. Anyway, that's my view from down here in indian country.
 
jrh said:
Does anyone know of a comprehensive list of fixed wing EMS operators, particularly in the midwest? Or does anyone know the industry well enough to list them off here?
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Don't know that I have much to contribute here, but last month I met a pilot who flew here form Wichita. He flies King Airs for Lifeteam. He lives in Wichita, but is based in Great Bend. They fly a mixture of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. They have King Air bases in McCook, Great Bend, and Liberal. If I recall correctly, he "lives" at the airport sort of like paramedics live in the fire station when they are on call. Something like 8 days on, 6 days off. He loves it. Prior to this gig, he worked at Flight Safety in Wichita as an instructor for the Caravan (which is how he made the contacts for the present job). I could probably put you in touch with him if you are interested.
 
jrh said:
What do you mean by that?
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I'm starting year 12 of EMS flying in the midwest. I like the job, the company, the airplane, and the people I work with. I'm also so tired of the same old flying and constant instability that I really want a change of pace. There are some good jobs and some great people doing air ambulance, but it seems like most people here are either on their way to better things or useless geriatrics who are as bad at retirement planning as they are at working avionics.
 
Seek opportunity. Don't sit around waiting for some miracle to happen.

Even if there is a 'pilot shortage', by the time it happens, the working conditions may be so much crappier that you'll find yourself wondering what you got yourself into.
 
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