If you were furloughed...where would you go

Air Ambulance jobs are starting in the $50,000+ range right now if you've got at least 2000TT and 1000 PIC. Other than that, I think being a CFI is the other golden ticket with most jobs starting at $40,000 with many companies including benefits.
 
meyers9163 said:
haha nah more so you all fly some of the crapiest equipment at times, through some of the most wicked of weather etc.... Some single pilot ops etc. Not for me at all. More so you all have the biggest of the biggest balls among pilot... hahah More so respect then anything DAWG!
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Touche...most of our airplanes arent that bad at all and I have ridden on many RJ's who have more deferrals than any airplane I have ever flown...Oh well, but I do consider myself rather well endowed....:D
 
Have a unsked stop in South America. Cut a door, paint over the registration. Grease some palms and start a new cargo airline
 
I can tell you what my husband did 3 year ago when he got furloughed. He felt like his only option was another regional. If he had his ATP at the time, he could have (and would have) put in with a few non-regionals that he was qualified for, but who knows if he would have gotten a job though (before getting furloughed, he had spent 4 years at as CRJ FO). He has spent the last 3 years looking forward to getting out of the regionals. LOL

He didn't enjoy instructing. so that wasn't an option for him. Also, I was 6 months pregnant when he got furloughed and I made crap at my job. We needed something that would bring in more money than instructing. Granted, first year FO pay was a joke, but at least we knew it would go up a good bit after that.

He went with the first regional that hired him. It was his first choice too b/c it could put us here in Denver and we really wanted to move here.

eta: I should say he did look at a job outside the industry. But, he couldn't bring himself to leave.

I have to say though. I look on the fact that he got furlouged as a blessing. Yeah, at the time, it sucked and it was a HUGE stress in our life when we should have been enjoying the fact that our first child was on the way. Our lives were up in the air for months b/c we had no idea where we were going to live, who he was going to work for or what he was going to do if he wasn't going to be a pilot. But, looking at where our lives have gone in the last 3 years, I'm thankful he got furloughed. I love it here in Colorado for many, many reasons. I think a lot of good (in many ways) came out of it.
 
No one knows what it's like to be furloughed until it happens. You can't begin to know the sick feeling in your stomach on that last flight. You just can't.

Furlough is something I would wish on very, very few people.
 
Zap, thanks for sharing that great read.

Needs to be in the Hot Topic Archive (Zap's essay, not this whole thread) in my opinion.
 
Well, if you're furloughed that probably means all of aviation is in the "crappier" (relatively), which implies other industries tied to business growth probably aren't doing too well either.

But people still have to live, so that means the staples of life should be insulated from industry downturns ... y'know, places like Home Depot and ... uh ... Costco. :D
 
Everybody needs to stop mentioning Home Depot, they're closing something like 35 stores throughout the midwest. They're furloughing too!!!
 
Work for a company that makes money off of people losing their jobs, houses, and having to pay tons for gas.

Where do people move to when their house gets foreclosed on? Where do they go when they lose their job? What do they do when they change their habits concerning gas consumption?

People still have to spend money, they are just changing the mailing address of some of their bills. Key is to be part of the new mailing destination.
 
People will continue to buy things like shampoo, soap, windex, razor blades, baby formula, diapers, etc even in a down economy. Companies like Proctor and Gamble etc are largely insulated from recession as a result. Discount retailers that sell these staples may also do well. Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, Sams Club, BJs, etc. They will see a reduction in big ticket items, (electronics, power tools, lawn tractors, etc.) but low margin necessities of life will continue to sell.

We buy our diapers at Sam's Club (.11 cents per diaper -- can't find em' cheaper than that). We also buy chicken breasts there, along with frozen fruits, vegetables, and milk. Everything else we buy at the local Supercenter. (There are a few other grocers in the area but generally speaking prices are much higher). We also invest $1.50 on the Sunday paper to get the coupons.

As for jobs, we all joke about working for Home Depot, Costco, etc.. but you may be surprised to find out what a store manager earns (including bonuses tied to store performance). My company has store managers who earn six figures.

During the furloughs in 2001/2002 a lot of pilots took the opportunity to go toss boxes for UPS/FedEx. This may have made them more competitive when those companies hired pilots. A handful of people I know went to work for Home Depot in the manager training program. Some went back to flying. Some fly recreationally now. If you find yourself locked in the golden handcuffs of aviation when industrywide furloughs occur, you will be in trouble. If there was ever a time to look outside of the box -- this is it.

There is no such thing as indentured servitude in the United States. Use your furlough to try something different. Keep flying on the side, but try your hand at other jobs or other industries. Network and you might end up in a corporate jet.

Before 9/11 I never, ever, imagined that flying a light jet for a corporation would be a very good job. I had common misconceptions about being on the pager 24/7, cleaning up the cabin, catering the airplane, carrying people's bags, etc.

With a little luck and networking I ended up flying a Learjet for a large corporation and I came to realize that almost all of my misconceptions were indeed wrong. I enjoy a better lifestyle than I ever had at the airlines even if the paycheck isn't quite as large as it was at the majors pre-9/11.

If I hadn't been furloughed(again) I never would have looked at this job... never would have moved to the country...never would have been home 25+ nights a month...and therefore probably never would have had a baby. That would have been a shame because he's a really neat kid! I love him alot.

So don't mock those who went to work at Costco or Home Depot (or other large retailers...) They might just have had an out of the box idea that worked for them!
 
How funny, cause my "outside the box" opportunity while on furlough was actually getting my PPL :laff:. No one was hiring F/As immediately post 9/11, and as places started to hire, they all wanted letters of resignation/forfeiture of recall rights which I wasn't willing to do at the time.

You know what my two furloughs have taught me? Not to fear change. Not at all. People tend to get so caught in their "comfort zone" that the thought of having to do something else is very scary. It's human nature I guess to fear change, but now I realize that moving, losing a job, yeah it's a hardship but it can be overcome. Change can be scary, but it's NOT always going to be bad! Through furloughs, paycuts, losing a house, 2 kids, autism, premature births, surgeries....... change is a constant. The ability to adapt and change is the ability to survive. Lose that and you've got nothing but misery ahead. I adopted the Wisconsin state motto as my own: "Forward". Simple, one word, to the point. :)
 
I find it hard to believe that you wouldn't consider Airnet as a viable option during a furlough. A fair share of our pilot group is glad to be employed here while the current downturn unfolds at the regionals/LCC's. To each his own.
 
ljg said:
I find it hard to believe that you wouldn't consider Airnet as a viable option during a furlough. A fair share of our pilot group is glad to be employed here while the current downturn unfolds at the regionals/LCC's. To each his own.
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Having done that type of flying...I believe a lot of guys would be scared to death to do what you Airnet guys are doing. It's about as hard of a job as you can do in aviation, outside of military combat. You guys are really cementing your multiengine, instrument skills...and that foundation will set you up for anything you want to do in flying.
 
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