Alternative Paths: "You Guys Have . " II

[cookmg]

Okay, I've been following the thread below titled "You guys have me scared." I think for a young pilot I have a pretty realistic idea of what aviation won't be. If I didn't before, definately after reading that thread.

What I'd like to know is what is a realistic idea of what aviation could be for us younger pilots. What I mean is, if I can accept that I will never make the big bucks flying. If I can accept that I may never fly heavy iron. Then maybe there is a different pathway to an aviation career besides the traditional future airline pilot route. Can a young pilot plan a future as a career instructor? Are there jobs for experienced CFIs that pay adequately? What about flying in Alaska. I've heard it said that you can make 30+ flying bush. How likely are these possibilities.

How about flying for a company like AirNet for your whole career?

My thought is that with so many people pursuing the majors or regionals, is there an advantage for the young pilot who recognizes that may not be the way to go.

Maybe a better way to ask it is this: If all of the experienced pilots on this board had to do it over again (and they were committed to being professional pilots ), how would they plan their career?

Thanks guys (and gals).

Mike

 

[avbug]

Mike,

I can't speak for another, but I'd do just what I've done. It's included jumpers, banners, back country, ambulance, freight, instruction, gliders, scheduled, maitnenance, fire, ag, unscheduled, charter, piston, turboprop, government work, tours, SAR, turbojet, fabric, animal tracking, metal, fiberglass, new, old, big, little, insignificant, whatever. It's all the same. I woldn't do anything differently.

Find something you can live with and build on, and do it. I would be perfectly as happy in a Beaver or Cessna 207 as I would in a Hawker or Learjet, as I would in a B737. The goal isn't nearly so important as the journey.

If your goal is being able to fly large airplanes, it's do-able. Don't accept now that you won't make it, because you have every opportunity to do so. If your goal it to make a lot of money, you may...but you should also know the old say that the way to make a small fortune in aviation is to start with a large one. Fortunes have been made and lost in the business many times over, and nobody is immune.

Bottom line, do what you want to do. Take the opportunities as they come. Opportunities arrive on your doorstep not set in stone, but as possibilities. What you make of them is up to you. Two individuals may have a shot at flight instructing. One will be fabulously successful and able to make a living, the other won't. The difference is in the individual, not in the job.

The question is not what will you do. It's what will you make of it?

 

[bobbysamd]

Hindsight is 20/20 . . . .

In my case, I would have sought out real career counseling. When I was in junior high, I liked electronics, and I thought I wanted to be an electrical engineer. Enter higher math and the way it was taught in my school system, and away went that career. I took bookkeeping and loved it. So, I thought I wanted to be an accountant. Then, on my first full day at college, I walked through the doors of my college radio station. It was like Alice walking through the looking glass. I ended up in broadcasting for a total of nineteen years.

While I liked airplanes, I could not consider it for a career at the time I was leaving high school. I was not being guided in that direction; moreover, during the late '60s, it did not appear viable unless you were a military pilot, and I certainly was not military meat, much less majors meat.

Now, maybe if I had better guidance, I could have started in professional aviation years earlier than I did. Not going to college was not an option for me, but had I known of places such as ERAU, I could have done both. That's how I would have planned my career. I also would have known that there were other things for me to do and companies for which to fly besides the majors.

I believe that to have all options available you have to start young. The older you are when you start, the fewer options are available. But, that does not mean that there isn't plenty that you can do in aviation at any age.

Why not career instructing? A large number of people I read here sniff at the notion. To them, instructing is a burden they must bear until they build enough time for a "real" flying job. Now, in other parts of the world, and especially Europe, flight instructing is looked upon with respect, if not awe. As a career instructor, you can make a great contribution to aviation. Read up on Edna Gardner Whyte. She became known as a race pilot, but she was primarily a flight instructor. She instructed for something like sixty years. Here's a brief biography (and book ad) about Edna Gardner Whyte. I know of any number of people who become flight instructors and later DEs, and have very satisfying careers teaching others to fly. And, they make decent livings, too. Instructors who teach foreign airline students at such schools as Airline Training Center Arizona and International Flight Training Academy in California make good money, fly well-maintained equipment, and have more or less "normal" schedules.

Hopefully, Falcon Capt. will read this thread. I knew him at ERAU years ago and got together with him and JetPilot 500 several weeks ago. Falcon Capt.'s career goal was corporate flying. He attained it and is very happy with what he's doing. Most certainly he will have input for you on corporate flying.

Hopefully these thoughts will help. So many people tend to think airline as being the pinnacle of flying. The pinnacle for you is what will meet your needs.

 

[Jump Pilot]

I would be perfectly as happy in a Beaver or Cessna 207

I'll take the Beaver.

 

[wingnutt]

aw man cook, you read my mind

i was/am wondering along the same route. not being a big fan of the airline thing myself, ive been researching the "next best thing". id like to be involved in my kids' lives, financially afford to take care of my family (even if modestly), and eek out some kind of retirement plan so im not 65 with 3 jobs to pay the bills.

near as i can tell, a government flying job is about as stable as you can get, fairly decent retirement and they can actually pay pretty well. the only downside is that the military guys snap these jobs up in a hurry, and i have yet to be able to beat one of them out...

avbug, as glamorous as your idea sounds (seriously) i would like to know how you weathered the storm between jobs? surely there were stretches of nothing-ness, where it had you wondering whether or not you were on the right trail? how about your retirement, or are you one of the gizzlied (is that even a word?) few who will be sharing your cockpit with a cane well into your 80's with no quitting in sight

career instructor...as crazy as it may seem, i see it as more of a last option than a first, call me crazy

 

[avbug]

Wingnut,

Weathered the time between flying jobs? Some jobs were concurrent, others weren't. Some were seasonal, some were year-round. In between, I worked in a greenhouse, drove a delivery truck, was an armed gaurd, and unarmed gaurd, a 911 dispatcher, a deputy sheriff, a high school substitute teacher, scrubbed supermarket floors, cut logs and worked a saw, built log structures, worked in a candy factory, dug ditches, made pizzas, worked in a rubber stamp factory, played handyman, cleaned theatres at night, fought fire, drove and crewed on a county ambulance, packed parachutes, performed aircraft maintenance, was a telemarketer, detailed airplanes, was a janitor and warehouse worker at a community college, and a few other things.

I was never very good at the pizzas, according to the owner.

 

[grinder]

Whatever you do, get a decent college degree (not aviation related) in something that will get you employment if you need it during a downturn or god forbid, a loss of your medical. Since you are young and the industry sucks, time is on your side. You can get the degree and do some flying on the side in the meantime. Good luck.

 

[mar]

$30,000+ to start in the bush!

Cookmg--You got it right about the bush in Alaska. There's money to made. A second year navajo pilot for Bering Air in Nome will make over $100,000.

I'm not joshing ya. I'm not pulling your leg. It's not a typo.

Do the Bering pilots earn their cash? You bet. Does Bering hire any Joe-shmoe off the street with a CMEL? Nope, no way.

There's a whole microcosm in the bush--a world that exists outside of Lower 48 airline politics. Most pilots out there couldn't even tell you the difference between a scope clause and a pitot tube. They just don't care.

They only care about getting the job done and making the coin.

It's not for the romantic--but it is a way of life. It's certainly an option.

Finally take heed: Most will come out for a season--maybe a year--build their time and go. Those that stick it out, make it a way of life, will usually end up marginalizing themselves out of the 'normal' job market--indeed, 'normal' society.

It's kind of the Land of Misfit Toys.

 

[LR25]

A&P school

I was a private pilot at 17, I went to A&P school right after high school, best decision I ever made.

I have worked for 3 airlines now as a mechanic after working for a couple of repair stations first on small GA stuff.

If I ever lose my medical, I will have a descent career to fall back on.

But I know this to be true, do something you will enjoy, if you do, its not like work at all.

I have worked on DC-8's now for almost 7 years, it could be blowing snow sideways with the airplane broke bigger than sh!t, and Im right at home, becuase I love what I do. Some may disaggree with that senario, but to me, I happy fixing them, or flying them. Long hours and harsh climates, yes, but its what clicks for me.

If you find that place in your life, you cant go wrong.

And by the way, I left my airline as a pilot not to long ago, and went back to fixing DC-8's, my training and knowledge as a mechanic did what it was suppost to do, it gave me an income during these trying times.

 

[wingnutt]

Re: $30,000+ to start in the bush!

Cookmg--You got it right about the bush in Alaska. There's money to made. A second year navajo pilot for Bering Air in Nome will make over $100,000.

I'm not joshing ya. I'm not pulling your leg. It's not a typo.

ummm...if thats true, may i be so bold as to ask where to go sign up? for 100K a year, id haul powdered monkey snot by bicycle.

seriously, ive always thought about Alaska flying, but was unaware it was possible to make that kind of money