What would you do?

brett529

New Member
Im having a tough time deciding whether or not to give up trying to make a career out of flying before I invest any more time or money. Any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

First, here is a little background. I am 25 years old and a private and instrument rated pilot. I have a decent paying job (which I hate) and a college degree.

My options are as follows. First, I could spend another 15-20 finishing my ratings and instruct to build time. However, my concern is that I will most likely have to work an extra job part time in order to pay the bills while instructing. Also, the instability of the airline industry and extremely low wages in the beginning is something that bothers me. But, I absolutely love flying so its hard to walk away.

My second option would be nursing school. Its not my first choice, but its a trade-off. I dont have to worry about finding a job when I finish and I could not imagine a better work schedule. Three 12 hour shifts per week would be amazing. I also dont have to worry about making regional airline wages in the beginning.

So, is it worth it to trade your quality of life for something that you are passionate about? Which is more important?
 
Could you continue to work your current job while getting all of your ratings? That way you could pay as you go and possibly put some money in the bank to help with the CFI and first year regional salary. The airlines aren't really hurting for pilots right now.
 
Could you continue to work your current job while getting all of your ratings? That way you could pay as you go and possibly put some money in the bank to help with the CFI and first year regional salary. The airlines aren't really hurting for pilots right now.

Yes, I could continue to work at my current job as I finish. I already have some money saved up for CFI and 1st year regionals. However, I will have to quit as soon as i get my instructor ratings. Its not possible for me to hold my current position while instructing.
 
So, is it worth it to trade your quality of life for something that you are passionate about? Which is more important?

Unfortunately, the two are related, so you can't just choose one or the other. You're passionate about flying while it's a hobby, but that would likely change once it became your career; the poor quality of life would destroy it.

But don't work in a field you hate, either. If you are sure you won't hate nursing, then the compromise sounds like the best of all possible worlds. Even if you aren't passionate about nursing, you may still find it rewarding.

Remember, passions are fleeting; once the passion is gone, you need to have something more fundamental in place or you'll end up parting ways.
 
First off, why do you hate your job and why will you have to quit as soon as you get your instructor ratings? Is it something you are willing/able to do until you retire? Or is it that you feel there is greener grass out there?

What are you long term goals? Stay in the current job, or move to another career? Personally, if I could have a 3 day work week, I would be ecstatic. That gives me 4 days do do what I want. Meaning I get to teach people how to fly. Which would give me my fix of flying and a possible career change at the same time.

As far as quality of life, how is it now? If it is even average and you want more, by all means make the switch. Life is far too short to not enjoy what is happening in your life.
 
You have to look at the lifestyle, not just the fact you're flying for a living. This is a lifestyle like no other. If you don't mind being out of town for most of your professional life, then maybe it's the career for you. If you need any time of routine in your life, stick to flying as a hobby. There's a big difference between flying when you want to and flying when you have to.
 
. If you need any time of routine in your life, stick to flying as a hobby.

This is a very insightful statement. There is no routine day, week, or month in professional flying. If you go to the gym at the same time every week, like to hang out with friends after work, or just like to wake up at the same time daily, aviation is not the best option. That being said, I flew identical day trips last September (4 on, 3 off, 5am-1pm) and actually got into a nice routine. However, I am not senior enough to get that type of schedule whenever I want, nor am I that interested in flying the same trip every day for the rest of my career. I enjoy the diversity somewhat. It would be nice to hit the same gym every day at 6pm or eat dinner with my girlfriend nightly, though.

Personally, I really enjoy my job. First year pay was tremendously tough, not because of the bills, but because of the fact that I felt I deserved more for working 15 hour days in bad weather. On second year pay, I broke $43,000 (915 hours of flying) and am living comfortably. The main problem I have with the job is the fact that everytime I think how comfortable I am, I remember how the job could disappear due to furlough or insolvency.

For me, I will stop flying with my current employer three points: a paycut, a furlough, or being bumped back to ready reserve for an indefinite period of time. I will then pursue a job in the charter/corporate market. If all hope is exhausted, I will probably try to attend graduate school or jump back into Government work.

I would not do nursing just because it has a great schedule. I initially chose local law enforcement for the stability and schedule and quickly discovered that it wasn't for me. You need to think about the actual duties of the job. I admire you if you're ready to help sick people, clean up bodily fluids, and deal with those that have no common sense, but a lot of people aren't. Just like flying, some people are cut out for it, yet some aren't.

I would continue to steadily plug away at your ratings while employed. The airlines aren't hiring in substantive numbers and probably won't be for years, so time is on your side.

Good luck!
 
If you're single with no family to tend to, now is the time to pursue flying otherwise the demands of family could very well place even more of a damper on flying later on.
 
I second C150J's recommendation to be aware of what you're getting into before diving into nursing for the schedules. The same can be said for any career-including aviation.
I've been an RN for 13 years and I've seen hundreds of people who liked the 'flexibility, stability, good schedules' thing come and go; typically it was a good thing when they figured out that they needed to leave; some were asked to leave or removed. It's the equivalent of the SJS wunderkind timebuilder CFI: no one really benefits from it, and patients stand to lose big-time.
Be aware that you most likely will work day/night rotations, including holidays, and that not all patients, families, physicians or managers are appreciative of your hard work. Nursing school itself is a game of BS, and you'll learn most of what you need once you survive the BS parade and start orientation.
Also be aware that there's no guarantee of getting a job, because there are cycles in health care as well. Hospitals in my area have been laying off and trimming staffing to the bone to save money lately. When I graduated in 1995, I was one of four people in my class who got jobs in an area they wanted; the other 45 found lower paying less desirable jobs or looked for months to find a job. I got in only because I knew the nurse manager's husband.
That said, nursing is like aviation-there are about 1,234,896,778,234 different things you can do, so you can typically find something to keep you out of trouble. To give you an idea: I've worked in pediatric ICU, adult ICU, organ transplant, mobile ICU and surgery, so these are the only areas I know anything about. I currently work 3-12s at a community hospital, play with some high tech equipment (think GPS for your brain) and work on a big project to add computerized charting to the hospital in addition to my staff nurse job. I also get 4 days off a week that I divvy up between CFI'ing and family obligations. For me it works well, I'm virtually always home at night, I get to fly and get paid a bit for it, and I can get to most of my kids' games, dance recitals etc.
 
If you're single with no family to tend to, now is the time to pursue flying...

Bingo.

Keep your job, earn your certificates and ratings.

If you're single then jump right into instructing. Relocate to one of the busier/better paying schools and get going.

If you're not single, keep the good paying job while earning you ratings and certs. Then, teach part time (weekends, etc.) filling in locally until things turn around. Then you'll be poised to make the jump to professional aviation.

Good $ right now is worth more than you could imagine.

-mini
 
Bingo.

If you're single then jump right into instructing. Relocate to one of the busier/better paying schools and get going.

-mini

I would look into the instructor job market before you quit your job. I looked around for commercial work and cfi jobs for about two months and was not able to find any. I would not rely on a cfi job to pay the bills. It seems like most flight schools are going to have difficulty surviving in the current economy.
 
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