Run like he** away from aviation!

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expilot said:
I all I can say is get into a real profession as soon as you can. For anyone wanting to fly for a living, my advice is to run as fast as you can away from any office that has wings attached to it.
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yea sure...tell them to run from having an office at 30,000 feet to an office with a cubicle next door where you can hear your neighbor talking to a client in full loudmouth voice?...gee, that's even more fun. Engineering is not all it's cracked up to be..sitting in an office for 10 hrs a day doing the same thing day in day out isn't always the happiest place on earth. maybe you found your place there and are happy with it but those who have worked hard to get into aviation and work thru from the bottom up have that same like and passion for their job as you do yours...why is that wrong?

hell knows, an office job is not as fun as flying and it's not as stable as flying either. all jobs are precarious now a days....

Well, quality of life is something that aviation does not give you and I found that out at about year 3 into the career....

...Trust me, after the friends see the photos and go Oooh and Ahh for a few minutes, you then have to remember that you are stuck in that cockpit for the next 40 years and nobody is going to say Oooh and Ahhh then becausd your friends will have the house in the suburbs witha wife and kids and you will still be in an apartment.
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how do you figure? if you play your cards right, you can have quality of life AND a house in the suburbs....

everyone has to start at the bottom in any type of job you get...once you work your way up, life can be pretty darn good!!
 
desertdog71 said:
OK, I have a question. If aviation is in your past, what prompted you to get on this particular website and start in with the negativity on your first post?
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Prior to my entering the site, many had told me the site provides excellent well rounded perspectives from many posters about the aviation industry in general.

As I look at many of the posts related to one aspect of the aviation industry, Gulfstream and PFT/PFJ, I now know all comments posted need not necessarily advocate favorably about certain aspects of the industry. For one or two "yes" posters advocating Gulfstream, there must have been 20 that severely chastised their program. I'm now more aware.

This aspect of the forum I appreciate. Don't try to "blow smoke" trying to say the industry is the greatest avocation any and every person can pursue with everyone involved being successful pilots. Allow the reader to understand pros and cons of the industry and allow them to decide for themselves.

The site, for me, is not a "rah rah" forum for aviation but a source for pertinent valuable information for any and all interested in the industry.
 
expilot said:
1,500 hours as CFI/Chief Flight Instructor
1,000 hours flying night freight
1,000 hours turbine corporate/charter with ATP turbine type.
s/e and m/e seaplane time, glider time,

...

I was already giving 100% didn't want to give 120% to the aviation gods and still get back only 20%.
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I think this illustrates an important point. No matter who you are, how good of a pilot you are, etc, it always comes down to lady luck sometimes if you get that golden job or not.

It also illustrates the fact that no matter who you work for and how good a job it is, you could lose it all one day.

The landscape in the aviation industry is quite different then what it was back then IMO. It sounds like the years 2001-20?? were like the years you were in this industry. I think we can all learn a lot here.
 
wheelsup said:
if aviation is so bad why did you decide to get an aerospace degree?
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I know you're not asking me, but since I also got a degree in Aerospace engineering, I'd like to provide input.

An Aerospace engineering degree does NOT limit you to the aviation industry only! Yes, there is Boeing and NASA and the likes. But MANY aero grads went into non-airplane related job with a degree in Aersopace.

Aerospace, at most places, is just like Mechanical engineering, except for about the last three semesters (out of eight).

So, the opportunities are limitless! Myself? I'm working as a structural engineer on ships. I know people who graduated with me (Aero eng grads) who are working in the automotive field as well.

Make no mistake, an Aerospace engineering degree is excellent! Even if aviation corporations like Boeing or Cessna aren't hiring, there are MANY companies who hire them all the time!

Don't include that in the, "dont get this degree, get a non-aviation degree" list.


You really can't go wrong with an Aerospace engineering degree. I'd highly recommend it, if you are good at math and physics.
 
Expilot, I'm like the opposite of you.

I just graduated from college, with a degree in Aerospace engineering, and have a very high paying job.

I'm hoping to fly with a regional airline soon (even though it will mean a 2/3 pay cut from what I currently make). :(
 
I have heard a few Riddle grads say: "The courses I took at Riddle were really engineering courses. All I have to do it take a few more courses at an engineering school and I will get an AE degree." BULL***T. Only two courses from Riddle transfer to any engineering curriculum - English and Writing. You need 6 semesters of calculus, physics, chemistry. Aeronautical Science doesn't even touch on that stuff. Basically, an Aeronautical Science degree costs a heck of a lot but it only qualifies you for one very specific job. The degree is not transferrable to 'real life' jobs. When you graduate and see this, you will realize how screwed you are.
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Absolutely agree!
 
You really can't go wrong with an Aerospace engineering degree. I'd highly recommend it, if you are good at math and physics.
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Oops, ruled me out. I even now use an electronic E6B to do aviation math. :(

. . .but before I digress, I tell many who for whatever reason choose not to go to college to go and, through hard work and staying the course, to pursue whatever dreams they may have. The same comments hold true in the aviation field as well. For aviators, this means long hours at the airport CFIng, freight and regional flying with perhaps one day making it to "the bigs" . . .or perhaps not. If you do make it, it's not all glamor nor does it promise a substantial 401K for a debt free retirement. If you're pursuing your dream, none of those things relating to "the business aspect of the industry" should matter.

For me personally, it's the love of aviation and not "the job."
 
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If you want to have a comfortable life, wife, kids, two cars, house in the suburbs, gifts under the Christmas tree, all the trimmings, etc. all I can say is get into a real profession as soon as you can. For anyone wanting to fly for a living, my advice is to run as fast as you can away from any office that has wings attached to it.
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I would shoot myself in the head with a pistol if this happened to me.
I want that gig teaching in China, then land a gig at Air China and be based in Bangkok (which I have been too.....twice :nana2: )

Sitting in a cubicle in suburbia, been there done that, no thanks.
 
hmm how about some people don't like other jobs but just a degree in Aero Sci.?

I see that many people wanted to be a pilot flying for companies and that people here say not to get a aero. sci. degree. I also heard that many people would not like other jobs but just Aero. Sci.

I had ask many people at my FBO, and they say if your gonna get a backup degree but then do not like the job or no other that interest you, then it would be a waste of time and money.

one of the instructor which he just graduated from Riddle (hes a young guy probably in his 20s) told me that his debt is over 120,000 grand im like holy ^&*%:mad: and said Riddle is crap and that he knew he shoulda go to UND b/c it was more interactive. But then again, he told me just get a degree in what you like best but not a alternative.
 
I want that gig teaching in China, then land a gig at Air China and be based in Bangkok (which I have been too.....twice :nana2: )
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Instead of abandoning wife, kids and suburbia for the French Foreign Legion, that Air China gig does appeal to me as well. Makes for a better "Plan B."
 
MFT1Air said:
Instead of abandoning wife, kids and suburbia for the French Foreign Legion, that Air China gig does appeal to me as well. Makes for a better "Plan B."
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Who is it doing the CFI thing in China? I would like to get some info from them, and thought I had the right person, but didn't. Anybody that knows, please PM me. Thanks. And, yes, too tired to search it out.:insane:
 
Expilot I dig what you're saying brothaman. I often find myself wondering if I'm doing the right thing by pursuing a career in aviation, when it seems it will be the first industry to fold should crude oil continue it's march. I'm pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies with focus on Energy in case things don't work out, but I don't know.

I'm def no longer looking at a major carrier for a job, much to my parents dismay as they are the ones that have funded my training so far :o .

Your life doesn't suck it looks like, so good job on making the right choice for you. But it will probably be us who takes the hit when everything starts to fall.
 
The way I see it, it's what you do with your time which dictates how much money you should make. If you fly and love what you do the money shouldn't matter. I can either have a job I hate and fly on the weekends, or fly for a living and make money on the side. In my case money/quality of life is very important. This means that I will be doing something on the side for extra cash. With all the time off, there's really no excuse why you couldn't have a second job that you enjoy and make some extra money.
 
Give this guy a break!! Why the hell is it when someone comes here with a different view than the CFIs and/or regional pilots, some of which have little professional aviation experience, bash a person with a different opinion.

I gotta say that several dynamics of aviation are subpar. When ever they're brought up, people get slammed.

Maybe this is a factor as to why pilots have taken such a beating financially. If they'd wake up and smell the thorns and be proactive towards a solution instead of freaking out at someone who, for the most part speaks the truth, doesnt have shiny-jet syndrome.

Grow up people...

And by the way expilot, welcome to JC.
 
txpilot said:
Who is it doing the CFI thing in China? I would like to get some info from them, and thought I had the right person, but didn't. Anybody that knows, please PM me. Thanks. And, yes, too tired to search it out.:insane:
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I'll relook. I actually had someone send it to me. I'll look again.
 
I have just read many posts regarding the cfi gig in China, I think I may change my line of thinking. Many points made on the pro's and con's and the con's have it as of now.
 
Like Pat said, it's not for everyone. But a unique opportunity that might highly interest someone with a taste for adventure.

Personally, I'd do it. But if you're not a tough, flexible, self-starter, it's not going to work.
 
Doug Taylor said:
Like Pat said, it's not for everyone. But a unique opportunity that might highly interest someone with a taste for adventure.

Personally, I'd do it. But if you're not a tough, flexible, self-starter, it's not going to work.
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Ditto on all that.

In my first career I spent a few months living/working in Cairo, Egypt. It was a noisy, polluted city with few amenities, and I still wouldn't trade the experience for the world. You just have to have the right attitude going in to a situation like this and it can be great, I'd bet.
 
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