What would you do?

MoMatt

MoMatt

Well-Known Member
Looking for some free advice!

If you were about 8 months into a 135 charter and air ambulance job as a Lear FO (assume this was your first turbine job) would you leave it to go fly a part 91 Baron for more money?

The Lear job is at a stable company. It pays on par with the regionals; slightly less. Upgrade would be within the next 6-12 months.

The Baron job would require relocating. It would probably turn into more; the guy managing the Baron flies a Beechjet and is starting to think about retirement.

So how about it? Anyone left a turbine job to go fly something smaller? My mind is going crazy. Mainly because it would be great to actually pay my bills and get some money in the bank.

What questions would you ask the guy who wants to hire you for the Baron?
 
Dude this really is a circumstantial situation..

Now, I'm at my first turbine job and I'm staying.. butttt I'm 20. No family. No kids.. No nothing of that sort. I like my regional airline I work for. Love learning the CRJ.. etc.

Do you have a motive for more money? Like kids or a wife? Do you have a house?

Personally, I'd stick with the lear. Its guaranteed jet time still coming your way. Paying your bills.... Who knows if your other guy will leave "you" the beechjet job.. Idk all the odds and ends, but that's my advice.
 
BTpilot said:
Dude this really is a circumstantial situation..
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Yeah, I realize that. I guess more than anything I'm looking for advice on how to properly vet the future employer.

Main motivation is money; it would be nice to not struggle every month. Girlfriend is flexible and can find a job anywhere.
 
Without a lot of data to base a decision, I'd second that suggestion.

In addition to the points already mentioned, here are a couple random thoughts:

* You KNOW the good and the bad about your current job. You may not really know all the good and BAD about the job you are considering.

* It sounds like there is room to move up where you are, I don't know if that possibility exists at the other job.

* My survival instinct tells me I'd rather be sitting on two turbines than two recips.

* Along with that, my survival instinct also tells me I'd rather be in something that has greater weather avoidance capability.

* It sounds like your current company has a greater probablitity of still being in business two years from now than the company you are considering joining.
 
Promises are wind. If your management treats you well and are in earnest about the upgrade, I'd stay put. All other things being equal, which they never are. Also, consider, 91 jobs are awesome (some of them, anyway) until the boss is under financial pressure and the plane gets sold. "No severance packages here". Just a data point. Not to say that it's an easy choice, I understand your uncertainty.
 
MoMatt said:
If you were about 8 months into a 135 charter and air ambulance job as a Lear FO (assume this was your first turbine job) would you leave it to go fly a part 91 Baron for more money?
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Well I hope that the pay in the left seat of the Lear is > than the Baron. If that is the case I would wait it out if it was my choice.
 
I've been in your shoes. After instructing I got on with a freight company flying as a metro FO. Rather than taking the "upgrade" to C402 captain I took an offer to fly a cirrus for a guy. The freight job offered $1200/mo with about 80-100 hrs of ME time per month. The cirrus job offered $4000/mo for only two days per week of flying (full days...a 7 hr round trip twice per week). The decision to fly the cirrus was purely financial, but in retrospect it did very little to further my career. One positive aspect of the cirrus gig is that is helped me pad my bank account which allowed me to take a 135 turboprop job that started at a low wage but turned into a well paying job within a year. I was also able to make some very important contacts while flying the cirrus. There are no guarantees with 91 jobs though. Shortly after taking my current 135 job the pilot who took over the cirrus gig for me ended up out of a job as the owner ended up getting a divorce and lost the plane to his wife who sold it. Your decision can only be based on your needs. Ask lots of questions.
 
Jet said:
Well I hope that the pay in the left seat of the Lear is > than the Baron. If that is the case I would wait it out if it was my choice.
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Yeah unfortunately that's not the case. A 4 year employee that upgraded 18 months ago to captain in the lear is pulling in about 34k a year. I don't know what the Baron would pay, but in talking to the guy it sounds like it would be more than that. It's a stable company here, but nobody's getting rich.

I really appreciate the input guys! I know I'm not the first one to be uncertain about plunging into a 91 gig; it helps a lot to hear other's experiences.

I've actually talked to this guy before about right seat in the Beechjet, but it would've been a contract day rate and I wasn't willing to move across the country for it.

I appreciate the idea of knowing the good and bad of where I'm at, and the grass is always greener.

It would have to be pretty big bump in pay to risk it is the direction I'm going.
 
You might ask him whether he'll type you in the Beatchjet just to fly right seat. If he will, that suggests that he's serious about you moving up and in to the left seat. 34k/year for a PIC on a jet is a ridiculous embarrassment. Beyond ridiculous. Beyond embarrassment. It's absurd.
 
MoMatt said:
Yeah unfortunately that's not the case. A 4 year employee that upgraded 18 months ago to captain in the lear is pulling in about 34k a year. I don't know what the Baron would pay, but in talking to the guy it sounds like it would be more than that. It's a stable company here, but nobody's getting rich.

I really appreciate the input guys! I know I'm not the first one to be uncertain about plunging into a 91 gig; it helps a lot to hear other's experiences.

I've actually talked to this guy before about right seat in the Beechjet, but it would've been a contract day rate and I wasn't willing to move across the country for it.

I appreciate the idea of knowing the good and bad of where I'm at, and the grass is always greener.

It would have to be pretty big bump in pay to risk it is the direction I'm going.
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Either take that Baron job or go Cargo. Both would be an improvement on what you are doing right now. Heck Even jtrain was right about going to a regional.
 
MoMatt said:
Looking for some free advice!

If you were about 8 months into a 135 charter and air ambulance job as a Lear FO (assume this was your first turbine job) would you leave it to go fly a part 91 Baron for more money?
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First off, you are 8 months into a job flying a Lear. Did the company send you to school and training in the Lear? Did they pay for it? I would stay put just a little longer.

I don't think there is anything wrong with going back to fly a smaller plane. More money+better schedule=better QOL that adds an additional monetary value. What about a benefits comparison between the two. That could be a big deal as well. As others have said, NO PART 91 JOB IS SECURE. I suppose that could be rephrased as NO FLYING JOB IS SECURE, but there are always risks involved.
 
I'd stick it out where you're at unless the pay bump is really serious. And even then, would be leery. A) as has been mentioned, you're losing security with the switch, B) if you're wanting to fly corporate, leaving a job 8 months in will make future employers very hesitant to spend their money training you with that lack of stability on your resume, and C) if you're going airline, the turbine PIC that's in front of you will be better than the Baron time.

My humble opinion given the info you've provided...

Good luck
 
Boris Badenov said:
You might ask him whether he'll type you in the Beatchjet just to fly right seat. If he will, that suggests that he's serious about you moving up and in to the left seat.
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Good idea. So far it seems like he would send me to school after a few months to make sure we work well together. But like you said, promises are wind. I get the impression that he has wanted a salaried FO for a long time and the owner wants to keep using contract FO's. I can also imagine this has been the situation with every owner / aircraft manager since 1903.

dc3flyer said:
First off, you are 8 months into a job flying a Lear. Did the company send you to school and training in the Lear? Did they pay for it? I would stay put just a little longer.
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Heath said:
I'd stick it out where you're at unless the pay bump is really serious. And even then, would be leery. A) as has been mentioned, you're losing security with the switch, B) if you're wanting to fly corporate, leaving a job 8 months in will make future employers very hesitant to spend their money training you with that lack of stability on your resume, and C) if you're going airline, the turbine PIC that's in front of you will be better than the Baron time.

My humble opinion given the info you've provided...

Good luck
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Yeah, I do need to think about how that would look in the future. Employers have always been sad to see me go, and I would want to do my best to leave this place on good terms.
 
MoMatt said:
Yeah unfortunately that's not the case. A 4 year employee that upgraded 18 months ago to captain in the lear is pulling in about 34k a year.
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As a 5 year employee at a commuter I hit 6 figures...with guaranteed days off...why would anyone work there for 4 years?
 
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