Low time Pilot looking for a job

[wmn_av8r]

Hello,

I am currently a Commercial Multi-engine, Instrument Rated Pilot with about 350 flight time hours, +50 hrs in Frasca 142 & 242. I also just finished up a jet orientation course in a 737-400 sim whereby I gained about 52 hours in experience. I am looking for a flying job and willing to relocate anywhere. I have looked into the CFI thing, but before I spend the $$$ I need to make sure that I can find a CFI job and it seems that everyone is a bit slow and not hiring CFIs at this point as they don't have anyone leaving. Does anyone have any ideas on companies that may be willing to hire me at my low time? I have a degree in accounting as well and was successful before I gave up that career to fly. I am also willing to perform dispatch duties, etc. in addition to flying.

 

[MMO 0.705]

Its tough right now...most people, that I have seen around the LA area, are requiring 200 dual given, experience, etc. Make sure you do your CFI at a school where they will hire you after you complete it. if you dont, its not easy to find a CFI job in this market. Stick it out though, It'll get better!!

 

[UPS Capt]

About the only thing your low time qualifies you for is a CFI job. You need 500 hrs for a 135 VFR job (last time I checked). The 52 hrs in the 737 sim is worthless without real world experience in the airplane and there are currently far too many multi thousand hr jet jocks walking the streets right now looking for work.

 

[banned username 2]

I also just finished up a jet orientation course in a 737-400 sim whereby I gained about 52 hours in experience.

I have looked into the CFI thing, but before I spend the $$$ I need to make sure that I can find a CFI job and it seems that everyone is a bit slow and not hiring CFIs at this point as they don't have anyone leaving.

OK, Let me get this straight... At 300 hours, you spent the money for a "737-400 Orientation Course" which included 52 hours of 737 sim time (which in my opinion is worthless for someone with 300 hours), BUT you are worried about spending the money on your CFI unless you can guarantee a job first???

Him, I think you need to review your priorities...

At 300 hours, about the only job you ARE qualified for is a CFI job... Or maybe a banner tow pilot...

 

[Timebuilder]

My first recommendation is to avoid reading ads about schools and jobs in aviation magazines. There is no pilot shortage, and won't be, no matter how many pilots retire in the next ten years.

As mentioned, you need 500 hours TT and some CFI experience to be competitive in good times. Times wont be good again for a long time. A few years ago, a woman could be hired at United through a gender preference program with very low time, but so many United pilots are now working at Home Depot that I doubt most of those hires still have jobs.

I hope you enjoyed the 737 training/orientation course. It may have been fun, but don't ascribe anything more than that to the experience. Without time in type, even a real "type rating" in the 737 would be pretty useless. If you had the experience, you could get in the Southwest hiring pool and expect to wait there for several years.

I'd recommend you go back to accounting full time, and use the weekends to keep current and prepare for a CFI checkride. After a few years of instructing you will have the time and experience necessary to compete with the thousands of more experienced pilots who are out of a job, and then get an entry level position if you are lucky. Don't work on your CFI at a school that canot give you a job after completing the course, and remember, you need MULTIENGINE experience.

If you just plain enjoy flying, work as an accountant and buy a used Cessna. Pilots are like grains of sand right now, and it's a big sandbox out here.

 

[English]

There are places that will look at you, but you'll need to improve your relative qualifications first. When I say relative quals, I mean that for someone of your flight time, it is more important to be working on the CFI/CFII/MEI stuff than working on B737 experience. It doesn't matter if there will be a CFI job waiting for you when you finish. Get the CFI, et al, so that you learn what you need to know to be a better pilot.

It sounds like you are a female pilot...you will get more supportive help from the Pro 99s network, Women in Aviation, and Women in Corporate Aviation than you will on this website. There are alot of men on this website that have some pre-conceived notions about low-time female pilots on this board, and you'll likely get bashed for asking questions about jobs at your flight time when so many on this board have thousands of hours and can't find jobs.

You must find your motivation to continue training not from whether a job will be waiting for you, but because you want to know everything there is to know about airplanes and because you want to be a safe pilot. As a female pilot, no matter how many hours you have and how much experience you gain, you will have more to prove than the next guy. So know your stuff and the rest will follow.

Get your nice clothes on, print your resume, and head out to EVERY airport until you get a bite. Show up at the flight school looking like a professional and talk to the chief pilot. Explain you want to be a CFI for their school, and you'll do the rest of your training there (your CFI) if they'll give you a shot at a job.

Good luck...

 

[Timebuilder]

There are alot of men on this website that have some pre-conceived notions about low-time female pilots on this board, and you'll likely get bashed for asking questions about jobs at your flight time when so many on this board have thousands of hours and can't find jobs.

English is right, in a way.

A lot of female pilots think that it's somehow okay to line up for the same job as a male pilot, but have far less time and experience. Sometimes, you will receive preferential treatment from a carrier like United. I don't think that they will be in a position to offer that type of program again, for a decade at least. If you want to be treated as an equal by the majority of male pilots, then it behooves you to take your licks and earn your stripes just like the rest of us. In this way, you will be able to point to your qualifications rather than an "extra points" program as your basis for hiring and promotion.

As a female pilot, no matter how many hours you have and how much experience you gain, you will have more to prove than the next guy.

True.

The reason is the use of those programs that judge you based on what special interest group you belong to, rather than your qualifications. Women and minorities have been hurt by these programs a great deal, even when they have not participated in the programs. They demean your reputation as a pilot, and call your abilities into question.

So know your stuff and the rest will follow.

There. THAT'S the ticket!

At this point, you have a decision to make, and a question to answer:

"How bad do I want to be a commercial pilot?"

 

[bigD]

A lot of female pilots think that it's somehow okay to line up for the same job as a male pilot, but have far less time and experience. Sometimes, you will receive preferential treatment from a carrier like United. I don't think that they will be in a position to offer that type of program again, for a decade at least. If you want to be treated as an equal by the majority of male pilots, then it behooves you to take your licks and earn your stripes just like the rest of us. In this way, you will be able to point to your qualifications rather than an "extra points" program as your basis for hiring and promotion.

I dunno...she never said a word about her being a woman, so I'd be inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she's not looking to leverage that into getting a job.

 

[Timebuilder]

Check the avatar and the screen name.

I'll give YOU the benefit of the doubt, Big D!

 

[bigD]

Oh no - I know she's a woman. I was just saying that I think she's just looking for a job, and that she's not necessarily looking for any special treatment because she IS a woman. If that makes any sense. Man - I think I just confused myself!