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Dilema!!!

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711-24-7

711-24-7

Well-known member
Joined
May 5, 2004
Posts
229
I just became a CPT with a regional, yet I have also a very nice job offer to fly G200 in India with a type rating and PIC time. A two year contract. Now the dilema is to stay in States and finish my on-line college(16 credit hours left) and build 121 PIC time and move on to Netjets or Majors. Or take the contract job build PIC time making close to 100G's a year and pay off my flight school and come back after two years with some change in my pocket and try to get a job with someone. Any Help with the Decision.............
 
I have the same questions as you but in a different boat. I am flying overseas and want to go back to the states really bad but the money is keeping me here although life would be alot better if I were back in the states. At first it was nice to fly overseas, fly to different places etc but after 6 months I started missing what we take for granted in the states(way of life etc) even though alot of people complain about it. It's a tough decision to make......
 
Go make almost tax free money overseas ... Pay off your loans and finish you degree online over in India. Ive been doing the overseas contract gig since August and love it. Prior to August, I had no desire to go live in third world countries and fly. But its really a lot of fun. I love my paychecks and the experience. Getting out of debt (student loan), buying toys (see my lifted 08 F150 avatar) and saving money at the same time as a CRJ FO is unheard of. If your single and have no real commitments back home, go for it. Otherwise it will be tough... Just make sure your contract specifically states you will get PIC time as it sounds like you will mainly be an FO.
 
Thank you both for the info!! Especially the PIC specific part on the contract. I am told it is not on the paper yet, the first six months is right seat to get use to stuff and build time and than it will be pic time after that. I will make sure that it does get on the piece of paper. Again I really appriciate your inputs. Do you guys mind if I PM you if I have any more questions?
 
Do you have the discipline to finish your degree from overseas, with a minimum of eight or nine days off, fluctuating schedules, less-than-US-standard living conditions to study in and the distractions of being in a different country?

If you have the discipline, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, I'd say you are a fool to give up Part 121 experience, while being in a more comfortable environment to finish your degree, without distractions.

IMHO, of course. No disrespect meant because I was in your same boat, and it took me a few years to get those last few hours finished because of life distractions. I blew a chance at AA because I didn't have my degree completed when I should have. I would have 25 years seniority at AA, right now, if I hadn't put it off.

Besides, the money isn't really tax free...Read another thread going on about that in the Regionals section.
 
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Go for the adventure and take the job overseas to broaden your professional and personal horizons before life commitments (marriage, kids, etc) make it impossible.
 
I would recommend staying in the USA until you get 1000 PIC Part 121 time. Then you can go overseas. Without 1000 Part 121 PIC it would be difficult to get back to the USA if the overseas job doesn't work out.

I would say any contract that doesn't start you as a Captain right away will only keep making excuses to delay your time in the right seat. They make that promise only to lure you over then you are stuck.


Typhoonpilot
 
Typhoonpilot seems to have made my point a little more eloquently.

If you want a US major airline job, you will need the 1,000 hours of US Part 121 PIC time.

He is also correct in telling that contractors make all kinds of promises to get you there. Be sure everything that you expect is in writing on a contract, and even then don't think they won't change their minds on a whim.

Have you ever heard this? "You don't like it? Sue me."

My advice? Stay here, get the 1,000 hours Part 121 PIC, finish you degree, keep your willie dry (no kids) then go for the foreign adventure before you have a wife and kids. If you don't like it, you are well qualified to come back to the States.
 
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As far as I know it doens't have to be US Part 121 PIC. Any airline PIC counts or am I wrong?

Yes, you can PM me anytime.....
 
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Yes, US Part 121. The other is nice, but with 1,000 hours operating in US airspace as a Captain, you should know the ropes in the US, where you will be for a while before bidding non-domestic trips.

Getting the 1,000 hours as a US Captain, then having 1,000 hours or more in another enviornment is pretty golden, as long as you have the degree.
 
Show me where an airline says "1000 hrs 121 turbine PIC required." Better yet, show me a legacy carrier that is hiring at the moment requiring 1000 PIC turbine (see links for proof). Plenty of guys I have met doing the contract gig have been the center of attention at job fairs and interviews. Most choose not to take the pay cut and stay put, but the opportnities are there to those of us interested in switching back! Im staying put for a while!

United:
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51564,00.html
Delta:
http://www.delta.com/about_delta/career_opportunities/pilot_qualifications/
Northwest:
http://flight-nwa.icims.com/nwa_flight/jobs/candidate/job.jsp?jobid=1009&mode=view
Continental:
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/company/career/pilot.aspx
USAirways:
https://applications.usairways.com/..._spid=10528&oapc=6&oas=BKZk8qT4q4zBLIkahSJl8Q..
 
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I agree with you Bling. The one airline that asks for 121 PIC is Airtran but nobody asks for US 121 PIC. I have never heard of that. I do have a few friends who got their PIC time overseas in larger aircraft and are now flying for the majors back in the states.
 
My advice is go overseas, but after you have 500 - 1000 hours command in the US. The pay isn't tax free but being a contractor allows you to deduct most expense which in turns really knocks down your taxable income. The pay is way better and the experience is something that you'll always appreciate down the road when you have a boring US airline job. I'm making double what I was making in the US and have a way better quality of life, of couse I'm not living in Inda, but still considering it. Be wary of promises made by the contract agency and be sure all T and C's are understood before siging. The India contracts will be around for several more years so no hurry, but definitely pursue an opportunity there at some point. Good luck
 
Varig said:
I agree with you Bling. The one airline that asks for 121 PIC is Airtran but nobody asks for US 121 PIC. I have never heard of that. I do have a few friends who got their PIC time overseas in larger aircraft and are now flying for the majors back in the states.
Click to expand...

Actually, I looked at the profiles of the two guys (Typhoon and GCD) saying that the PIC time must be 121. Well, between the two of them they have over 31,000 hrs of flight time whch tells me they have been around a while. Im sure at one point in their careers (back in the day) the turbine time had to be 121 pic or military to get hired at a major. Times have changed and Im sure when I have been around as long as them, I wont know, or even care what hiring mins are!
 
Well, you are wrong in a way, the money is TAX FREE, just depends how long you will be away per year from the US, and also on how much you make. For 2008, If you make $85,700 or less and will be away for 330 days or more, then all of that money plus your perdium and expenses will be tax free. If you make more than that, then you will have to pay taxes on the amount over that, except for Medicare and Social security, you are not allowed to pay into those while working outside the US. I have been working as an Expat and love it, like my time off, and like the $$$$$$$. If you need more info, just go to the IRS web site and research working abroad, specifically, the form that you will have to fill out and file with your normal tax return is form 2555, look it up and read the instructions. Also, go to the social security web site, it will tell you that you are not allowed to pay into social security or medicare, but who cares anyways about that.

Well, Good Luck
 
"The pay isn't tax free but being a contractor allows you to deduct most expense which in turns really knocks down your taxable income."

That is incorrect. The first $82,400 of your wages is not taxable by the IRS (some states do tax the wages). That equates to buying power of 1.5 times the salary. The downside is now when Uncle Sam begins to tax you after $82,400 you are immediately put into the 25% bracket. So the first dollar you make after $82,400, you get 75 cents and Uncle Sam gets a quarter!!

From someone who has done the overseas job assignment, go there with a discipline to save your money. Find a good tax advisor and accountant. Five or 10 years overseas and you can return to the USA and take any job you want.
 
job overseas

If you have been offered a posiiton on a G-200 with type rating, you should jump on it, those type of operations do not come around very often. I have flown corporate overseas for 2 decades, the education you gain is priceless. As far as the backroom tax consultants, what ever you make overseas does not get reported to the US, especially from India, they are not concerned. It is just a matter of how you bring it back into the US. Your exempt on the first 85K, then taxed on the difference, so if you are flying for a company that does not issue W2 forms, nobody would know that you made more. You will never make that kind of money at the regionals, and turbine time is turbine time.

As far as your education, do it online. Like I said, "Those type of offers do not come very often"

Your move, Best of Luck
 
I have the same problem.... except Falcon 50 EX! I have interviewed with major airlines and I cant imagine giving up the pay. How much are PICs making in Moscow??

If you dont have kids, go for it. I do ...thats my problem.
 

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