Minimums at Fratcionals

[FrontierFan]

I too was at a regional before the fractionals. I came from Chautauqua and I have met many others at netjets who came from Mesaba, Piedmont, and Independence Air. From all of my conversations with them I think that all of us ex regional folk have similar opinions of netjets.

I would have to say that in my case choosing to come to netjets and forego the captain upgrade was a tough one. Once we get a new contract things will be clearer. For now I still don’t know if I made the right decision but other than the money there have been some positives.

The flying is great, the food and hotels are above and beyond any regional, all new equipment, and calling in sick or fatigued is as easy as typing a code and your blackberry. Honestly working at a frac isn’t that bad except the money is terrible. I just looked at my pay stub for my year to date and as of 09/30/05 I have made 30,314 total. How anyone earns this little and has children in beyond me.

As for the lawyer deal….I just got back from hanging out with one of my best friends I grew up with. He chose to become a lawyer and now his life is 180 deg different than mine. He has tons of disposable income but he also works 80+ hours / week. By the sound of it he will never have an entire weekend off until he makes partner.
I hate being poor and continuously frustrated at our management. I hope our new TA will take care of that someday but in the mean time with my schedule my lifestyle is head and shoulders above any of my lawyer friends.

Everyone makes decisions in life. Like I said I don’t know that if I could go back I would do it all again but for now I just have to hope things get better.

F9fan

 

[idratherfly4283]

I believe the ability to correctly spell fractionals would be a start to their minimums.

 

[transpac]

I believe the ability to correctly spell fractionals would be a start to their minimums.

Are you for real??

 

[414Flyer]

I actually did some looking at law schools some lately. Many of the campus type law schools are quite restrictive, in that you can not work your first year, but you can work part time the last two years. Concord law school, part of Kaplan, has an online law school that take 4 years.

 

[rcbullock]

Flying airplanes may be a fun way to make a living, but aviation is a STUPID business.

I say, and if it ain't fun any more, it's time to get out or move to a place that is.

I also offer some additional advice. Make some money on the side somehow. I do vending and arcade machines. Candy (M&M, Reeses, Skittles, quality stuff), japanese capsule toys (higher quality with Disney and Marvel licenses etc, not the crap you see everywhere), and games that are older but classic like Galaga, Neo Geo (has a LOT of good cheap games for it), etc.

Most of my machines make average net $10 per month. Some machines I got in for less than $200. That may not sound like much, but consider the return on investment. I bought 10 4 head candy machines that needed parts and cleaning (cann'd parts from the other machines) for $300. $25 in candy per machine and you're in business. Visit a site once a month or so. Try to have more than one machine in a spot or multiple 'heads' like a 4 head machine. Space them close together. A lot of my machines are within 5-6 miles of each other.

I'd say at this point it's a couple hundred bucks a month extra income, but it's easy, fun (my kids love to play with the toys and machines) and you can get started cheap.

I'd look for used machines that need a little work or a small lot of them from a vendor who is getting new stuff, etc., but you can of course get new ones at Sam's and the like. Don't do video unless you have some technical skills to work on them. Some monitor types I can totally refurbish for maybe $60 in parts, for example.

I also like 'junk' bond closed end income funds like DHF, HYB, HIS, and PHK. Paying 9-10%. I've owned a chunk of those for about 4-5 years, and enjoyed the dividend every month. Currently I own $5600 worth and get about $48 a month from it. Great ROI, but just don't put your life savings in it.

ING Direct is paying around 3.35% on savings.

Be a raging incrementalist. Start with a little, finish with a lot.

 

[gutshotdraw]

Didn't say I don't enjoy flying for a living. I do. But aviation is a STUPID business. Ever heard the line: How do you make a small fortune in aviation? Start with a large one. Over the entire lifetime of the industry, commercial airlines are BILLIONS in the hole.

Aviation is an exciting, romantic field of endeavor. But from a purely business standpoint, it has an historically poor return on capital invested. Even the most successful aviation companies like Southwest have a poor ROI compared to many other industries.

 

[414Flyer]

Actually historically, airline industry as a whole in the US has yet to make money if you count losses and profits since the beginning, I think.

 

[414Flyer]

How set in stone is the 250 instrument at NJA?

 

[MDC]

My guess would be that competitive minimums just went way up!

 

[Hawkered]

Yeah, timing is everything!

 

[Hawk Driver]

How set in stone is the 250 instrument at NJA?

I know for a fact, it is set in stone. NJA offers no waivers for its minimums.

HD