The Reality of the Industry for a new Pilot

C

clear prop

New Member
Hey Everyone!

Kiwi bloke here from Auckland and i'm currently considering doing some flight training and looking at whether to go the PPL or PPL/CPL route.

Okay, so heres the deal with me...i'm a skilled computer programmer and have been making a pretty decent living from marketing sites and digital products online which takes about 10 hours a week. I've always loved flying but never actually got around to actually doing the training for a PPL...although i've been flying microlights for a fair while.

okay, so my income is at the point where I can take a gamble on flying without worrying too massively. So the decision I have to make is as a 34 year old...is it worth taking a punt to get an ICAO NZ CPL with frozen ATPL subjects and try my hand in commercial aviation. Also, my wife is american so that opens up many more opportunities for me if we decide to go back to the states at some stage.

I;m just wondering how bad the industry really is worldwide...i know its tough in the states but what about for expat aviation in other countries. New Zealand has almost no CPL jobs...with only one major carrier here. Although having said that there are always places to get hours here.

Also, how are kiwi CPL's viewed overseas...are they a respected rating along with all the study required for the ATPL subjects?

So I guess i'm asking for a dose of reality for a new entrant into the industry...if you had your time back would you do it again? What about if you didnt have major financial concerns?

So hit me with it! am I an idiot for even considering to chase the dream?
 
I will teach you to fly if you teach me Affiliate Marketing! ;)

I think you're in a great position to give this a try. I've worked with pilots in the US from many different countries, including the UK, Germany, Canada, and Japan. This has been in both 135 passenger charter and at a regional airline. You will of course need to convert your NZ certs to FAA before working in the US.
 
Welcome to JC. My perception is the global industry and competitiveness for ICAO CPL is as challenging for entry across the board. Cost alone, I'd get certified in the US first and transfer training over to NZ with frozen ATPL.
 
GypsyPilot said:
I will teach you to fly if you teach me Affiliate Marketing! ;)
Click to expand...

LOL... Affiliate marketing is easy...but the real nugget of truth is that the real money ismade being the vendor not the affiliate.

Quick 2 min lesson
1. Find a product already selling well in a niche.
2. go to whatrunswhere.com and spyfu.com use their $1 trial and find out where the competition is advertising and what keywords they target in adwords. Work out cost VS the product price etc and estimate their sales conversion.
3. If above profitable....outsource the product to be created by someone over a freelancing site.
4. Take your new product and bid/buy the same advertising for slightly higher cost...and because you can guess at their margin you know how high they can bid pay per click prices.
5. Also add your product to Clickbank or one of the other CPA companies. You can offer a high commission because you already know the margins and conversion rate involved. Plus cost of duplicating a digital product is almost nil. This gets you stacks of affiliates pimping your stuff.
6. Do Joint Ventures with other marketers in your niche.
7. Rinse and Repeat!!!

Anyway, that is basically where the big money is made...not just being an affiliate for something. PM me if you want any details.

Now back to the topic at hand...Do you think it makes sense to do my training out here or in the US initially? I was thinking out here mainly because with the ATPL subjects its easier to get a JAA conversion at some stage.

Thoughts?
 
clear prop said:
Now back to the topic at hand...Do you think it makes sense to do my training out here or in the US initially? I was thinking out here mainly because with the ATPL subjects its easier to get a JAA conversion at some stage.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I think where you do your training is dependent on two things: what your career goal is (the path you want to take to achieve it) and how much money you're willing to spend.
 
Amen Boris. My wife & I wanted to move to NZ the first day we were there.

OP, sounds like you are pretty well set up financially and mobile as well. I say follow your passion.
 
Former Scarfie here, i miss my days at Otago. Pretty good surf out that way. I hear mountain biking has absolutely blown up as well. If I were you I'd kick back and chill. That's just me though. As for your questions:

If I recall flight training is expensive in NZ. I'd go PPL around NZ. If your dead set then come to the states and find a good place for flight training part 61 DON'T PAY FOR TRAINING UP FRONT. Pay as you go.

Once your CPL convert to Canadian. Then convert to NZ.

Knowing what I know now I'd still be lurking around the Bay of Islands, surfing, running from the immigration dudes, partying with my Maori homies and hooking up with cute European girls brought by the big green tour buses.

My little corner of aviation has been quite disappointing lately. I'm sure if I were one of the street captains hired by my company I'd be singing a different tune.

Oh, it's raining again. I've got to secure my tarps. Damp this time of year under my bridge.
 
I say go to 90-120 day accelerated program to get them quick. Get all your license and then decide from there if you want to teach to get your 1500 hour. If you don't like you always can go back to marketing. The money isn't great working for the airline in the USA, so its got to be in your blood.
 
Boris Badenov said:
I will trade you my logbook and job for your NZ citizenship. Honestly, in this geopolitical climate, I think you'd be absolutely nuts to leave NZ. One of the few places on earth where the silver lining isn't around a mushroom cloud.
Click to expand...

I'd like to take this one step further than Boris and ask that you adopt me and my wife so that we may move to NZ and live there.
 
Anything you do for fun won't be fun anymore if you do it for a job, I say get your PPL and keep it as a hobby, get your IFR rating to make you safer and leave it at that. Good luck in your decision. :)
 
HVYMETALDRVR said:
Anything you do for fun won't be fun anymore if you do it for a job, I say get your PPL and keep it as a hobby, get your IFR rating to make you safer and leave it at that. Good luck in your decision. :)
Click to expand...

I disagree with that, I still have fun flying. But the key is to have other hobbies as well... I also do a ton of outdoors stuff. If your only passion in life was flying, then yeah - you'd end up burned out with it. Probably be a boring person to fly with too.
 
Maybe I'm being a little to harsh, I'm in the last year of my 20s, I'm a regional FO, no kids or wife, military reservist so I'm used to stepping out of my comfort zone. But I couldn't imagine being 5 years older than I am now just starting out in my PPL training, especially with the pay and QOL that your stuck with as a CFI and regional FO. Sadly I've become a little beaten down to what the industry offers and this has made me a little bitter, my dad OTOH has been in programming and IT since its inception and enjoys a great quality of life, pay, schedule, and all the trimmings that go with it. I couldn't imagine jumping from that to into aviation in my mid 30s, no offense.

Either way I wish the original poster the best of luck in his decision!
 
It's a trap!

27.jpg
 
Thanks everyone!

You have all given me some interesting perspectives to look at...i'm still not 100% sold either way so im going to take over December to make my mind up and then will commit and go from there.

At the moment i'll just continue to do some microlight flying to keep my hand in....next weekend i've tee'd up a flight in a titan t-51 which is a light sport aircraft version of the p-51 mustang. They fly great!

Anyway, again thanks for the advice.

P.S Peter2800...I wish you had told me that before I got married LMAO :)
 
HVYMETALDRVR said:
Sadly I've become a little beaten down to what the industry offers and this has made me a little bitter, my dad OTOH has been in programming and IT since its inception and enjoys a great quality of life, pay, schedule, and all the trimmings that go with it. I couldn't imagine jumping from that to into aviation in my mid 30s, no offense.

Either way I wish the original poster the best of luck in his decision!
Click to expand...

Hey man, some people enjoy working in an office, or at least the stability it offers. In fact, this is most people. I will always remember standing around the "water cooler" listening to my peers talk about their weekend of golfing, lawn care, or home improvement. That and work was their life, and they were happy (I guess). Every cell in my body HATED that life and environment, and it was quite obvious to me that I was meant for something else.

This year marked the point at which I spent more years flying for a living than working in an office, and I don't regret it at all. This is despite sacrificing who knows how much money and stability in my former engineering career. But compared to being happy with my life, that is all meaningless.

There are pilots out there that are 180 degrees from people like me, meaning they are meant for the stable middle class life of office work and the 8-5 lifestyle. Rather than be miserable flying, I hope they make the change that will create happiness in their own life. If that's you, 29 is certainly not too old to follow in your Father's footsteps. Heck, 29 is when I made my career change to aviation as a CFI! ;)
 
Fair enough, I'm not at the point of changing careers. This is a great career, it just seems to take a lot longer to "make it" with a good quality of life than other careers do. I wish I could say "in about 3-4 years you'll be making 70k/yr and be home half the month." But I'd be lying...

As for me, Im in it for at least another 10-15, and maybe start some side businesses and investment banking maybe? I want to see the world for free first and finish scratching my flying bug.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top