What do you think is the most overlooked career in aviation?
- Thread starter ktsai91
- Start date
Autothrust Blue
“If you jump on my shift, that’s just rude, man.”
I would love to work in our San Luis Obispo base (if I lived up there, I mean). Home every night, rarely any weather or flow-control-related butthurt, everyone knows everyone else, the AM trips are done around 2 PM and the PMs don't sign in until later in the day. Sign me up.
If you're not going to make a lot of money, you might as well have a good time. Actually, that's been the motto of my past two years.
Meh.
As Hailey said in Airport, they'd all be well-advised to go and stand outside at an airport from time to time and watch.
dasleben
That's just, like, your opinion, man
Like what? I keep hearing about these illustrious careers outside of aviation that pay hundreds of thousands a year right off the bat; it all sounds so easy!
Autothrust Blue
“If you jump on my shift, that’s just rude, man.”
Definitely IT.Like what? I keep hearing about these illustrious careers outside of aviation that pay hundreds of thousands a year right off the bat; it all sounds so easy!
Oh wait...
Cav
Former Maddog Whisperer
Like what? I keep hearing about these illustrious careers outside of aviation that pay hundreds of thousands a year right off the bat; it all sounds so easy!
Yep. Sometimes I think pilots think $100k/yr jobs grow on trees. News flash! They don't!! Most people, highly educated ones included, work long and hard for that kind of money.
Autothrust Blue
“If you jump on my shift, that’s just rude, man.”
It's a marathon, not a sprint.
Nihon_Ni
Well-Known Member
Like what? I keep hearing about these illustrious careers outside of aviation that pay hundreds of thousands a year right off the bat; it all sounds so easy!
All I can say with certainty is my own experience. I have three other friends about the same age as me, and we were all stationed together, flew at the same flying club, and all retired from the military within a year of each other. The three of them all went into professional flying, and two of them have since been furloughed and have been fighting their way back into the profession. I thought about flying professionally for a long time, but when it came time to change careers I first looked at working a fying related job at the FAA for twice what my friends made. However, in the end went to corporate America for twice what the FAA pays. Because of the choices I made I'm able to build an airplane in my basement and fly locally with the Commemorative Air Force, both of which were long time goals of mine. My friends are all equally happy with their choices and I'm happy for them. For me, flying for a living would have been a nightmare, not a dream.
Cav is right, $100K jobs don't grow on trees, but they are out there, and you don't have to be highly educated or work 80 hrs a week to get one. What you need is the skill set and experience necessary to demand that level of compensation in the market place. Education is important to open doors, but skill and experience is what demands compensation. If the only skill you have is flying an airplane, then you may not have other options. The point of my post was that there are ways into aviation other than narrowing your skill set to only piloting. When you choose the skills you're going to develop, is it best to focus your education on developing pilot skills or is there a better option that will bring you the most satisfaction in aviaiton and life?
falconvalley
Absentee Dad of the OOTSK, Runner, Cat Frustrator
I've worked MANY jobs and flying is still the best. Chances are, the best little known aviation job will stay that way for a reason. Otherwise, we would be talking about it. My favorite flying job was corporate. The REAL corporate job where the company owns or leases the plane and the pilots are employed by the company. There are corporate flying jobs where standards exist to protect the pilots from over zealous passengers. It's still very customer service oriented (the cockpit door stays open and you may have to toss bags or do whatever the company has not hired other people to do) but the pay can be good and the equipment is normally top notch. Plus, checkrides are not as stressful as airline PCs (most corporate pilots will disagree, but I think so).
dasleben
That's just, like, your opinion, man
My overall satisfaction is good. Flying for a living simply funds the things I like to do in my spare time.
dasleben
That's just, like, your opinion, man
Apophis
Resident Iconoclast
Look everybody! Skyhigh managed to find his way from Airline Pilot Forums to JetCareers!
And my vote for the original question is blimp pilot. Just kidding. The original poster said overlooked, not overrated.
There definitely are other careers out there that pay 100k+, without working 80 hours a week. I'm a RN and currently in school to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner. There is a great shortage of mental health providers in this country and psych NP's are in great demand. When I complete school, I will be able to obtain a 8-5 job starting in the 90-110K range with excellent benefits including large sign-on bonuses and being paid to relocate. I will be doing something I love and I will then have the money to pursue aviation as a hobby. Like others have said, that is the ideal situation. I'm 30, and would have to take a huge pay cut to pursue aviation as a career. I've come too far in life to do that, and could never ask my family to come with me so I could chase my dream of flying a plane for a living. I will still be able to follow my dream of becoming a pilot, on my own time, and not be in any debt. I think that's a win-win.
z987k
Well-Known Member
You could be a flight nurse. I think most of ours are over 80k at the least.
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
My Mom was a psych nurse, worked in a state facility and made $40,000 a year at the end of her career.
Houston
Well-Known Member
Airport management.