Better Paying Survey Companies Hiring for the Summer

[srn121]

FYI:
On the job listing it indicates duty time as "two consecutive weeks on and one off" the reality is they expect you to leave on the first available flight Wednesday morning to the project (when project is outside of STL and commercial travel is required) and do the afternoon lift. Departure day for your time off is Wednesday after you had a full lift putting you at home late evening. In other words its 15 days on 6 days off. And if you are on the C206 doing LIDAR they are putting two crews per airplane 1st 5AM-5PM and 2nd 5PM-5AM. Under the management of MM he believes that Pilots are expendable and replaceable, I'm sure he is in for a rude awakening. If you have questions please ask.

Their are a lot of pilots that don't do their research and aren't aware of their value so some companies can and do take advantage of them and with how slow pilots will build their time they're not going to open too many doors too soon. I was upset at first that someone added in Surdex when the other companies I posted are all head and shoulders above them in pay and QoL, but with your info hopefully some prospective pilots won't get blindsided and will at least realize what other, better opportunities there are. Hopefully their management realizes that retaining good pilots will make them more money than having to hire less qualified pilots that have limited loyalty and can't wait to bolt. Thank you for sharing this as I think us pilots have to look out for others to make the industry better for us all.

 

[MikeNovemberMike]

Thanks for the info. Yes, I hear Keystone is always hiring because it’s a revolving door there, which speaks to the job itself. And no one wants to live in Philly, not even the most adventurous. As far as I know, their contract pilots come with higher minimums.

 

[srn121]

Thanks for the info. Yes, I hear Keystone is always hiring because it’s a revolving door there, which speaks to the job itself. And no one wants to live in Philly, not even the most adventurous. As far as I know, their contract pilots come with higher minimums.

Lots of places are becoming somewhat revolving doors as many pilots are chasing their ATP and wanting to go the airline route so even good paying survey outfits are struggling to retain pilots which luckily means our pay/QoL will have to continue to go up along with the rest of the industry.

I've never heard much about whether these folks are good or bad. I think I ran into some part of their company flying in Aztec for them and they didn't seem too down on it. They've got quite a few openings if you're willing to do the leg work applying and following up.
Pilot - Florida

 

[MikeNovemberMike]

Thanks, that’s very kind of you. I will apply and see where things go. You’re one of the few pilots who helps the other newbies and doesn’t forget he was in their shoes at one point. I’d like to think I’ll be the same way. Cheers!

 

[srn121]

It's no problem. The first job is probably the toughest position a commercial pilot can be in in their careers or at least I thought so and I'm happy to send people to companies and folks that treated me well as that's the least I can do for having fun, getting paid and being treated well.

I've never worked for them so I can't say how good they are, but they did make me a fair offer years ago.
- Aero-Graphics, Inc | Aerial Mapping I think their season used to run until January and if you could get on from now until then it might be a good way to build some time and open some doors if survey or their QoL isn't for you. Fugro and Aspen remain my top picks given your time and what might be available, but Aspen can be a bit feast or famine so enjoy the time when it presents itself and the Partenavia's an awesome plane.

 

[MikeNovemberMike]

Do they train you on planes you have never flown? How does that work?

 

[srn121]

Do they train you on planes you have never flown? How does that work?

Every company's trained me reasonably well for the planes I had flown. I know one Picto vendor that would often promote their pilots from 172s and learned to regret skimping on training with how much damage was done to them when they tried to cut pilots loose too soon, but every where else they were pretty thorough.

 

[Spirit12]

Salaries at Surdex are the following on the average
C206 $32K
C335 $40K
C414 $45K
C441 $52K

All training is done by the Chief Pilot but not consistent or standardize (It all depends if he likes you)
Did I mention they want 3 year contract and $10,000.00 penalties for not staying for the 3 years for the new pilots or for what they consider upgrading to Twins.
C441 training is at Simcom in Orlando then follow by in house training with the CP. Don't have information on this contract.

 

[MikeNovemberMike]

Salaries at Surdex are the following on the average
C206 $32K
C335 $40K
C414 $45K
C441 $52K

All training is done by the Chief Pilot but not consistent or standardize (It all depends if he likes you)
Did I mention they want 3 year contract and $10,000.00 penalties for not staying for the 3 years for the new pilots or for what they consider upgrading to Twins.
C441 training is at Simcom in Orlando then follow by in house training with the CP. Don't have information on this contract.

3 years! Who would go for that?

 

[killbilly]

It's no problem. The first job is probably the toughest position a commercial pilot can be in in their careers or at least I thought so and I'm happy to send people to companies and folks that treated me well as that's the least I can do for having fun, getting paid and being treated well.

I've never worked for them so I can't say how good they are, but they did make me a fair offer years ago.
- Aero-Graphics, Inc | Aerial Mapping I think their season used to run until January and if you could get on from now until then it might be a good way to build some time and open some doors if survey or their QoL isn't for you. Fugro and Aspen remain my top picks given your time and what might be available, but Aspen can be a bit feast or famine so enjoy the time when it presents itself and the Partenavia's an awesome plane.

Fugro doesn't list any of their compensation. Is that something you can publish here or is there another source you'd recommend looking up?

 

[srn121]

Fugro doesn't list any of their compensation. Is that something you can publish here or is there another source you'd recommend looking up?

No idea aside from what I had earned when I flew for them as a contract pilot which was $300 a day, GSA per diem, hotel paid for and rental car shared with camera operator paid for. I had 4 years of aerial survey experience at that time and the rotation was a 20/10. I had heard in the 50s and higher for pay back then, but I never got on full-time with them and supposedly it's gone up I just have no idea how things have changed as it's been almost 3 years since. They were nice folks, the aircraft seemed well maintained and I had zero complaints.

 

[bp]

Thanks for the info. Yes, I hear Keystone is always hiring because it’s a revolving door there, which speaks to the job itself. And no one wants to live in Philly, not even the most adventurous. As far as I know, their contract pilots come with higher minimums.

There were some dudes that worked on the road quite a bit and didn't have to live in Philly. Essentially they'd just use hotel points whenever they happened to be there. Certainly more of a vagabond lifestyle, but the money is about what Surdex rates are above (that was when I was there several years ago, too) but it's not for everyone. The good thing about being on the road at KAS was earning 2hr of vacation every day you were on the road, that added up quick and you could take a ton of time off after a heavy survey season, or if you left it was a hefty check.
I know they also opened a Reno office recently after closing Tucson, not sure how that one is being staffed.
No idea if they're doing training contracts, they weren't when I was there.

 

[Fly1234]

Salaries at Surdex are the following on the average
C206 $32K
C335 $40K
C414 $45K
C441 $52K

All training is done by the Chief Pilot but not consistent or standardize (It all depends if he likes you)
Did I mention they want 3 year contract and $10,000.00 penalties for not staying for the 3 years for the new pilots or for what they consider upgrading to Twins.
C441 training is at Simcom in Orlando then follow by in house training with the CP. Don't have information on this contract.

Here's the stats for Surdex. Our aircraft are the best maintained fleet in the industry. We have more pilots than we ever have, who get 500-600 hours a year. We fly two weeks on/ one week off and typically additional time off during slow times. Our salaried compensation, bonus and benefits package is one of the best in the industry. Surdex has a training program that will take an entry level pilot through four progressive aircraft. There are no employment contracts at this time, however we do ask for reimbursement of training costs if a pilot leaves after training. Our company is growing fast due to our strong commitment to quality and delivery. Flying for Surdex is the fastest way to launch your aviation career, however we will only accept the best pilots.

We are continually hiring both new and experienced pilots.

 

[srn121]

Here's the stats for Surdex. Our aircraft are the best maintained fleet in the industry. We have more pilots than we ever have, who get 500-600 hours a year. We fly two weeks on/ one week off and typically additional time off during slow times. Our salaried compensation, bonus and benefits package is one of the best in the industry. Surdex has a training program that will take an entry level pilot through four progressive aircraft. There are no employment contracts at this time, however we do ask for reimbursement of training costs if a pilot leaves after training. Our company is growing fast due to our strong commitment to quality and delivery. Flying for Surdex is the fastest way to launch your aviation career, however we will only accept the best pilots.

We are continually hiring both new and experienced pilots.

That's nice to know that you have no intention of enforcing any training reimbursement at Surdex since you guys have no contracts and no way to demand that money back. I've worked for Surdex and three competitors after (also recieved an offer right after that was noticeably more generous) and all gave me more time off and paid me more in spite of it. I wish you guys the best as there are some nice folks that work at Surdex and I think you'd get and retain better pilots if you paid them more and treated them better, but luckily we've got a free market and you according to your post won't hold them to paying you back for the expensive cost of checking out someone in a 206 so we can let the market prove one of us right.

 

[MikeNovemberMike]

Here's the stats for Surdex. Our aircraft are the best maintained fleet in the industry. We have more pilots than we ever have, who get 500-600 hours a year. We fly two weeks on/ one week off and typically additional time off during slow times. Our salaried compensation, bonus and benefits package is one of the best in the industry. Surdex has a training program that will take an entry level pilot through four progressive aircraft. There are no employment contracts at this time, however we do ask for reimbursement of training costs if a pilot leaves after training. Our company is growing fast due to our strong commitment to quality and delivery. Flying for Surdex is the fastest way to launch your aviation career, however we will only accept the best pilots.

We are continually hiring both new and experienced pilots.

Sounds like a nice place to work. I’d be interested, but on the careers page it seems as if there is a 3 year contractual obligation. If this is not the case, I would apply.

Surdex Careers

 

[Fly1234]

Sounds like a nice place to work. I’d be interested, but on the careers page it seems as if there is a 3 year contractual obligation. If this is not the case, I would apply.

Surdex Careers

Surdex does not currently have employment contracts, however we are not interested in turning pilots over every 6 months. We are looking for pilots who are willing to spend at least three years working for us. If you are in a rush to get to the airlines, Surdex is not for you, so please do not apply. If you want the best training, best maintained aircraft, and the best three years of experience in aviation call our HR department. Over the next three years you will fly 1500 hours, visit every state in the CONUS, and be comfortable flying single engine, twin piston engine, twin turbine, high altitude, over water, mountains, nights, and conjested airspace. About half of our pilots decide to stay and make a career of Aerial Survey. If you decide to pursue more advanced jet aircraft, I guarantee you will be successful given this experience.

If you are an experienced pilot in Aerial Survey you should give us a call. We have recently hired a number of senior pilots with experience from other companies in our industry.

Surdex is one of the premier aerial acquisition company in North America. We are one of the largest federal contractors in the industry and fly for the USDA, USACE, USGS, and others. Our imagery is also seen on Apple Maps, Google Maps, as well as hundreds of municipal websites. Other large aerial aquisition companies (represented on this forum) also contract flying to us. We hire experienced and inexperienced commercial pilots. We also hire private pilots as camera operators.

 

[daydreamer]

Surdex does not currently have employment contracts, however we are not interested in turning pilots over every 6 months. We are looking for pilots who are willing to spend at least three years working for us. If you are in a rush to get to the airlines, Surdex is not for you, so please do not apply. If you want the best training, best maintained aircraft, and the best three years of experience in aviation call our HR department. Over the next three years you will fly 1500 hours, visit every state in the CONUS, and be comfortable flying single engine, twin piston engine, twin turbine, high altitude, over water, mountains, nights, and conjested airspace. About half of our pilots decide to stay and make a career of Aerial Survey. If you decide to pursue more advanced jet aircraft, I guarantee you will be successful given this experience.

If you are an experienced pilot in Aerial Survey you should give us a call. We have recently hired a number of senior pilots with experience from other companies in our industry.

Surdex is one of the premier aerial acquisition company in North America. We are one of the largest federal contractors in the industry and fly for the USDA, USACE, USGS, and others. Our imagery is also seen on Apple Maps, Google Maps, as well as hundreds of municipal websites. Other large aerial aquisition companies (represented on this forum) also contract flying to us. We hire experienced and inexperienced commercial pilots. We also hire private pilots as camera operators.

Do you guys do any overseas work?
I used to for a picto vendor And took a year off from flying.

 

[daydreamer]

@srn121

Do you know any two man crew overseas flying jobs that doesn’t require a relocation ?

 

[srn121]

@srn121

Do you know any two man crew overseas flying jobs that doesn’t require a relocation ?

I've heard of Dynamic doing stuff in Saudi Arabia and I believe they do two man crews, but I assume they do other places too. Look up Dynamic Aviation. There's also some outfit in New England that used to advertise long rotations (60/30 if I remember right) that might include international work, I believe it was aeroptic, but their site isn't working and I know nothing of pay or QoL Aeroptic a KEYW company

 

[thehobbit]

Surdex does not currently have employment contracts, however we are not interested in turning pilots over every 6 months. We are looking for pilots who are willing to spend at least three years working for us. If you are in a rush to get to the airlines, Surdex is not for you, so please do not apply. If you want the best training, best maintained aircraft, and the best three years of experience in aviation call our HR department. Over the next three years you will fly 1500 hours, visit every state in the CONUS, and be comfortable flying single engine, twin piston engine, twin turbine, high altitude, over water, mountains, nights, and conjested airspace. About half of our pilots decide to stay and make a career of Aerial Survey. If you decide to pursue more advanced jet aircraft, I guarantee you will be successful given this experience.

If you are an experienced pilot in Aerial Survey you should give us a call. We have recently hired a number of senior pilots with experience from other companies in our industry.

Surdex is one of the premier aerial acquisition company in North America. We are one of the largest federal contractors in the industry and fly for the USDA, USACE, USGS, and others. Our imagery is also seen on Apple Maps, Google Maps, as well as hundreds of municipal websites. Other large aerial aquisition companies (represented on this forum) also contract flying to us. We hire experienced and inexperienced commercial pilots. We also hire private pilots as camera operators.

What do you consider to be an experienced pilot? I'm currently flying Aztecs for an eagleview vendor. What aircraft and pay would one expect coming from another aerial survey company?