What Keeps you at a 135?

Inverted said:
Competitive hiring criteria changes. In 5 years who knows what a competitive applicant will have on his or her resume. I don't know if a single respectable 91 flight department that will hire you without a degree.
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Well I know, it sounds crazy but I'm the chief pilot of an operation that has had a corporate airplane/jet for more than 60’ish years and I don't have a degree. We fly a 3 month old Challenger 350. It's not a G650 or a Global. Its brand F'ing new though. #newplanesmell. However we can pretty much go any where in the world in a stop or two. Since I don't have a degree I probably shouldn't have been able to make it to Argentina and back. I know. I'm a tard. We were lucky we didn't crash. It was close. Submit your app. You can probably take my job. :(
 
PositionAndHold said:
Well I know, it sounds crazy but I'm the chief pilot of an operation that has had a corporate airplane/jet for more than 60’ish years and I don't have a degree. We fly a 3 month old Challenger 350. It's not a G650 or a Global. Its brand F'ing new though. #newplanesmell. However we can pretty much go any where in the world in a stop or two. Since I don't have a degree I probably shouldn't have been able to make it to Argentina and back. I know. I'm a tard. We were lucky we didn't crash. It was close. Submit your app. You can probably take my job. :(
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I never said a degree meant anything, it is just a measuring stick for companies. There are guys at all the majors without a degree as well.
 
i guess I'll be the witch in church - I like 135, I like the people, I like the work, and while I have my gripes, I like the flying. Money really isn't everything - and while it'd be nice to make more, all things considered doing this kind of work I'll be able to sustain a nice middle class lifestyle where my wife won't have to work and my 3 kids will see their dad frequently as I only work about 180 days a year. I live where I enjoy living, I fly fun airplanes in cool places, and I make enough to be comfortable. In two years or so I'll have my student loans paid off, be almost done with a second BS, and be looking at where I want to put my cabin.

If I would have gone 121 it would probably have been better for my career, but financially it would have been a disaster in the short run with no guarantees in the long run. I'm glad I took the path I did.
 
I am at a part 135 because it is what I have always wanted to do. It's air ambulance and I'm home every night. Seeing my wife daily will always be more important to me than making "big money" at a major. I make enough to have a nice life and save for retirement. I also enjoy what I do.
 
Derg said:
Overrated.

Good, but far from the shining city on the hill of mummified animal parts.

Essentially, that's what curing is, AMARITE? :)
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Have you had their prosciutto? It's awful.
I'm smuggling a whole damn leg back from Italy next time.
 
I enjoy 135, but will probably move on from were I am at now as its not the best but not the worst. That said I am happy with my progression so far, and I don't blame anyone for trying to get the highest pay they can find in aviation. That said though, personally once I hit basic six figures I really don't care about money anymore. At that point QOL will be my main concern. 100k a year is easily obtainable at the respectable 135s. Any & everything that I would ever want to do I can do making 100,000 a year.
 
cezzna618 said:
I enjoy 135, but will probably move on from were I am at now as its not the best but not the worst. That said I am happy with my progression so far, and I don't blame anyone for trying to get the highest pay they can find in aviation. That said though, personally once I hit basic six figures I really don't care about money anymore. At that point QOL will be my main concern. 100k a year is easily obtainable at the respectable 135s. Any & everything that I would ever want to do I can do making 100,000 a year.
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I thought so too. Until I made $100k. And realized it's chump change in the big scheme of things. After taxes/retirement/deductions you're lucky to make $4.5k a month on $100k "gross".

You also need to factor in the inherent instability of our careers. One day you can be making $100k the next day $0k, with a long line of applications in front of you for that next $25,000 a year FO job.
 
wheelsup said:
I thought so too. Until I made $100k. And realized it's chump change in the big scheme of things. After taxes/retirement/deductions you're lucky to make $4.5k a month on $100k "gross".

You also need to factor in the inherent instability of our careers. One day you can be making $100k the next day $0k, with a long line of applications in front of you for that next $25,000 a year FO job.
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It all depends on how you spend your money. If you have no debt, 100k is more than enough.
 
wheelsup said:
I thought so too. Until I made $100k. And realized it's chump change in the big scheme of things. After taxes/retirement/deductions you're lucky to make $4.5k a month on $100k "gross".You also need to factor in the inherent instability of our careers. One day you can be making $100k the next day $0k, with a long line of applications in front of you for that next $25,000 a year FO job.
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That indeed is a good point...I can not argue with that.
 
wheelsup said:
I thought so too. Until I made $100k. And realized it's chump change in the big scheme of things. After taxes/retirement/deductions you're lucky to make $4.5k a month on $100k "gross".

You also need to factor in the inherent instability of our careers. One day you can be making $100k the next day $0k, with a long line of applications in front of you for that next $25,000 a year FO job.
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I wish more people understood this.

However, the challenge is that when you're making $30,000 and ends are meeting, when you say "Man, $100,000 is an extra $70,000 in the pocket, over and above what I'm living on now, WOOT!" uhhh... not exactly...
 
averettpilot said:
I'm not really disagreeing, but what is it you're doing that you can't live on $4500/mo? Serious question.
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This exactly.

wheelsup said:
I thought so too. Until I made $100k. And realized it's chump change in the big scheme of things. After taxes/retirement/deductions you're lucky to make $4.5k a month on $100k "gross".

You also need to factor in the inherent instability of our careers. One day you can be making $100k the next day $0k, with a long line of applications in front of you for that next $25,000 a year FO job.
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This is why 135 is somewhat better in terms of security in my mind - yeah, your job isn't secure (like it is anywhere these days, amirite?), but my salary is relatively secure.
 
ppragman said:
This exactly.



This is why 135 is somewhat better in terms of security in my mind - yeah, your job isn't secure (like it is anywhere these days, amirite?), but my salary is relatively secure.
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I agree with this sentiment. Yes, I can lose my gig and get another without taking a pay cut. But will this require me to have to pull up stakes and move to another city....or (because South Florida) will this require me to take a huge hit to QOL to be paid the same. The positive and negative of 135/91 is that it's a mixed bag of nuts when it comes to the types and quality of gigs.

I just recently took a sizable pay cut and hit to QOL because my job went away. The new company looks to be pretty good but it will take me 6 to 8 months to get back to what I was getting paid and the schedule is nowhere close to as good as my other gig.

This makes me a bit envious of my buddies that are 121. But I'm still young and meet the qualifications to go to a legacy/major if I wanted to go at route. I do really enjoy 135 though. It's not Stockholm syndrome or anything like that. I've left a poor quality 135 operator for a better one without even batting eye about it. It's all about finding an operator that gives you that quality of life that you're looking for. As the 121 legacy/major world begin to gobble up every qualified applicant they can get their hands on, corporate pay has been steadily rising to keep people.
 
Here is my litmus test:

Wife has a complicated birth with a NICU stay and a couple weeks of recovery.

Are you better off at the 91/135 or the 121 job?

When I was at XOJET they took away maternity/paternity leave, I was fired from my last job for being home for the birth of my first child and at my first 135 job I'm guessing the same would have happened.

At a 121 it would have been a non issue.
 
BEEF SUPREME said:
Here is my litmus test:

Wife has a complicated birth with a NICU stay and a couple weeks of recovery.

Are you better off at the 91/135 or the 121 job?

When I was at XOJET they took away maternity/paternity leave, I was fired from my last job for being home for the birth of my first child and at my first 135 job I'm guessing the same would have happened.

At a 121 it would have been a non issue.
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That's a company culture problem, not necessarily an industry sector one.
 
averettpilot said:
I'm not really disagreeing, but what is it you're doing that you can't live on $4500/mo? Serious question.
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With a family it goes fast. Let's see, $1800 mortgage because of a high price area, $900 health care premiums for a family of 4, $500-1000 in other health care costs, $300-$500 in groceries and household items, electric/gas/water, and what's left gets used throughout the year to fund a new roof, fence, windows, etc...

Just wanted to edit to add, things are definitely less stressful when your making more, I'm just trying to point out that as you make more (or also start a family), more things come out.
 
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BEEF SUPREME said:
Here is my litmus test:

Wife has a complicated birth with a NICU stay and a couple weeks of recovery.

Are you better off at the 91/135 or the 121 job?

When I was at XOJET they took away maternity/paternity leave, I was fired from my last job for being home for the birth of my first child and at my first 135 job I'm guessing the same would have happened.

At a 121 it would have been a non issue.
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At my last gig, it wouldn't have been a problem to get the time off. We were a three pilot rotation and we were pretty close to the owner of the airplane. He was a great man (Rest his soul). I would either have called up the guy off rotation or gotten a hold of the management company who would have halted all charter and used a contract guy to cover any part 91 flying with the owner. Heck all 135 flying was halted at one point for one of the guys to make a quick trip home and they didn't want to call the guy who was off rotation in.

Once a trip was extended into my time off during a time was supposed to have been traveling to visit my parents. I was granted permission to purchase an airline ticket to go visit them from where the plane was dropped off and a ticket home from there.

I'm going to really miss that gig.
 
Derg said:
I wish more people understood this.

However, the challenge is that when you're making $30,000 and ends are meeting, when you say "Man, $100,000 is an extra $70,000 in the pocket, over and above what I'm living on now, WOOT!" uhhh... not exactly...
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true, but it's something extra...definitely not 70k. That said, I totally agree with what was brought up about instability, it's a huge factor in 135. Again, no disrespect to anyone whatsoever but I guess alot it has to do with how you grew up to. My father retired at a wage of barely 40k a year. My parents are to most financially responsible ( they had to be) people I know. I never had a want for anything growing up, and they were always happy. For me I really do feel if I cannot make it on 100k are year that I must be doing something terribly wrong.
 
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