Usual Requirements?

The answer is ...
There is no right answer, it depends on the equipment being flown, the confort level of the PIC / Chief Pilot, the INSURANCE Company, WHO you know ... get the idea.
Our policy right now for our CE-650requires 2500tt, 500 multi, an ATP, and a jet rateing. That's the mins, the reality is our copilots have 5000tt plus and either are furloughed airline pilots or former Military pilots, some of my copilots have more flight time than me. The insuarance company initially wanted our copilots to be type rated in our airplane ... at a cost of 27K for the type at FSI it isn't feasable. We do our own in house training to satisfy the FAR's.
I had about 5000tt when I got my current job as a CE650 Cpt. with about 3500 multi all turbine with about 400 being in jets.
Good Luck.
Jim
 
I agree completely with C650Capt, he is right on the money. It really all depends on who you work for and what they fly.

If you are referring to flying for a typical career type "Fortune 500 Corporate Operator" then you can expect the minimums to be fairly high with regards to experience.

At my company a typical new hire will have at least 5000 TT, 2500 Multi, 1500 Turbine, 1000 Jet, at least one Jet Type Rating, a fair amount of Jet PIC time and a Bachelor Degree. International experience is a definate plus (Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean aren't considered as "International" in our dept., Atlantic and Pacific crossings are what they are looking for)... Just as important is having a good attitude and a willingness to learn.

Remember to keep Corporate, Charter and Fractional straight, they are all 3 very different animals. Too many people lump all the jobs into the same catagory. Charter will typically have the lowest hiring mins, but also be the least desirable job, Fractional is next and then true Corporate. The "Personal Aircraft" jobs can be all over the board, these are where a wealthy individual owns their own aircraft for personal use, these jobs can be very good to very bad, with pay to suit.
 
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At my company a typical new hire will have at least 5000 TT, 2500 Multi, 1500 Turbine, 1000 Jet, at least one Jet Type Rating, a fair amount of Jet PIC time and a Bachelor Degree. International experience is a definate plus

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Well...... so much for aiming for a corporate gig instead of a regional gig as a career....... by the time I meet those minimums... I'll BE 60 years old.
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But age 60 isn't the end of the line in corporate flying. My boss is about to turn 62 and is probably still a couple years away from retirement. Part 91 is wonderful.

FL270
 
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But age 60 isn't the end of the line in corporate flying.

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No, no.. I know. What I meant by my comment is that I won't be aiming for a corporate flying gig from the get-go.

I'm 38 now and have been tossing around my options of whether I want to aim for a career with the airlines or fly corporate.

I've been told by more than one corporate pilot "you'll make a better income faster on the corporate level"

I would hope so if that's the kind of minimums that corporate jobs ask for... to START!
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I've done on-line searches, spoken with corporate pilots, looked at job postings and pretty much ALL corporate gigs (that I've seen) require at least 3-4K TT with sick amounts of multi.

I'm going to START instructing next year when I'm 39..... you do the math.

That's a BIG number staring at me, man.
 
R2F ...

Instruct your tail off when you have your CFIs ... keep networking. When you hit ATP mins, get a job with a reputable charter operator in your area. You can get a couple thousand hours of jet time, a type rating or two, and a lot of good experience in a few years. Continue the networking, and it wouldn't be too hard for you to be in a good corporate job at 45. That's 10-20 or more good working years, depending on your personal retirement goals.

In the end, you'll do what it takes to support your family and make yourself happy. And I wish you luck with it.

FL270
 
Thanks! Good suggestions! I appreciate it.

I guess when I see the minimums at this stage of the game, it looks a little daunting. I'm one who likes to plan ahead and have an idea of how to get from point A to point Z, so sometimes when looking ahead at point Z, I get a little concerned about how I'm going to get there.

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Continue the networking, and it wouldn't be too hard for you to be in a good corporate job at 45. That's 10-20 or more good working years, depending on your personal retirement goals.

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That actually IS my goal.... work as long for one company as I can with a decent retirement package.

Thanks again.

R2F
 
The key phrase several of us have mentioned is: "It all depends on the company, equipment and who you know." If you know someone that "counts" you could potentially get a job with a large corporate department (Yum, Vulcan, Disney etc.) with much lower time than 5000TT. FalconCapt. and C650Capt. were giving you the average new hire times, which from my experience are accurate. This year, I was offered a position flying a G-IV out of VNY and I turned it down because I would have been gone (really gone) 20-25 days a month. I personally will not take a job when I have to be gone that much on a regular basis. Flying isn't my life, it's my job. I'll keep my Hawker and Lear and be home a lot more, besides, I'm having a blast. Of course, the grass is always greener
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The most interesting thing is every company is totally and completely different. This is actually really good! It makes it interesting and there's just about something for everybody, the hard part is finding it.
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Don't get discouraged... at 250 hours, 5000 hours seems like a lifetime away... FL270 is right, realistically you are looking at 5 to 7 years to get there, that still leaves you 15 to 20 years to work... and you WILL make MUCH higher pay than at the Regionals... Our FIRST YEAR guys are making in the $80,000 range PLUS a bonus (usually around 10%) plus we have a fully company funded pension, a 401k (with company match), full medical and life benefits, stock plans, full expense accounts, etc... There are VERY few Regional guys who make anywhere near this kind of money, and if they do it has taken them 12+ years at their Regional to get there... Our 12 year guys are all making north of $130k (PLUS bonus)...

Your age will actually be a benefit to you, a lot of Corporate operators like the older guys... I went from starting to CFI to my current Fortune 100 job in 5 1/2 years... I was 28 when I got hired at my current job...
 
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Well...... so much for aiming for a corporate gig instead of a regional gig as a career....... by the time I meet those minimums... I'll BE 60 years old.
crazy.gif


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The original question has the same answer, "What is an average corporate day like?" There is no average for either question.

Fortune 500 companies will have the highest mins (and pay). Then there is the rest of the 10,000 flight departments. Most like 1200tt plus, some like to hire fresh CFIs to groom to their liking.

I have a friend who went from a line service tech, to the lowest time TYPED King Air pilot in the US, with a whopping 300 tt/0 turbine. Go figure.
 
All very reassuring!! Thanks!!

While I admit that the "airlines" (regional and/or major) are what originally drew my interest (and to some extent, still do), the more I learn about the corporate environment, the more I want to know about it.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that I want to get paid - and paid well - to do what I love... but, that's not the prime motivating factor.

Thanks for all of your input!! Sincerely!! Good posts all the way around.

My next step is to pass the Comm. ride - then the CFI, then take it from there. Can't let the Big Picture overwhelm me, right?

I'm also in a fortunate position in that my former instructor just started flying a Hawker and a Merlin for a corporate operation here in Tampa and my "uncle" (the man my aunt married 10 years ago) is the CEO of a pretty large corporation with a Falcon 100, a Lear and a Cessna 4...something. While I'm hesitent to look there, I have had the opportunity to talk with their pilots and - well.. pilots know pilots who know Chief Pilots.

So...in short - I've got a long way to go, but it's good to know what to expect.

Thanks again!!
R2F
 
Is it true that the regionals are easier to get to then a corporate or fractional job?

Also, is there anything wrong with going to the regionals in order to build multi turbine PIC and then going corporate? Have many of you corporate or fractional guys gone this route?
 
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Is it true that the regionals are easier to get to then a corporate or fractional job?

Also, is there anything wrong with going to the regionals in order to build multi turbine PIC and then going corporate? Have many of you corporate or fractional guys gone this route?

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Yes typically most Regionals have lower hiring minimums than Corporate or even Fractionals... Of course those lower minimums come with much lower pay, too...

Some people do go from Regionals into Corporate, but there are not a lot who do this successfully, mainly because Corporate Operators would rather hire a guy who has been flying charter (or fractional) over a guy who has been flying for a regional. The reason? Flying charter more closely resembles Corporate flying than does the Regionals.

Since 9/11 I have had many Regional guys (and several Major guys) e-mail me asking about getting into Corporate, they have all had a struggle getting a break because of the lack of "Corporate type experience" in their background.

I pretty much tell people once you are done instructing, take a long hard look at which way you want to go (Airlines or Corporate), if you are set on airlines then go to the regions, if you want Corporate than go charter... You can always try to cross over, but it may not be that easy and may cost you precious time in the long run.

Hope this helps!
 
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Well...... so much for aiming for a corporate gig instead of a regional gig as a career....... by the time I meet those minimums... I'll BE 60 years old.
crazy.gif


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A good corporate job is equal to a job at a major airline. If you want something instead of the regionals you should aim for a charter job. I manged to land a charter job flying jets with nothing more then an ATP and about 500 multi...up to that point the biggest thing I'd flown so far was a Seminole. The part about advancement and pay being quicker on the charter/corporate side is true. I'm making 2x what my buddies at Mesa are making as an F/O, and I should upgrade into a jet in 1/2 the time.
 
I'm in the same boat as R2F, older in years and with PPL and deciding which direction to go. For me, since the company I've worked for just had a layoff, that left me to say NOW is the time to pursue that lifelong desire. To fly and get paid for it. I have decided at this point to pursue the charter/corporate route. I will begin continuing flight training at a FL flight school, as opposed to returning back to a job in my old career, electronics. Not working a 9-5 job and focusing on flight training only, I can accomplish a whole program, ratings and buliding time in a tenth of the time it would take me at my FBO. At my age, time is paramount. It will work best for me.

This forum has been a helpful part in my decision direction. Now, as I progress in my training and time goes by and I meet people we'll see where my direction goes. At this point, charter/corp etc. I will start my networking process by joining a local FL pilot club. I have been an active member here in Ore for the last three years, starting when I was a student pilot. That group of pilots are my family and friends and I will miss them. The monthly meetings, of which I only missed one, were a fun and educational experience. I look forward to making new pilot friends in the Vero/Ft. Pierce area. And it will be a good networking connection perhaps. I have hopes to fly charter first in Fla. I also want to live there as long as I can.

Thank you all for your generous time in answering questions.
And so the journey continues...

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Blue Skies...
 
In no small part because of the advice I've received on this site and to some extent, this thread, I've begun to lean towards the corporate environment.

Just seems to make sense to me at my age. Not to mention that pretty much ALL of my contacts to date have been corporate.

I had a long discussion with my wife and she's pretty much in the boat of "whatever makes you happy", but at 38 and wanting to start a family, the prospect of making less than I do now at a regional for an indeterminant period of time just isn't appealing.

I'd like to break into the black with these loans at SOME point in my life while I can still enjoy it.
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In short - thanks for all the advice. I've got a new avenue to explore that I previously had not looked at.

R2F
 
R2F,

Congrats on your decision, feel free to PM me if you have any questions you'd like answered about Corporate!

I'd be happy to help!

Falcon Capt.
 
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