How do you do it?

[idoitupsidedown]

How about this for an idea? A few years back, I was CFI'ing 40+hrs a week for $20/hr. One of my students hired me to fly a T210 for $32K/yr. I flew one day per week and had a fixed schedule so I was able to double dip with my CFI job (do the math; that's pretty good dough). I took a pay cut to fly PT135 King Air's for two years. I was able to build enough experience to get hired as a captain at a PT91 Corp. Dept. Our first year captains make more than an 18yr RJ captain @ SkyWest. We're scheduled 60-90 days in advance and fly a lot less than any 121 guys I know of.

If the Regionals/Majors are your thing, great. Just wanted to highlight some other options. You guys who make ends meet on $20K/yr with $100K in school debt are a lot smarter about finance than I'll ever be.

That ain't bad

 

[Groundpounder]

You have to commute from north of FLL to MIA.. Why??

Cause the airline I'd be flying for is based at MIA and thats where I'd have to commute to.

 

[pilotyip]

See the guy who did not go to college could have the $20K job without the $100K debt and be 4 years along in his career. The HS grad is probably flying RJ Captain at $50K-$60K with no debt having the college trained pilot jerking gear for him for $20K. But this does make sense to alot of the pilots on this board. I just have not figured it out yet.

 

[Crash Pad]

Groundpounder: Run! get away from this profession. I have zero useful job skills so I'm stuck... You still have a chance. All these people are missing the point. Sure you can put together a month a week a year on nothing but long term you are screwed. You are always one major medical, car accident, etc from going in to major credit debt. The credit idea is garbage. Maybe you pay it off in a couple years you still miss the big picture.

The pension is gone. So you have to save for retirement now. Compound interest doubling etc... You need to be set up well by the time you are 30. ($100,000 or so) The high paying jobs are gone... So you will no longer be able to make up for lost time when you get older.
So while you string together a couple poor years the real problem is you screwed yourself for the rest of your life.
RUN

 

[pilotyip]

Wrong crashpad $100k/yr is still very doable flying an airplane. That puts you in the upper 5%-10% of national income. Where else can a High School grad count on making that much money, doing something they like, and have a lot of days off?

 

[Groundpounder]

See the guy who did not go to college could have the $20K job without the $100K debt and be 4 years along in his career. The HS grad is probably flying RJ Captain at $50K-$60K with no debt having the college trained pilot jerking gear for him for $20K. But this does make sense to alot of the pilots on this board. I just have not figured it out yet.

When that non-college educated captian loses his medical, he is stuck with a $20k a year job. When the guy with college degree loses his job, or decides he doesn't want to fly, he goes and gets a $50k a year job using his degree.

 

[pilotyip]

old post but it fits

The fallback value of a degree is greatly over rated. I have a BS and a Master's in Management, but at age 53, I was making $250/wk loading cargo. After Zantop pretended to go out of went out of business in 1997, I had been a temporary High School Chemistry Teacher up until two weeks before the cargo job came along. However, they do not teach school in the summer so I had to take the cargo job. The value of an unused degree is highly over rated. 53 year old unemployed airline pilots are not eagerly greeted in any industry that I know of, even of having a couple degrees. Of course, I did not apply for many of the "College degree preferred jobs" such as apt manager, telephone direct sales, plumping floor manager at Home Depot, etc. If you get a college degree you have to use, the knowledge gained in college to develop a career or the degree is useless. After getting a degree, flying an airplane is not a knowledge expanding experience; it is skill development experience. Anyone care to chime in and share their experiences on entering the non-aviation job market after being out of college 20-30 years?

 

[DetoXJ]

When that non-college educated captian loses his medical, he is stuck with a $20k a year job. When the guy with college degree loses his job, or decides he doesn't want to fly, he goes and gets a $50k a year job using his degree.

What? You mean regional FO's really can't do any better at Home Depot or McDonalds?

 

[labbats]

A real man lets his woman support him. :beer:

 

[Crash Pad]

PilotYip... I hope you are right. Like I said I'm stuck... I have no useful job skills.

 

[pilotyip]

Point here: you are not a regional F/O forever; it is an entry level position. No more than I was an Ensign forever at $300/mo

 

[English]

The fallback value of a degree is greatly over rated. I have a BS and a Master's in Management, but at age 53, I was making $250/wk loading cargo. After Zantop pretended to go out of went out of business in 1997, I had been a temporary High School Chemistry Teacher up until two weeks before the cargo job came along. However, they do not teach school in the summer so I had to take the cargo job. The value of an unused degree is highly over rated. 53 year old unemployed airline pilots are not eagerly greeted in any industry that I know of, even of having a couple degrees. Of course, I did not apply for many of the "College degree preferred jobs" such as apt manager, telephone direct sales, plumping floor manager at Home Depot, etc. If you get a college degree you have to use, the knowledge gained in college to develop a career or the degree is useless. After getting a degree, flying an airplane is not a knowledge expanding experience; it is skill development experience. Anyone care to chime in and share their experiences on entering the non-aviation job market after being out of college 20-30 years?

Yip, do you have this saved on your hard drive somewhere so you can just keep posting the same thing over and over again? I swear sometimes you sound like a broken record.

Was I married to you before?

 

[Socalplt]

Did you ever think that there is more to this career than making money? Gee what a novel idea, work a job that you actually enjoy doing even though it's not the top paying job out there.


And this is precisely why the job only pays 20K. If your profile is accurate (600hrs with B1900 and ERJ experience) I'd say you bought yours.

 

[AGuyThatFlys]

How do you new hires that make $20k a year survive? I have a chance to get on with an airline and make around that level, but have no idea how I'd make ends meet. I have a nice car and a decent place to live, but I sure don't live like a king. I could get rid of the car and get some crapmobile, but thats not going to make a huge difference. How do you do it???

Regional FO is a third career for me.

Started out in the Navy. Did my time, knew I was leaving, saved money for the career transition.

Second career was a Boeing engineer. Good pay, saved money, earned my ratings over several years. In the meantime, joined the Navy Reserve. Drilled one weekend a month, two weeks a year. And saved that money. Continued to build hours. I joined the Civil Air Patrol and flew missions (paid for by the Air Force). Flew CAP aircraft to maintain proficiency, a CAP requirement. Really cheap flying; $30/hour plus fuel for a Cessna 182. Thought flying would remain a hobby until...

...I was laid off from Boeing after 9/11. For a year immediately after 9/11, I was recalled to active duty in the Navy. Actually took home more as a Navy officer than as a Boeing engineer (taxed less). And saved that money. With the free time, I was able to get my CFI and CFII. Decided to try a career as a professional pilot.

Worked as a CFI for a year. Built more time. Met and married a woman who works in the health care industry (never out of work, and her pay is OK). Saved more money.

We had well into the five figures saved when I finally got the call to a regional. Still giving flying lessons when I can. As a free-lance CFI, I charge my own rate.

All this time I was living below my means. Still driving the four-cylinder rice burner I bought 15 years ago. Shared living expenses by having roommates.

You got to live cheap and save, save, save for those first couple of years flying for a regional.

 

[49W]

Get a life A$$hole! Did you ever think that there is more to this career than making money? Gee what a novel idea, work a job that you actually enjoy doing even though it's not the top paying job out there. Your attitude shows why you will never make it in this industry.

There is more to this career than making money. There is also more to life than this career. One day, you may want to own a home, have a family, and enjoy life. Upgrade times are getting longer and longer at many regionals and even our relatively low current payrates seem to be threatened.