Advice Please Making the 121-91 Career Change

[Jetboy]

I am a regional captain wanting to get back to corporate flying for a number of reasons; mainly I don't like the airline lifestyle, i.e. time away from home. (I briefly flew corporate when I was low time before being hired at the airlines.) I have tried for the last couple of years to get back into the corporate side of things, but having an "airline" resume is killing me. I had one DO say that the reason he didn't hire me is he thought I would go back to the airlines when/if things turn around. I swore up and down that I wouldn't but he ultimately passed on me, I am sure, because of my airline background. For the record, I am at a very stable regional/major, and that is not the case.

I have an opportunity to fly in a 91 environment for substantially lower pay than I am making now, like 60-70% less. It is an entry-level position. I don't even know if I could live on it, but I could maybe make it work. I do believe however that, 1. there is the possibility of making more as I move up in this company, and 2. that it would greatly improve my chances of being picked up by a higher paying, more long-term 91 gig.

I respect the advice/opinions of all of you guys who have been there done that on this board. Any and all thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

I dont get it..

You are at a very stable regional/major (whats that?) and are thinking of taking a paycut to go corporate?

You want to go corporate to be home more?

Generally - the most stable, career corporate jobs are at the biger Fortune xx companies - and they are all over the globe these days so dont plan on being home more....5-10 day worldwide trips are fairly common. Will you work less days? likey..but you may be gone more...

Home each night making great money flying a small corp aircraft??....VERY RARE...and the ones that say they do this...ask them how long? longevity in those jobs is rare. I had a few of these jobs that I wish lasted, I would have never left...but they never did and you wind up in the bigger a/c for stability and $$$$

If you have stability and good money now, ask yourself why you want to switch?...if its to be home more - I just dont see it..

good luck either way!

 

[750driver]

G200 has a point. Even in a midsize cabin like the Citation X, our trips were usually 6-9 days on the road. I've been in the FAR 121 environment for both regional & major airline ops. I can tell you from experience that you will not be home more often (in most cases). My schedule usually consisted of day trips through 4 day trips while flying for the airlines, as opposed to what I previously described.

You maintain the aircraft's onboard inventory, Jepps, and interior/ exterior appearance at some operations. I think your intentions are sincere, but my concern is that you may leave a decent operation in search of a corporate job that may not meet realistic expectations. Please do some more research, speak to other pilots, and look carefully before making the transition. I would hate for you to give up what you have, especially in this tough market. Best wishes on your search

 

[English]

Just pick an airplane that has no range, like a CitationJet or other small cabin Citation. I did that and I am DEFINITELY home more than I was at an airline. I do lots of day trips and very few overnights.

 

[CapnVegetto]

I second that. I'm driving my little Slowtation around and couldn't be happier. I'm home almost every night, so when I do get the occasional 2 or 3 day overnight, it's kind of like a little vacation. You'll never make as much money as you would flying a Gulfstream or Challenger, but to me, nothing equals quality of life. I'd be a thousand times happer flying a CE-560, LR-35, or something similar for $65-70K a year than I would flying a GV for $130K and being gone all the time.

Your airline resume is hurting you.....my old boss wouldn't touch airline guys just because of the type of flying they did. When I left my last corporate job, flying a LR-35, in the 2 weeks I was still there after I gave my notice, he placed an ad on avcrew.com, got about 500 resumes in 2 days, probably at least 75% of them were 10,000 hour airline guys. He threw them all in the garbage. In corporate, as I'm sure you know having done it before, you're resposible for everything. You keep the records, you plan the flights, you order the fuel, you check W & B, you check the weather, i.e. you are responsible for every little aspect of that airplane. In the airlines, you show up, fly, and go home. There is no resposibility outside the cockpit. At least that was his position. I've done both, and the airline job is definitely easier. You sit down, shut the door, go where they tell you for 3 or 4 days, and then go home. But you just work a hell of a lot more.

If you want to get back into corporate, I say take the job. In the airlines, 1,000 multi-turbine PIC is a magic number. In the corporate world, 1,000 hours of RJ PIC doesn't do you much good, because it's not time in type. Most of the time, you have to start in the right seat of whatever to get some type experience to make the insurance company happy. It'll take a while to get where you want to be, but with all your TT and multi you're ahead of the game. Now you just need anywhere from 100 to 500 in type to get a good paying PIC gig.

Good luck!

 

[TIS]

The corporate gig can be widely varied

I see a lot of commentary here about how much one is away if one flies a big corporate jet. That may well be true but there are exceptions. I fly G-IIIs and G-IVs for a company that has two of the former and seven of the latter and I'm home plenty. It's all about staffing correctly.

Sure there are some hectic times but those are not the norm and I have a pretty good QOL right now - for which I am grateful.

I think it's important to understand how corporate jobs are most easily obtained - you have to know someone. When you come in on a personal reference from someone already employed by your target company you have the "in" that supercedes the Chief Pilot's fears that you'll soon be leaving when the airline biz turns around.

Now, having said that, you don't always have the opportunity to utilize a personal contact. That's why you also have to take a careful look at the industry you're involved in and find its cons. In other words, come up with a really good industry analytical speech that will answer the question, "Why do you want to leave your present position?" You should be pointing out the new "realities" of airline flying and mentioning too that they're just not for you. For you another branch of aviation is more appropriate.

I've been at my company for ten years now. When I got hired my friends thought I was crazy to stay in corporate. They pestered me to apply at UAL, UPS, USAirways, Delta, etc. - wherever they happened to work. Only one of these guys still has it better than me and he's at UPS. The rest are either furloughed, about to be, or have accepted in the neighborhood of 40% pay cuts in the past 24 months.

All in all I've been fortunate to have made the right decision for me and my family - I stayed in the job that would have me at the time and they've treated me well. Not everyone is cut out for the corporate thing but I'm here to tell you that some are. If that's you go for it!

TIS

 

[sleepy]

Network, network, network! That is the key to finding a good corporate job. I would not recommend taking a large pay cut for an entry-level corporate job. Keep your current job while you look for something better.

When I decided to leave the airlines for corporate again, it took me almost a full year of constant work to find the type of job that I wanted.

 

[Jetboy]

Thanks to all who have given advice.

The term regional/major is an airline that, by DOT standards is classified as a major, but by pay and aircraft size is a regional.

I have tried on my resume to highlight the previous corporate work I have done but it doesn't seem to help. I have been trying to get back to the 91 side of things for 3 years. It is very hard to even get an interview. In that time I have had 1 interview and I obviously did not get the job offer (see above post for details). I agree that contacts are vital, but how are you supposed to get them? I have literally 2, and I bug them both to death. They are good friends but they don't have a lot of pull in their areas. I go in person to hand out resumes, but the majority of the time no one is around the office so I end up leaving it with a receptionist or at the least, sliding it under the door. It has yielded no results. Any ideas on how to even get an interview?

 

[skeeter666]

Jetboy-

I'm in the same boat......all my CRJ time doesnt mean a thing! They look at my resume and ask "whats a CRJ?". Stay where your at, and focus on your networking, it may take some time. When I flew King Airs I was home alot more, but the pay was low. Good luck

-skeeter

 

[sleepy]

Jetboy-

I'm in the same boat......all my CRJ time doesnt mean a thing! They look at my resume and ask "whats a CRJ?". Stay where your at, and focus on your networking, it may take some time. When I flew King Airs I was home alot more, but the pay was low. Good luck

-skeeter

So call it a Challenger or CL-65 on your resume, and target places that operate the Challenger. Or, target some of the flight departments that use RJ as shuttles (BellSouth, Phizer, and ConocoPhillips come to mind as places that operate shuttles). BellSouth uses a DO-328, and the other two use the E-145 or E-135).

Try going through JPI or one of the other contract crew service providers.