Career Crossroads...

# 1.5 Fly for fun, be at home, but get your ATP now while your flying skills are finely honed and before the omniscient folks at the FFA tack any more silly requirements onto it. Seems to me that would open up more/other options to you if you do decide you do want to fly for a living
 
I feel for you with the decisions you are facing. Flying is great as long as you enjoy it. The second it becomes just a job, then it is equal to (or worse than) any other profession.

As far as #1 goes, that sounds like a lot of fun, which is perfect if you can financially afford it and if you don't mind the time away from your family. Flying warbirds is definitely on my bucket list, but it is one of those things I would like to accomplish after I make a few bucks flying for a living. If you can survive while not actually earning a living, more power to you!

#2 doesn't sound like a great plan simply because I don't know that having your ATP will open up that many doors for you. I did my flight training in JAX and there didn't seem to be a lot of 135/91 opportunities around that area. Unless you get some turbine time, an ATP may not be enough to break into that type of flying.

Option #3 seems like a good way to build turbine time to potentially get into some type of flying based closer to home. Expressjet and PSA are both hiring and have bases pretty close to JAX. Even if you are on reserve, it shouldn't be too hard to commute. Also, you should have a pretty good amount of days off.

If I were in your position (without knowing more about your family situation), I would strive to get hired at the regionals while also volunteering with the warbird flying. You can jumpseat to where the warbird(s) is/are to cut down on expenses.

Good luck with your decision(s), keep us posted on whatever you decide!
 
chrisreedrules said:
Well here I sit. I finished up my last trip with my aerial survey company about a week ago. A year of living out of a suitcase has taught me a lot. I loved the varied flying and I will cherish the experiences and great people I met, but I hated the lifestyle when it was all said and done. I missed my family and my home a lot when I was on the road. So here I sit... With the 1500+ hours and all ATP mins I worked hard to achieve over the past few years and yet something feels different. I don't feel the same drive to "get to an airline" that I used to. In fact, I'm not overly thrilled about the airline career at all anymore. Part of that feeling comes with the realization that because I own a house in NE Florida, it's not so easy to just "up and move" my family somewhere to chase the dream and live in base for QOL. I am bound to my current residence for more reasons than one at the moment and I'm not complaining about that, I really like it here. I have some plans to take a couple months off to do some "fun flying" and to work on a home remodel. So here are my options as I see them...

1) I have an opportunity to volunteer with a prominent organization that flies warbirds around the US starting in September. I can volunteer with them for as little or long as I like but this is basically a "dream come true" kind of opportunity for me. Before I was even a private pilot, if you asked me what I would do with aviation I would of told you this is what I wanted to do. I just never expected the opportunity to come at this time in my career. This is not a paid gig. So it will not be paying any bills or putting any food on the table. One thing I am considering is to just work a normal job again or go back to school all the while getting my kicks flying with these guys. Work for money, fly for fun again...

2) Get my ATP done in a local twin and see if that alone will open up any opportunities for me. Preferably local opportunities. Unfortunately, there aren't many good 135 or 91 operators here so I don't know what if anything will come from this.

3) Take a couple months off, finish home remodel, get my ATP, apply at regionals. Suck it up and deal with the commute.

Not sure which path I'm going to take just yet, and I'm not even really sure why I posted this here... I guess I'm just a little torn and I'm at a point where no matter which path I take, there are a lot of questions left unanswered for me. Any decision feels like a leap of faith to some extent and I'm not used to making decisions based on faith. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated and thanks for reading my Monday morning musings.
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Subjectively viewing this post and analyzing your writing, its is based on a whole lot of maybes, what ifs, and might happens. Your ATP alone wont open up opportunities in and of itself, that is your job to sell yourself to those operations "you don't think/know enough about that are good enough."

You are most likely to end up at Option 3 if you cannot find another job outside of aviation, if these are your only plays.

Have fun, be safe.
 
n57flyguy said:
Subjectively viewing this post and analyzing your writing, its is based on a whole lot of maybes, what ifs, and might happens. Your ATP alone wont open up opportunities in and of itself, that is your job to sell yourself to those operations "you don't think/know enough about that are good enough."

You are most likely to end up at Option 3 if you cannot find another job outside of aviation, if these are your only plays.

Have fun, be safe.
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I realize that and I don't necessarily expect doors to swing wide open when I get my ATP... But from the reputable 135/91 folks around here it seems like having an ATP and 1,000+ PIC is the minimum they will consider. Either way I'm going to get my ATP knocked out and fly some warbirds... It's just a matter of what I want to do to put bread on the table in the long run that has me torn on the inside. Do I want to fly for a living? Do I want to work a desk, be home more, and fly purely for fun? Both have pros and cons... Just not sure which.
 
If you toughed it out for a year with survey work, then why not try the airlines for a year? Sure the pay and schedule suck...but they'll give you the ATP. Then after a year of work, 4-700 hrs jet time, airline training, AND an ATP, you will have far better options in the 135/91 corporate world if you so choose. It doesn't always look good leaving a job after a year, but many places will understand if you tell them the regionals just aren't for you.
 
chrisreedrules said:
I realize that and I don't necessarily expect doors to swing wide open when I get my ATP... But from the reputable 135/91 folks around here it seems like having an ATP and 1,000+ PIC is the minimum they will consider. Either way I'm going to get my ATP knocked out and fly some warbirds... It's just a matter of what I want to do to put bread on the table in the long run that has me torn on the inside. Do I want to fly for a living? Do I want to work a desk, be home more, and fly purely for fun? Both have pros and cons... Just not sure which.
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I wish you all the best on engaging your success mechanism once you find a goal. If the Warbird deal is a sure thing, get checked out tomorrow (seriously) and tell me stories. What would you be flying for them?
 
Crop Duster said:
# 1.5 Fly for fun, be at home, but get your ATP now while your flying skills are finely honed and before the omniscient folks at the FFA tack any more silly requirements onto it. Seems to me that would open up more/other options to you if you do decide you do want to fly for a living
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The FFA? No wonder some of these new regs seem a little 'bovine.' *sarcasm*
 
You'll have to leave Florida to find a rich field of 91 jobs. There are some quality jobs posted in the Orlando area, but as a whole, you need to get out of that state to make a play at a quality gig.
 
Given that you don't sound like you want to move, I feel like the regionals are going to be your best bet. You trudged through aerial survey. Your QOL, in your case, should be a big bump. Except for pay...

The fun bux flying will probably always be around. So will "long term" jobs though
 
Probably already been said in this thread, but you're the only one that can make the decision. I've had plenty of people tell me exactly what steps I needed to take, regardless of what I actually wanted. In the end I always decided what was best for me. Maybe some of the decisions didn't really work out in the short term, but in the long term I think it'd be hard to think of a situation I'd be more satisfied with then the one I'm in now.
 
Why don't you give the airlines a shot for 6 months and see. That way you won't have to grow old wondering what if.
 
If you're keeping score, add me to the list of people suggesting giving the regionals a shot. You don't have to stay if you don't like it. However, what you will get out of the deal is: 1) your ATP, paid for by someone else, 2) a type rating, also paid for by someone else 3) proof that you can pass a structured training program complete with firehose treatment. You never know; being in the airline environment may just reignite an interest in staying with the airlines. Yes, commuting sucks. However, lots of otherwise happy people make it work for them and their families.
 
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