Considering changing my career plans.

captainphil

captainphil

Well-Known Member
All I could think about when I was younger was being an airline pilot. Having seen the frustration the airlines causes it pilots ( not to mention other factors) i'm starting to think about a plan B. Other than airline pilot and corporate pilot, what other aviation career options are out there?
 
captainphil said:
All I could think about when I was younger was being an airline pilot. Having seen the frustration the airlines causes it pilots ( not to mention other factors) i'm starting to think about a plan B. Other than airline pilot and corporate pilot, what other aviation career options are out there?
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Charter, medical/air ambulance, Forestry and Fire Departments, entities that contract out for aerial firefighting, LEO, Utility companies, private pilot for a group or individual, flying for various types of governmental entities, private contractor, freight, contract flying, ferrying, pilots who fly for aircraft manufacturers, agriculture, media (news and traffic) pilots, off the top of my head.
 
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A Life Aloft said:
Charter, medical/air ambulance, Forestry and Fire Departments, LEO, Utility companies, private pilot for a group or individual, flying for various types of governmental entities, private contractor, freight, contract flying, ferrying, pilots who fly for aircraft manufacturers, agriculture, media (news and traffic) pilots, off the top of my head.
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I am gunna look into all of those thanks! I'm actually taking the test for the police department so an LEO could be good, not that it would be easy to obtain.
 
captainphil said:
I am gunna look into all of those thanks! I'm actually taking the test for the police department so an LEO could be good, not that it would be easy to obtain.
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And it will take time to get onto the flying division of any LEO force, but it can be an excellent gig. You have yo do a certain number of years "on the street" and each city/county/department has their own requirements. You have to want to be a LEO first, however. Just like the military, you have to be serious and dedicated to being a military member and want to serve even if you don't get a pilot slot.
 
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mikecweb said:
What do you find frustrating about the airlines?
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The schedules, hearing pilots always complain about the lack of sleep or sleeping in crew rooms, the salary and the fact that you can be furloughed at anytime, being away from home all of the time and missing important events. Just doesn't sound too appealing to me.
 
captainphil said:
The schedules, hearing pilots always complain about the lack of sleep or sleeping in crew rooms, the salary and the fact that you can be furloughed at anytime, being away from home all of the time and missing important events. Just doesn't sound too appealing to me.
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Exceptions to everything but most flying jobs are going to have most of those for a good part of the start of your career.
 
captainphil said:
The schedules, hearing pilots always complain about the lack of sleep or sleeping in crew rooms, the salary and the fact that you can be furloughed at anytime, being away from home all of the time and missing important events. Just doesn't sound too appealing to me.
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You should check out medevac/air ambulance. Can be a great gig at the right company and in the right locale.

You could go to AK and be a bush pilot and have a helluva time for that matter, really enjoy yourself and learn to fly in all sorts of various conditions. Plenty of happy AK pilots on here whose brains you can pick. It would be an incredible place to live too.

Also, don't let the whining of a few disgruntled people persuade you. Some people are just like that. Others find a way to make things work for them and have a better attitude. It's too soon to get discouraged in your career.
 
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captainphil said:
All I could think about when I was younger was being an airline pilot. Having seen the frustration the airlines causes it pilots ( not to mention other factors) i'm starting to think about a plan B. Other than airline pilot and corporate pilot, what other aviation career options are out there?
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I agree. I'm totally frustrated with my career. I'm still an F/O and only make $200K a year. They only allow me to fly around 400 hrs a year. They also make me work every other week and make me take the entire opposite week off. And to top it off, I'm totally frustrated by me still being an F/O even though I've been bypassing Captain upgrade for some time.

Yes, being an airline pilot totally sux. :sarcasm: :stir:
 
CzechAirman said:
I agree. I'm totally frustrated with my career. I'm still an F/O and only make $200K a year. They only allow me to fly around 400 hrs a year. They also make me work every other week and make me take the entire opposite week off. And to top it off, I'm totally frustrated by me still being an F/O even though I've been bypassing Captain upgrade for some time.

Yes, being an airline pilot totally sux. :sarcasm: :stir:
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Boy. Some people are just grumpy-Jenkins.
 
I took the negativity I heard about into consideration, but continued with my goal anyway. No regrets. Miserable people will be miserable for one reason or another. I understand though that people get here and either don't like it, experience stagnation through no fault of thier own, get tired of it and/or have personal things going on where it's perfectly reasonable to be miserable. Some are more vocal about it than others as well. Everyone also just has bad days. By any large however, the people I've worked with were satisfied. Bitching is a popular tool to curb boredom in this business, so you hear a lot of it. Doesn't mean it's a bad career. There is plenty of suck, but that's probably the case with any career, and this one is pretty darn good all things considered.
 
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captainphil said:
The schedules, hearing pilots always complain about the lack of sleep or sleeping in crew rooms, the salary and the fact that you can be furloughed at anytime, being away from home all of the time and missing important events. Just doesn't sound too appealing to me.
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You will find pilots like to bitch about their jobs probably more than any profession. This is the easiest job I've ever had.
 
mojo6911 said:
You will find pilots like to bitch about their jobs probably more than any profession. This is the easiest job I've ever had.
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Yep. I definitely do my share of complaining at times, but then again, I'm not rushing back into engineering anytime soon. Having 18 days off for May is pretty sweet... Seriously, who else gets that?
 
mojo6911 said:
You will find pilots like to bitch about their jobs probably more than any profession. This is the easiest job I've ever had.
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Ain't that the frickin truth. I just spent 3 days listening to an old whiney dude who's been flying the same corporate gig forever saying over and over "I wouldn't tell anyone to do this!" Have you ever done anything else? You already told me your schedule... I've worked in scrap yards operating machinery that sprayed hydraulic oil all over me and left me scraping black • out of my ears and nose 6 days a week for 8 bucks an hour. Get real.

Our instructor used to be a cop...you think you got it harder than that? Geez I was just annoyed by him and his whole attitude.

Some people are unhappy with every job they ever have, changing careers won't do anything for those people. Don't be one of those people.
 
Dont forget there are different sorts of regional opportunities than the major ones. I work for a regional up here in Anchorage where I am home every night, have a decent schedule. The starting pay is decent where I am. But Ravn just upped the ante by starting FOs out at $50/hr. One nice thing about my current employer is you can start out right seat in the SAAB at about 800 hours. We operate two SAAB freighters on the 135 side. It provides a great opportunity to build time, and then move over to passenger operations.
 
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