I'll take a stab at this: 1.5 years before I was furloughed I had the same issue, albeit for different reasons. I saw my 121 company and the industry as a whole loosing groun in QOL, pay, etc. I started looking for a "backup." I settled in the financial services industry. I first obtained a life insurance license (for about $200 total in my state) and started selling life insurance through a dozen carriers. I found I was replacing policies left and right. Rates have dropped so much in the past 5 years it was, and is, easy to sell the product. Many people needed it, and I didn't need product inventory, big investments, or anything that obligated me to the business. With a phone, computer, printer, internet connection, and some guts, I started talking to people and buying some life insurance leads. My first sale made me $825 selling a $250,000 20-year term policy with AIG to a 58 y/o lead. I made back my monetary investment in my first sale.
I did this for just over a year and then started working on obtaining a securities license so I could go back to all my life insurance clients and help them with their retirement. Now I sell products through companies like Fidelity, John Hancock, Prudential, AXA, Jackson National, etc. The big loss this week affected only my Jackson National clients who were up over 6% YTD already anyways, so they are still ahead of the game.
The learning curve was very steep in the beginning. Today I still run my business part time while continuing to fly. I focus on business retirement plans - takeover and startup 401(k)s and the such. I then work with all the participants one-on-one rolling over other retirement money, replacing life insurance, etc. I have a growing book of business that I could sell for a healthy chunck of change (not big, but it is sellable). I can work on the road (phone calls, faxes, e-mails), too.
The newflas here is that their are very few people in the financial business who have the flexability people like us have. What I mean is this: as pilots we have full time jobs to pay the bills. This is great because I have never been in a position where I HAD to make the sale to eat. Instead, because I continue to fly, I can always take time to do it right and help my client instead of pushing a commisionalbe product on them to make a buck. At the end of the day it's a sales business and not for everyone. My education alone (what I've learned) in the business has been worth every dollar and hour invested so far.
It's not for everyone, but it worked for me. The rewards: stay busy making money, get a real financial education (when you are foced to learn something yourself) meet all kinds of people, build a business and asset over time, etc. The downsides: The learning curve is steep, rejection can be often in the beginning, at times - as with any business - things can be very frustrating, regulations are crazy just like aviation, securities licensing costs lot ($2200), spousal support is crucial (as with any business).
Good Luck.
