Now this is the problem I have with this website anymore, everything is so doom and gloom. Given the economy is rough and yes a lot of airlines did furlough but to say that absolutely no one is hiring is misleading. And frankly tends to come from those who have been furloughed. I feel for you and hope you get back into the cockpit as soon as possible, but dont try to make everything so doom and gloom just because you got the boot. Part of what you need to consider is what sector of aviation do you wish to make career in. Right now if your shooting for that airline cockpit things dont look good. Given there are some hiring but they are few and far between. And I am of the opinion that even when things turns around regional airlines will still be laying off. I think they expanded too fast and theres just too many of them. But that is for another thread. Another thing to consider about the regional is that you will never see the 250TT jobs again. Period. Even when the age 65 band aid falls off you wont see those low mins again. Taking a look at other sectors of aviation. Part 135 is a toss up. Some are hiring and others have furloughed but overall the prospects look better. Check Haulers like Airnet are the ones who furloughed and they would have even without a recession do to the check 21 law finally taking away their business. But Airnet for example is getting into new avenues and have already started to call furloughed pilots back. Your best bet in this sector is to get on with a feeder. FedEx is the best feeder to get on with. You get on with someone like MAC or any other FedEx feeder your job security is pretty good and the pay is damn good too. UPS feeders aren't as secure because they dont own the feeders airplanes and they bid out their routes to the lowest bidder. So the feeders change. But still if you get on with someone who does a lot of UPS routes its better then adhoc. The one thing that is promising with 135 is that as the economy recovers they get more business which means more hiring. The reason is the more business picks up around the country the more shipping that has to be done. Bottom line is yes right now times are hard. But I believe right now is a great time to get your ratings and start building hours. Because in say one year when the economy starts to show life again and then come 2011-2012 when the age 65 ban aid falls off, their will be jobs for the taking and you will have the hours to take them.
Sooner or later, reality eats away at your little dream until your faced with it. The magical yoke, the sheer wonders of flight... The yoke might as well be a steering wheel and flying is no more intriguing than driving a car.
When you have over 1000 hours and there is no mysteries anymore, your left to think about everything else, job security, making your payments, supporting a family, and your retirement. And man, job security would be just as good too!
Granted, if I had to work for some one making money, I would not want to be stuck in a cubicle, I would not want to be in my own version of "Office Space". Being a pilot is what I want to do. Now with all my friends working, making at least 3x as much money as I am, have weekends off, and normal hours with excellent health care and retirements, and dangling that string in front of me to join them with their federal job, Yes, I am quite tempted. Yes, I could make enough money to buy my own airplane and fly it for myself, when ever I wanted...
So we are not all doom and gloom, we've just all been broadsided in the forehead with REALITY!
I had a student who left his high paying job in England, came down to Florida to start his pilot career. His wife nagging him to stop wasting money. HE was SURPRISED that the USA entered a recession... This guy had no freaking clue, he NEVER did his homework, he NEVER did ANY planning with any LOGIC, just went on a whim... Oh he never finished, his wife called him a few days later wanting a divorce... You want to be married, with a family, and be a pilot? Look up the statistics on that one, it does not look pretty... The only people who should be pilots were the ones that were born pilots...