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I got my PPL from a flight school in Long Beach then went to SIU for everything else. Flight instructed there for two years, only racking up 200 hours that way. I got paid 7.25 while I was CFI-ing so don't talk crap about your job man....and I had to deal with you! :p I was on the Flight Team for three and a half years so that's where the rest of the time came from. Graduated in December then went to a regional where money got better but not enough to truly live like a pimp on (I do not condone living like a pimp or the mistreatment of women or bears). Now I'm unemployed like thousands of other pilots.

Pro Tip: ALIMBO:

1) Graduate from SIU
2) Flight Instruct for a while
3) Interview with airlines that will benefit your QOL...not "that have awesome jets or """short upgrade"""
4) ???
5) Profit!
 
You need to get your hand out of your pants and stop pleasuring yourself to your avatar. I think you are going blind because your grammar and punctuation are horrible. That SIU education isn't really paying off. I worked at Westroads Liquor Store while I was going to school there. At least that was more or less a paid work study for my future in aviation. Hang in there, even I ended up at Delta.

Thats an awesome job! I would have been my best customer though.
 
With the coming economic meltdown, we haven't even begun to see the furloughs yet. Get out while you can
 
Let's see...

Paid for my private working in a warehouse as a shipping clerk (Compass Distribution was the name of the company in an ironic twist of fate). $8/hr.

Bought my multi-engine rating throwing bags during my summers at PIE for the now defunct Southeast Airlines. 7.25/hr.

Campus security dispatcher, it was min wage/work study. I think min wage was like $5.25/hr.

Delivery courier, $8/hr.

Flight instructor for 3.5 years, started at $8/hr, ended with a salary of $36k.

Took an 8 month break as a college admission counselor, $30k/yr.

Training scheduler for a simulator training facility, $28k/yr.

Freight doggin' and pax. charter, $49k/yr.

P/T at Home Depot. $11/hr.

P/T pt. 91 Baron flying. $300/day.

Right seat filler on king airs for a 135 operator $200/day.

Fire/Air Attack pilot. $400/day.

My word of advice, don't hurry off to the airlines. I would have missed out on a lot of great fun, and incredible stories had I run straight from college to the regionals. Airline flying is about as sedate (read boring) as it gets... and you really don't need to be doing that from the time you're 23 till you're 65.
 
Well just got back from the career fair boy was that fun. What I'm about to say contradicts my old way of thinking but I assure you these are my new viewpoints. The only airlines there that were hiring were Great Lakes and Gojet. Go figure both places I would never think twice about going to. Like I said I used to think I would work there until I realized how bad that would be. GoJet was really trying to sell me the Koolaid until I started asking questions. For instance what are the hiring mins? HR guys response Well.... 500TT 50Multi. My response How strict are you on the 50 multi? (HR) Very strict. (Me) So if I had like 45 would you consider me? (HR) Nope sorry man 50 bare minimum. (Me) So your saying you will throw someone with 500 hours though right into a jet as long as they have 50 multi min. (HR) Looks at his partner turns to me ya pretty much do you want an info packet? (Me) No thanks have a good day though. Me an my friend turn an walk away and tell him hey Chip at least we have a place to practice interviews at. Then comes GLA with a typical young F/O minus spikey hair/ipod, but the back pack is present. He was talking to some younger guys still in the commercial time building course about how awesome the place was to work for. The inexperienced kids mind you are eating it up thinking about how awesome it would be to work there until I ask the question; How much is 1st yr F/O pay? He replies 16.00 an hour. Then these 2 guys are like damn that much to fly a 1900 thats pretty sweet. I was like omg do they realize you don't work the typical 40 hours a week. this is 16 bucks an hr times monthly garuntee of somewhere between 80-100. O well what are you going to do. I know I'm still a noob to this industry but at least I think I have some sort of one up others my age. It's that mentality that drives this industry lower.
 
Flight instructed there for two years, only racking up 200 hours that way. I got paid 7.25 while I was CFI-ing so don't talk crap about your job man....and I had to deal with you! :p

Nobody could pay you enough to deal with me as a student.
 
Well just got back from the career fair boy was that fun. What I'm about to say contradicts my old way of thinking but I assure you these are my new viewpoints. The only airlines there that were hiring were Great Lakes and Gojet. Go figure both places I would never think twice about going to. Like I said I used to think I would work there until I realized how bad that would be. GoJet was really trying to sell me the Koolaid until I started asking questions. For instance what are the hiring mins? HR guys response Well.... 500TT 50Multi. My response How strict are you on the 50 multi? (HR) Very strict. (Me) So if I had like 45 would you consider me? (HR) Nope sorry man 50 bare minimum. (Me) So your saying you will throw someone with 500 hours though right into a jet as long as they have 50 multi min. (HR) Looks at his partner turns to me ya pretty much do you want an info packet? (Me) No thanks have a good day though. Me an my friend turn an walk away and tell him hey Chip at least we have a place to practice interviews at. Then comes GLA with a typical young F/O minus spikey hair/ipod, but the back pack is present. He was talking to some younger guys still in the commercial time building course about how awesome the place was to work for. The inexperienced kids mind you are eating it up thinking about how awesome it would be to work there until I ask the question; How much is 1st yr F/O pay? He replies 16.00 an hour. Then these 2 guys are like damn that much to fly a 1900 thats pretty sweet. I was like omg do they realize you don't work the typical 40 hours a week. this is 16 bucks an hr times monthly garuntee of somewhere between 80-100. O well what are you going to do. I know I'm still a noob to this industry but at least I think I have some sort of one up others my age. It's that mentality that drives this industry lower.


Too bad more folks aren't doing their homework like you and figuring out how to really get started, vs selling their souls.
 
Alimbo,

Hang in there man, and good on ya for doing your research. Flying may not be the career to have anymore, but as far as I'm concerned, it's just as good as anything else, with the added benefit of actually liking and being interested in what I do. In other words, it's still a good career to have. I'd do a couple small things differently if I could (hey, you learn as you go), but overall, I'm pretty pleased with how things have turned out so far.

Regarding whomever you are quoting in your signature line: We semi-routinely land in 30kts, 90 degrees off the runway centerline. It doesn't even raise my heart rate any more--it just is what it is, and you just deal with it. And as far as I am concerned 5000 RVR might as well be clear and a million. And maybe the $4 he got paid for his work helps to offset all the rest of the time he sat on his rear end staring at the autopilot or reading USAToday. I would call pilots a "whiney bunch," but I have my suspicions that there are other career fields that have a proportionate number of whiners.

Besides that, I wouldn't want to perpetuate the "pilots have it so hard" stereotype because we have to deal with so many whiners. Other people have to deal with whiners too.

-Goose
 
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