FLX taking USC routes??

ljg said:
In all seriousness dcramer good luck to you. Hope you get your recall soon.
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I appreciate that. But at this point in time I wouldn't even say I'm "excited" about working for Airnet again. I can't even begin to describe the frustration I'm feeling. Words wouldn't express it. But if you'll allow me to rant a minute, I haven't had a good rant in a while....

I started out in this industry knowing ABSOLUTLY NOTHING about the things I would be dealing with. I was a Radio Announcer/DJ. I spent almost 10 years working my way up. I went from the lowest rung of the ladder (overnight weekend) to Ratings Success Morning Show with a lot of sweat, tears, and maybe even 10% creativity. I finally got to the top, and had an extremely popular moring show. Even today, 3 years later I'll be at the checkout stand at the local grocery store, and the cashier or someone standing in line by me will say "You sound really familiar, you don't look familiar, but have we met?" After all this work I finally had a house paid for, in full, two cars, a boat, decent schedule, recognition, and even a touch of fame. This is where it gets really funny.

One day I was sitting around thinking about my career so far. Thinking about how it was starting to get a bit boring. Don't get me wrong, interviewing celebs, the challenge of having the show run perfectly was a lot of stress, and it wasn't easy. But it was starting to become routine. I was feeling like I was in a rut. So, being the ignorant prick I am, I thought "Hmmm, I've always wanted to fly. Wouldn't it be great to become an airline captain, make 6 figures, and work 3 days a month" HA HA HA, son of a .....! I wish I could say I'm kidding, but I'm not. Whoa boy holy crap oh poop! So I sold the house, the boat, and one car, packed up and went to school and became a pilot, spending all my savings in the process.

3 years later HA HA HA I'm sitting on my butt HA HA HA having a mid life crisis HA HA HA living off unemployment HA HA HA furloughed HA HA HA living in my parents basement HA HA HA and though the years I realized the 6 figure income and 3 days of work a month isn't realistic HA HA HA. (I think I'm starting to go crazy). I can't even begin to believe I was that stupid. Why oh why didn't I ask around before jumping head first into this career.

So for the last 4 months I have applied to every job under the sun. Can you believe my first reaction when I found out I was going to be furloughed? Get this. I thought, "Hmmm, this isn't so bad. I'm an Airnet pilot, have 2500TT, 900ME, this isn't so bad. I'm getting out of my contract! $60k/year corporate jet job, look out, here I come! Yeah! Turbine time!" WTF! I'm a certifiable dumbass.

So I started out only applying for these $60k/year corporate jet jobs (last fall, when there were still a few around). Couple months later I started applying for ANY flying job, 4 months later I'm applying for ANY job PERIOD. I have a cousin who is a senior prison guard at the state prison, he thinks even though the economy is bad, he can get me in the door. I have an app in there to become a freakin prison guard. Yesterday I put in a job application at Walmart. March 3rd I am going to a career fair for entry level podunk jobs. My job standards have slipped just a knotch over the last several months.


So why don't I go back into radio? First, I think we can all agree it's hard to get a flying job right now. Nobody is hiring, right? Imagine if you can, this hiring situation being 5X worse. Then you are getting close to how hard it is to get a radio gig. There are hundereds if not thousands of applications per job opening. Not only that, but you have to send a demo tape along with your resume. It has to be a funny, charming, flawless, entertaining, sample of what you can do on the radio. I actually got out of a studio this weekend (finally, thank god!) with a semi-decent demo. I haven't done it in 3 years, so it's not bad. But it's hard to get into a studio, and after begging a friend of mine (for 2 months), I was allowed to use their equipment for 3 hours (actually he snuck me in afterhours on the weekend). My demo is the best I can do right now.

So my frustration with this industry is almost too hard to put into words. I have actually watched my life be flushed down the toilet. Don't get me wrong either, I'm not blaming the market, the airlines, or anyone. That is, except for myself, I blame myself, and the unbelievable expectations that I had!

But at the same time, I'm also glad I did this. I realized that not only did I like flying, but I LOVED IT! It has been the most challenging thing I have ever done in my life. God, just look at that big FAR/AIM I had to learn. Holy crap! I deserve a plaque! Then learing all kinds of new airplanes, learning different company procedures, then reviewing, then studying somemore, then studying for the ATP written, then studying this and studying that, and learning this and learning that......I think you get the point. One of the reasons I got into aviation was for the challenge. It hasn't disappointed me in the least. It is nothing routine or easy. There is no way I could get into a rut in this business. Unless you count being furloughed and unemployed for 4 months, a rut... But anyways, hee hee. Honest to god, I am still glad I did this. I have met great people, had great experiences, pushed my brain to the max, and learned some really cool stuff. (HA HA HA just give me another 3 months of being unemployed and see if I still feel glad HA HA HA)

So, while I'm not salivating at the thought of working for Airnet, anything would be good right about now. Even (GASP!!) Heaven forbid, GO JET!!!!
I get up every morning, get my daughter off to school. Then about 8:30 I get a cup of coffee and sit down to browse the job boards. Then I call around to places I've applied too, then I call around to places that aren't even advertising. I actually Google something like "New Orleans cargo" and pull up the yellow pages and call companies and see if they are hrining. Finally about noon, I call my job search over for the day. I do this 7 days a week, religiously. The second I see an opening I have a resume and app off within 10-20 minutes of it being posted. After lunch I leave the job sites open in Internet Explorer and hit refresh, oh, about every 20-30 minutes throughout the day (I've actually hit refresh on them 4 times while writing this). So the second a job is out, I'm applying. I don't give a crap what people say about GO JET, the second they have a job opening, I'm applying. I've also heard a lot of things like "Don't work for this operation because....." I'm applying! In the mean time I'll keep my fingers crossed that Airnet calls me back. I'll also keep my fingers crossed for the other 4,582 jobs I've applied for...lol

God it feels good to get this off my chest...Thanks JC for listening, I had a rope haning in the rafters for later but now that I got all this out...:sarcasm:
Just kidding. Seriously though, I feel in my heart that I still made a good decision by becoming a pilot, and one way or another it will work out. I am actually lucky in the fact that everytime I start feeling really down, someone starts "leading me on". In the end I don't get the job, but it gives me just enough "pep" to keep plugging along, and applying for more jobs! Another motivator that keeps me feeling positive is the opportunity to pass job leads on to the many friends I've made in this career field. I don't know why, but that really helps a lot too. I usually spend the afternoon calling the many many friends I've made, and discussing what I found that morning, giving numbers, details, etc... God life is good!! I feel better already. I'm ready to hit those job boards running tomorrow!
 
econ902 said:
do u have a cliff notes version of what u just wrote... too tired to read
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Sure. Basically I'm questioning my judgement from leaving a stelar career to something that's starting to seem dead end, all the while greatful for the wild ride it has taken me for.
END CLIFF NOTES

I remember I had posted somewhere on this site about how lucky I was to have a wife that has supported me so much. But here lately even she is questioning my judgement. Now it's starting to get harder. And she has every right to question it. But she still remembers what radio did to me too.

Radio stress and pilot stress are two totally different things. For example, you're flying around in crappy weather. You're stressed for the 10min-about an hour, you land, stress goes away. In radio you're popping tums like it's candy, and drinking pepto bismol like it's red bull. You're constantly worried about ratings, that thing that popped out of your mouth that pleased 600 listeners but angered 599, the interview you have coming up next week with some celeb, andI could go on and on. Radio is also pretty cuthroat. Your best friend today WILL be that guy tomorrow digging the knife into your back just to get a bit ahead. At the time she was glad I was getting out of it....women...lol It was a wild ride also, just a different type.

And the funny thing is, I was great at it. I was really great at it. Since I've become a pilot I don't feel I'm really great at it. I love it like nothing else, and I feel good at it, but not great. People have told me I am way too hard on myself, but it always seems that I forgot this rule, then next time I spaced that rule, or I'll think I'm having a great week, then I have a crappy landing. And I think pilots should be hard on themselves. Look at all the responsibility! At the same time that's also one of the things I love about it. I'm always challenged to learn more, or try to remember some bit of info I learned in school but didn't really apply till today....I am definately one of those types of "use it or loose it", which makes it a hell of a challenge being a pilot.

I better shut up now, this is starting to turn out long like my last post. I'm becoming a JC junkie with nothing to do but pull up 10 different threads and hit 'refresh' 'refresh' 'refresh' 'reply' 'refresh':D
 
Hey dcramer,

Just keep your head up and keep working at finding something. Gigs are few and far between, but I've heard of people from my company moving on to all different types of gigs. One of my buddies just text me other day that he's giving his two weeks notice at AMF to fly air medical company.
 
I feel you dcramer. Times are tough, the flight school I work at has slowed down significantly and I'm actually going into the Army Reserve in April. Meanwhile to make some bucks I'm working at a restaurant. The truth is the pay sucks and the work is hard but I like it. I deal with people (good and bad) not half the BS, with flying and its mindless easy work, I couldn't do it forever but its good, and again plenty of chicks around. Some of my co-workers get stressed about screwing up orders at tables and when the food is coming out like its life or death, I just chuckle.

During my down time I like to read and I make it a point to read success and motivation books, stuff that empowers. I also like to read up about rags to riches stories and how people came upon success and wealth. One things I've noticed constently in most of these stories is that said successful person worked for a long time (often decades) and noticed little result of their hard work. Then in a very short period of time following the period of hard work the results were exponential. A good example would be aviation because pilots ussually incur a lot of debt to learn to fly, then suck up 30K or less often times for 4-5 years. Even after that it takes a long time to make any money, and lot of month to month struggling to pay bills. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, though it takes 15 years-20 years there is money in it. Many many companies pay 100K plus, some 200K plus. I know a pilot who flies for a fractional and works as an FAA examiner on his weeks off, the other day I was talking to one of my fellow CFIs whos going to pay him 6K to get his Citation type rating (in the jet the examiner owns). I found that pretty motivating, considering the price and cost of operating a Citation. He's obviously doing very well. It gets me thinking maybe theres potential in this industry after all. Somehow even in the worst of times and toughest of situations people still can make money and be successful, just don't give up. Once things turn around again and a pilot shortage starts the creep back the guys that were working hard building up their time will be the first to get the sought after jobs.

As for me personally, the lesson I've learned is just the enjoy the ride.
 
dcramer,
I read your rant in it's entirety and the cliff notes too! I could change five or six words and your rant could (might) become mine. It probably won't make you feel any better but I have traveled the same path with a few very minor differences that you have. I went from a $50k a year job, 10 years in the making, to a unemployment check chasing this elusive aviation dream. I also lost our house, my Corvette, my 401k, our savings and my LongEz project.
I also have an offer on the table for a county detention officer job, it pays $23,684. a year and requires a TWO YEAR $5000. CONTRACT. I respectfully declined primarily because of the contract and a secondary reason was because I would be in jail every day for eight hours.

Just wanted to say keep your chin up, good luck with your job search and you are not alone.
 
SkyFive said:
dcramer,
I read your rant in it's entirety and the cliff notes too! I could change five or six words and your rant could (might) become mine. It probably won't make you feel any better but I have traveled the same path with a few very minor differences that you have. I went from a $50k a year job, 10 years in the making, to a unemployment check chasing this elusive aviation dream. I also lost our house, my Corvette, my 401k, our savings and my LongEz project.
I also have an offer on the table for a county detention officer job, it pays $23,684. a year and requires a TWO YEAR $5000. CONTRACT. I respectfully declined primarily because of the contract and a secondary reason was because I would be in jail every day for eight hours.

Just wanted to say keep your chin up, good luck with your job search and you are not alone.
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Same to you Skyfive. I know the "you're not alone" is suppost to make me feel better. But knowing how many pilots are in my position doesn't. I feel for them too. I've got a little group I've got set up. Just me and 5 other buddies that are unemployed. We usually call each other most afternoons and tell each other what we've found on the job boards. If there's anything I can do to help out, or if you want in on our little group, PM me.
 
Tonight there was an Airnet Lear unloading / loading cargo on the Flight Express ramp in Orlando. That is going to happen every night from now on. The two companies are "joining" resources and combining more flights together.
 
Michigan_Flyer said:
Tonight there was an Airnet Lear unloading / loading cargo on the Flight Express ramp in Orlando. That is going to happen every night from now on. The two companies are "joining" resources and combining more flights together.
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That's been happening for about 15 years but thanks for the update.
 
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