Have you considered NetJets or Flexjet?
State of hiring for the mediocre.
- Thread starter TexasFlyer
- Start date
Have you considered NetJets or Flexjet?
Boots2Wings
Just happy to be here.
My terrible opinion, commuting sucks like something I cannot describe; but its still better than 8/6 for that money, especially if you have an end in sight (whatever thats worth in this industry). Hell, entry level at my previous 135 freight dog outfit we got up to 80K starting and generally a 4/3 scheduled (living in base)
Heres how commuting works in a nutshell; (my two years of experienced be damned)…youll be stressed getting to work, and take an earlier flight than needed on a day off or half day off, so you sit for 4-8 hours waiting to report. Youll finish your trip, and be stuck waiting for a commute home for 6-8 hours generally, with no sleep, to arrive home and sleep all day. Then have 1.5-10 days off (line holders) before you start the process again. IT CAN BE MUCH BETTER….generally I bid 2-10 day block off. So my general rule of thumb is you lose .5 days off every trip.
Reserve is a whole different ball of wax, but generally the same, with much less days (hard) off. You can generally set up 5-6 day blocks, 3 times a month on short call (long call, sit at home…). Commuting to short call reserve was thankfully, the worst part of my career thus far.
Commuting sucks, as in the bane of my current existence, but its doable if you keep it to one leg less than one timezone away. All things considered, in this profession, and the money they pay, there are far, far, FAR worse options for someone in your shoes. (Like working an 8/6 for 60k). Ill put it a little more politically incorrect…if I was in your shoes, someone offering 60k to do that, would get a KMA real quick.
Heres how commuting works in a nutshell; (my two years of experienced be damned)…youll be stressed getting to work, and take an earlier flight than needed on a day off or half day off, so you sit for 4-8 hours waiting to report. Youll finish your trip, and be stuck waiting for a commute home for 6-8 hours generally, with no sleep, to arrive home and sleep all day. Then have 1.5-10 days off (line holders) before you start the process again. IT CAN BE MUCH BETTER….generally I bid 2-10 day block off. So my general rule of thumb is you lose .5 days off every trip.
Reserve is a whole different ball of wax, but generally the same, with much less days (hard) off. You can generally set up 5-6 day blocks, 3 times a month on short call (long call, sit at home…). Commuting to short call reserve was thankfully, the worst part of my career thus far.
Commuting sucks, as in the bane of my current existence, but its doable if you keep it to one leg less than one timezone away. All things considered, in this profession, and the money they pay, there are far, far, FAR worse options for someone in your shoes. (Like working an 8/6 for 60k). Ill put it a little more politically incorrect…if I was in your shoes, someone offering 60k to do that, would get a KMA real quick.
TexasFlyer
Living the Dream (well at least trying to)
Flexjet went quiet on me. Not sure why. I applied at Netjets 3 times and I get denied within an hour every time. I believe AI denies me since I have only flown 55 hours in the last 90 days. And actually only 55 hours in the last 6 years. Could be why Flex went quiet on me as well. I'm coming back from loss of medical.
Boots2Wings
Just happy to be here.
They auto deny baed on recency/frequency. Don’t ask how I know
TexasFlyer
Living the Dream (well at least trying to)
It's actually this. $130k minimum for CJ3 Capt on the 8/6 ($115k plus 75 a day per diem, and if work a day off it's $1,200 bucks extra but rarely happens). PSA for example is recognizing my 7 years longevity from nearly a decade ago, so they will with per diem and profit sharing end up being around $196k a year once off reserve in 1 year ($180 an hour plus per diem and rig/duty, etc). But that big dollar amount means the commute and a private room in someone's house and an airport car to maintain in base for some sanity. I think in 135 QOL will be better for the first 3-ish years but then likely PSA would offer a better QOL once I could hold a line in CLT around year 4 as TPA to CLT seems not too hateful.
TexasFlyer
Living the Dream (well at least trying to)
I assumed the case. But I may apply there after a year at either NJM or PSA and see what happens since the 7/7 schedule and work rules there seem great.
Boots2Wings
Just happy to be here.
Crash pads suck (generally), though I had an AMAZING one in PHX (shoutout to NK) , that blew that mold. But if you need a “private room”, yea, youre looking at a pretty penny…though there are certain things we wont do
But still, I think it evens out in the long term. PSA, pays your more, to do less, in a long term environment where you arent shackled by golden handcuffs and are much more competitive. Commuting is commuting (within the guidelines i mentioned above), it sucks! But it can be managed, and the more they are paying while you do, the better. I would be shocked QOL is better for 3 years…i bet its closer to 1 year, and at 1.5 you get parity with PSA, from there you either move on, or tick way ahead.
DeltaAlphaNovember
Well-Known Member
My stepdaughter currently works at NetJets. She's been there a little under 3 years and starts upgrade next week. She seems to really enjoy it. Especially the positive space to and from work. For a while she was trying to convince me to go to work there, but it's not my cup of tea and I'm not willing to go somewhere new and start at the bottom of the pile.
DeltaAlphaNovember
Well-Known Member
I'm also out on disability and haven't flown in over a year. So no chance of me getting hired anyway.
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
Any PSA bases that are (or will be within a year or so) an ok commute that you can budget renting or buying your own place? Commuting is still commuting but having the option to stay a day between trips if you want, and to not have to deal with other people is pretty ok.
ASpilot2be
Qbicle seat warmer
Positive space to work is huge. I left the left seat at a ULCC to go to a place that buys me a ticket to work.
DeltaAlphaNovember
Well-Known Member
That is a huge plus. And I'm not knocking NJ by any means. I used to want to work there in my early days of flying. My hang up is feeling like I'm on permanent reserve and constant schedule changes every duty cycle.
Boots2Wings
Just happy to be here.
We miss you. Help
ASpilot2be
Qbicle seat warmer
I miss the people for sure. You need to hurry up and get on at the widget and be close to home.
I think you’ll do well whichever way you go because you have a good grasp of what you’re getting into.
Look, I’m a pro Northern Jet guy (duh), but I decided to retire rather than keep flying because the 8/6 schedule didn’t work for what I wanted at that point in my life. And my living in base on the Learjet fleet meant that I would probably sleep in my own bed on many of those 8 “On” days (nights, actually), but I don’t have a clue if that would be true on the CJ fleet or not.
The one thing that I am sure of is that the pilot management guys there that I know are dedicated to running a truly safe operation. While I don’t know what the current workload there looks like (it was getting pretty heavy during and post-Covid), I do know that fatigue and overwork concerns will be heard and addressed. It was not the stereotypical 135 operation that gets bandied about, and I seriously doubt that it could have devolved that far in 2 years.
Wishing you all the best!
Boots2Wings
Just happy to be here.
They dont appear to want me :/ so I am doing what I can where I can.
TexasFlyer
Living the Dream (well at least trying to)
Crash pads suck (generally), though I had an AMAZING one in PHX (shoutout to NK) , that blew that mold. But if you need a “private room”, yea, youre looking at a pretty penny…though there are certain things we wont do
Commuting is commuting (within the guidelines i mentioned above), it sucks! But it can be managed, and the more they are paying while you do, the better. I would be shocked QOL is better for 3 years…i bet its closer to 1 year, and at 1.5 you get parity with PSA, from there you either move on, or tick way ahead.
Well. Once back with medical in hand. There are places that will hire you as I had that gap from 2018 (really 2017) until what will be next month as a start date somewhere. The regionals all pretty much are taking me in with open arms for which I am grateful. NJM gave me a sim ride at Flight Safety on a CJ which I thought i would blow, but I actually knocked it out of the water and even surprised myself how well I did. They did not believe me when I told them I have not flown in so long and only had some recent DA40 time just to get my BFR and IPC and some confidence back. Strange times.
Boots2Wings
Just happy to be here.
I think the strangeness relates to the lack of pattern in the last 8 months or so. Its the wild west in many aspects, so take what you can with a grain of salt.
My main point, dont discount commuting (1 leg, 1 timezone) as a possibility. It is absolutely terrible, but in a profession where where we are truly spoiled…its manageable. Id jump to PSA and suck it up for a year, then love life for 2-3 years, and retire at the legacy of your choice thereafter
DeltaAlphaNovember
Well-Known Member
I'm hoping by April or May of next year to have my medical back. After that it's probably the long requalification course to get back up to speed. I figure after that I'll decide if I can/want to jump ship.
TexasFlyer
Living the Dream (well at least trying to)
It's about $1,400 a month all in for a room in someone's house at any of their bases. And an airport car would set me back like $8k, one time purchase for something reliable enough to feel good about. So at least when I could not get home, I'd have a decent comfort level versus some crash pad. So about $20k a year for a place and car and car insurance and incidentals. Call it $30k a year due to being after tax money. Lower my $190k-ish by $30k. So it is only like a $30k difference between jobs when looking at it that way. Hence, it's truly a "which position will get me home more to my beach house". Also, I have zero experience in the 135 charter world so not even sure if I would like it. But I can say when I worked at PSA prior and lived in Knoxville and was based in Knoxville, I enjoyed working at PSA. Only reason I hesitate and I like this conversation is that I am trying to take in everyone's opinion to determine if I can survive the commute since NJM is a great opportunity that if I turn that down, that's a bridge I can't cross again. So making the best decision I can with input from any resources I have.