Career Crossroads...

Beware, regionals are shrinking as a whole. It sounds as if united will keep expanding their regional operations but I don't know how long.

I enjoyed the regionals, for a while I got to work for a very good one, Mesaba, but thats all been mutilated and burned to the ground. Go someplace you can be senior quickly, anything on the bottom 20% is a death sentence (to be very dramatic).
 
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I'm not one to advocating paying for your own ATP, unless it makes sense with the situation (Yes, I paid for my own ATP, but it was the only was I was getting out of gas bags). But given how the regulations change in regards to that shortly, I'd think about doing it myself, just to not lock into having to go 121 to get the ATP. That said, find a job that makes you happy. Having spent a significant amount of time in a job, living on the road, that I hated, I'll never do it again.
 
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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It's amazing what a "little warbird experience" can do to enhance your resume to some people, other people couldn't care less. Hit or miss.
 
I left flying for a living in 2012.. I can think of 1 time where I had any "man, I miss that" sort of emotions and they only lasted a few seconds..

Do what your heart tells you..
 
Of all the survey alumni that I know one went 121 in a DH8 and one to Cape Air, nobody went the typical regional jet ways. After a long season (or seasons) a long break was needed. I hardly ever flew at all in the in between summer months. Take some some time and if you have anything at all to fall back on working wise I'd do that before leaving home for the endless newark commute.
 
Tram said:
I left flying for a living in 2012.. I can think of 1 time where I had any "man, I miss that" sort of emotions and they only lasted a few seconds..

Do what your heart tells you..
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You're only two years out Tram, it took me about 5 years out before the bug came out of remission. I don't regret leaving though, it's given me perspective and it was the right choice at the time. Now it's time to get back in (or at least try).
 
T/O w/FSII said:
Says the guy that still logs into JC...
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I wasn't aware of the requirement to cease flying when I stopped flying to put food on the table.. Good to know.

Used2Fly said:
You're only two years out Tram, it took me about 5 years out before the bug came out of remission. I don't regret leaving though, it's given me perspective and it was the right choice at the time. Now it's time to get back in (or at least try).
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I'd never be able to take the pay cut to get back in.

I still fly. I still fly for a check. I just get to choose when I fly and when I don't.

If I wasn't able to fly, it'd be hard I think.
 
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@chrisreedrules here's my take on your original question:

I say go get your ATP so that more opportunities present themselves to you. It's the option that puts money in the bank in the long run. The other options (1, 3) are taking money out of your pocket. While flying warbirds is a dream, you may be paying for food and housing on the road. Makes no sense if you're not brining in money to pay for your house and family needs. Putting eqity in the house is great as well, but again, you're spending money, not making it. Flying warbirds may be a good resume enhancer, but it IMHO is not as significant as an ATP certificate with regard to career progression.

I say go for the ATP.
 
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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Yep exactly what happened to me. After doing all sorts of jobs to get the requirements to start regional flying which at the time was around 1000TT plus a bunch of other stuff, I knew enough about aviation to not what to do any regional flying.
 
Well fellas... Heres an update and a bit of a thread revival. The opportunity to fly warbirds has been put on hold for 2014. But good news, the offer was extended to me for 2015 if I am still interested. Hopefully that will work out like I'm hoping but its so far out right not its hard to tell. I tried for a couple months to find a local 91 or 135 operator and I looked as far south at Ft Lauderdale and as far north as Savannah. No dice. I interviewed several places, got a couple offers which I turned down (they were bad offers and I'm not going to sell my soul to fly a jet) and got a few "thanks but no thanks" emails. So recently I've been interviewing for a 121 gig. I have a few offers to consider and I still have a couple of interviews left. My friends already at the regionals called me, "the poster child for the regional pilot shortage". I've had interview offers from just about everywhere except a few places. I guess back when they were trying to break into 121 it was basically a "take what you can get" kind of scenario. So I feel grateful that I seem to have some options open to me. Home remodel is coming along nicely. Its taking about twice as long as I anticipated and it has definitely gone over budget but thats how these things go. I'm hoping to start class at a regional in January.
 
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