Lots of Entry Level Survey Jobs (CSEL w/ Instrument Rating to fly 172s for Pictometry)

av8tr1 said:
Sadly there are far too many companies getting away with this in all industries. The IRS like many enforcement agencies have very limited budgets and can be selective about who they go after. I've seen enough of this that unless the company has deep pockets and is egregiously faulting the rules to the point where it makes the enforcement agency look bad, they likely wont go after them. I know a guy who just kept avoiding the IRS until they stopped coming to his office. He ran a small shop where most of the people he hired were either fresh off the boat or were illegals. He'd have someone who barely spoke English answer the door and give the guy from the IRS a difficult time. Told them to say he was in Japan while he was hiding in his office. The taxes owed weren't worth the trouble for the IRS to bust down the door.

I can't imagine why AA hasn't gotten hit. I do know that during the 60s and 70s there was a company that did a lot of work for the CIA. Maybe they still do and can avoid legal issues as a result.
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I know for a fact the IRS was notified of that crap. (not by me, but a disgruntled ex "contractor")....Either the IRS is really slow with the investigation part, or they just don't care.
 
av8tr1 said:
Sadly there are far too many companies getting away with this in all industries. The IRS like many enforcement agencies have very limited budgets and can be selective about who they go after. I've seen enough of this that unless the company has deep pockets and is egregiously faulting the rules to the point where it makes the enforcement agency look bad, they likely wont go after them. I know a guy who just kept avoiding the IRS until they stopped coming to his office. He ran a small shop where most of the people he hired were either fresh off the boat or were illegals. He'd have someone who barely spoke English answer the door and give the guy from the IRS a difficult time. Told them to say he was in Japan while he was hiding in his office. The taxes owed weren't worth the trouble for the IRS to bust down the door.

I can't imagine why AA hasn't gotten hit. I do know that during the 60s and 70s there was a company that did a lot of work for the CIA. Maybe they still do and can avoid legal issues as a result.
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That was different Air America. The owner and her ex-husband are supposedly retired CIA agents though. But it wouldn't surprise me if Air America were to bribe an IRS auditor, and I suspect just isn't a big enough company to be on the IRS' radar in the first place.

abolton1 said:
I know for a fact the IRS was notified of that crap. (not by me, but a disgruntled ex "contractor")....Either the IRS is really slow with the investigation part, or they just don't care.
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I figured someone must have reported them at some point. The only reason I haven't is I worry it might lead to more IRS scrutiny for current and former AA "contractors".
 
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av8tr1 said:
@MidlifeFlyer Want to weigh in here regarding the 1099, Insurance, Liability and all the rest?
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Not really :)

The difficulty with 1099 analyses is that, although the IRS publishes a set of guidelines for how to approach 1099 questions, it's rarely as simple as "you are doing a, b and c, so it's an employee." On top of that, the IRS rarely gets involved unless it's reported or a big deal. State labor boards tend to be the ones to enforce the contractor/employee issue because of such things as wage and hour laws and workers compensation requirements. And states vary a lot. Best aviation-related example I can think of is CFIs at a flight school. The same position with the same requirements and the same level of supervision might be investigated by two states, with one saying it's employment and the other independent contractor..
 
pjw617 said:
Are there any other Aerial Survey companies that will be hiring?
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All five of the survey vendors listed in the first post are currently hiring for the 2016-2017 season. Those 5 vendors will likely hire 40-75 pilots in the next month and a half.

Depending on your flight totals you may be able to work for Air Associates of Kansas or Aperture in two man crews on the 206, but they don't build much flight time.

There are a ton of smaller companies that work other parts of the year and periodically hire. I just brought the Pictometry vendors up since that was the first job I took as a low time pilot and I built a good bit of time over the course of 20 months.
 
srn121 said:
All five of the survey vendors listed in the first post are currently hiring for the 2016-2017 season. Those 5 vendors will likely hire 40-75 pilots in the next month and a half.

Depending on your flight totals you may be able to work for Air Associates of Kansas or Aperture in two man crews on the 206, but they don't build much flight time.

There are a ton of smaller companies that work other parts of the year and periodically hire. I just brought the Pictometry vendors up since that was the first job I took as a low time pilot and I built a good bit of time over the course of 20 months.
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Landcare may bring on 18-22 pilots but that will include a handful of returns. I heard last year pictometry had over 100 pilots flying last season. Best of luck to you all!
 
I did time at both Landcare and AA. Three seasons total. It was a great time builder job! Landcare pay was nothing compared to AA. Best of luck to all that apply. The new sandhills sounds like a good place. I use to work with the owner, he's a great guy.
 
Former AA guy here too. Worked last season. Looks like Amster got a conditional job offer again this season. That's how I know you should work for any other Picto company.
 
LjtheFA said:
Former AA guy here too. Worked last season. Looks like Amster got a conditional job offer again this season. That's how I know you should work for any other Picto company.
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Amster? I saw AA advertising on job hiring sites where as before it was entirely word of mouth so I guess things really have changed to some extent.
 
My nephew is interviewing with Air America. Good or bad company? Any advice you can give? Some hookie stuff going on at AA? Should I tell him to pass?
 
cavu2u said:
My nephew is interviewing with Air America. Good or bad company? Any advice you can give? Some hookie stuff going on at AA? Should I tell him to pass?
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It's all relative as the options for low-time pilots isn't the best, especially if he doesn't have his flight instructor ratings. I was a former pilot and did reasonably well there and made good money, but as a contractor instead of an employee there are some limitations. The culture at AA also expects you to share hotel rooms and that's where a good chunk of your pay as a pilot will come from as you can save a lot on your per diem. I made good money, but if you got stuck with the wrong people you could hate life. At Landcare and Skylens you're guaranteed your own room and the Landcare ones are pretty nice. Skylens seems to be offering the best compensation out of all the vendors right now, but they're the most competitive and will be tough to get hired on with. Where is your nephew located? I know AA is usually pretty busy, but if he's near Upstate NY, Lincoln, NE or Hammond, LA he'd be ahead of the game to hand in a resume with the outfits located there.

If his goal is to get his first pilot job and build a lot of time quickly then I don't think you can go too wrong at any of the Pictometry vendors. I would also encourage him to apply at the other vendors too as I know in years past not everyone who has interviewed at AA has received a job.

I really enjoyed my time at Air America, but that was over two years ago and the company had changed a lot from when I first got on to what it was when I left and it's changed even further according to some of the pilots from the most recent season. The pilots are under contract and the flying and lifestyle isn't for everyone so if he wants to quit they will go after him for up to $5,000 which seems beyond ridiculous to me. That said the only guys we had quit were because they had the time to go to the regionals, but there was one very questionable firing and I do belive AA went after the pilot for the full contract amount.
 
I am going on my second season at AA now with no huge complaints. Lifestyle surely isn't for everyone, but if you do your job you can log a lot of hours and make some good money while doing so.
 
srn121 said:
It's all relative as the options for low-time pilots isn't the best, especially if he doesn't have his flight instructor ratings. I was a former pilot and did reasonably well there and made good money, but as a contractor instead of an employee there are some limitations. The culture at AA also expects you to share hotel rooms and that's where a good chunk of your pay as a pilot will come from as you can save a lot on your per diem. I made good money, but if you got stuck with the wrong people you could hate life. At Landcare and Skylens you're guaranteed your own room and the Landcare ones are pretty nice. Skylens seems to be offering the best compensation out of all the vendors right now, but they're the most competitive and will be tough to get hired on with. Where is your nephew located? I know AA is usually pretty busy, but if he's near Upstate NY, Lincoln, NE or Hammond, LA he'd be ahead of the game to hand in a resume with the outfits located there.

If his goal is to get his first pilot job and build a lot of time quickly then I don't think you can go too wrong at any of the Pictometry vendors. I would also encourage him to apply at the other vendors too as I know in years past not everyone who has interviewed at AA has received a job.

I really enjoyed my time at Air America, but that was over two years ago and the company had changed a lot from when I first got on to what it was when I left and it's changed even further according to some of the pilots from the most recent season. The pilots are under contract and the flying and lifestyle isn't for everyone so if he wants to quit they will go after him for up to $5,000 which seems beyond ridiculous to me. That said the only guys we had quit were because they had the time to go to the regionals, but there was one very questionable firing and I do belive AA went after the pilot for the full contract amount.
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Oh man, I already don't miss sharing rooms with pilots that had a stick up their arse. Thankfully it wasn't many but there were a few lol.
 
daydreamer said:
+1

Ground imaging is another vendor
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They're still looking for pilots for the season, but the only way I can find about them is on Climbto350. I have no idea what their pay structure is like or if they're even a Picto vendor as I can't find a website for them. Still it might be worth inquiring as they could pay more than NSA or Landcare.
 
Hey fellas .. New member here.. Low time pilot going through the AA selection process.. Just completed the phone interview and scheduled for the oral, written and flight this weekend.

I'm Going in with an open mind and a watchful eye.
it seems like it's a mixed bag on the pros and cons benifits and risks, but I guess that's with most entry level jobs. The management your attitude and the work environment all play a role in the way you see things..

Does anyone have any insight into what to expect for the rest of the hiring process ? What the flight portion consist of.?. What to brush up on knowledges wise.?

Last official training was my commercial about 2 years ago so I am Sure I'm a little rusty in all sectors.

Any info is appreciated.
 
I just interviewed with Ground Imaging. The season runs October 15th through May 15th. You are provided a company credit card for aircraft expenses, hotel, and rental car. Food is on your own; no per diem. 7.25 per hour and time and a half for anything over 40 hours a week. If you work at all during a day, they will guarantee you 8 hours pay. So if you're work 7 days a week, you're guaranteed 56 hours a week; 16 of which is time and a half. You also get paid for any time over 8 hours a day. The interview was fairly straight forward. It took me 20 minutes over the phone.
 
DiveAndDrive said:
I just interviewed with Ground Imaging. The season runs October 15th through May 15th. You are provided a company credit card for aircraft expenses, hotel, and rental car. Food is on your own; no per diem. 7.25 per hour and time and a half for anything over 40 hours a week. If you work at all during a day, they will guarantee you 8 hours pay. So if you're work 7 days a week, you're guaranteed 56 hours a week; 16 of which is time and a half. You also get paid for any time over 8 hours a day. The interview was fairly straight forward. It took me 20 minutes over the phone.
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Last season I sat for a week at a time twice waiting on it to stop raining. So with Ground Imaging that would have been zero pay?
 
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