What can I expect in a career as a comm. pilot?
Dan
I've been interested in aviation all my life. I'm 28 and considering a
drastic change in vocation- I just can't sit behind a desk.
For, I guess about $22,000 (yikes) I can get my commerical pilots license.
I think a career as a pilot would be interesting. But, is it? You, the
pilots, tell me.
What are the ups and downs. What bothers you the most about being one. Is
it, when all is said and done, worth it?
How much can I expect to earn at first? Doing what? What is the future
job outlook like?
thanks in advance for any help you can give me. I think I'm still young
enough to make this sudden veer. Its important to do something you enjoy.
dan
PS. I'm going to post this in some other aviation newsgroups, if you see
it please don't think its a scam-spam-bam-wham, i'm sincere and would like
to know more.
Michael E. McNamara
>For, I guess about $22,000 (yikes) I can get my commerical pilots license.
>
The commerical doesn't get you any where. You need a CFI-I as
an entry level rating. Then expect to work two years makeing less than
$200 a week. On top of that, you'll need about 200 hours multi (at
over twice the rate of the single) to be competitive, maybe. If
you can get some turbine time, you might have a chance.
So, 22k for a commerical, another what? 5K for the CFI, add
4K on that for the twin rating, then another 10K for the type rating.
two or three years as a CFI, and 40K later, you can get hired at an
airline, starting pay 18-22k, mid 30's after about 8 years, if you don't
get laid off first.
>What are the ups and downs. What bothers you the most about being one.
Lousy pay, and your expendable because there is always someone
else who "loves to fly" and "Needs the hours" Forget any privicy,not only
is drug testing the norm, but your driving and police records are also
up for FAA review. This is an admisitrative review that will mess up your
life without the rights you would enjoy if you actually commited a crime
> What is the future job outlook like?
Im still waitng for that pilot shortage they were predicting
12 years ago. Since de-regulation, things have really gone down hill
So many others were getting ready for the shortage, there is now a glut.
This isn't to say you can't make money in avaition, you just can't
do it by being just another pilot. GA has a very entrepurnal quality
about it. Not so much in Toledo, but inother parts of the country, the
independant operator is essential to the local economy. The money isn't
in flying airplanes, its in operating them
>Its important to do something you enjoy.
Thats why I got into programing. More money, less competition, and
less expense in inital and recurrent training. Then I can start independant
contacting.
I would really like to be wrong here, but I don't see it. Its
a real catch-22 Judgement is such an important aspect in flying, that
anyone who would pick it as a career nowadays shouldn't qualify because
they showed such poor judgement in picking a career.
Boy, I must like getting email
--
*************************************************************************
Michael McNamara * Spending money I dont have
Computer Science * on things I don't need
Bowling Green State University * to impress people I don't know
Sylvain Louboutin
mcn...@bgnet.bgsu.edu (Michael E. McNamara) writes:
>two or three years as a CFI, and 40K later, you can get hired at an
>airline, starting pay 18-22k, mid 30's after about 8 years, if you don't
>get laid off first.
...
> Lousy pay, and your expendable because there is always someone
looks a heck of a lot like the prospects in academic world; may be I
should have considered flying as a carreer? did not know it was that
good...
:-)
--Sylvain
--
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%% Distributed Systems Group, (O'Reilly Institute, room F.35)
%% Department of Computer Science, phone: (+353-88) 527790
%% Trinity College, Dublin 2, -Ireland- fax: (+353-1) 6772204
DRTermy
My CFI has his ATP( Air transport Pilot) rating along with all the
others.( CFI-I included).. I asked him the last lesson if he worked as an
airline pilot. He said yes, but when I asked him why he stopped, he said
he started to hate living out of a suitcase, and never being home...
Joseph Pinkelton
Dan,
You don't mention in your post if you have done any flying at all before. The first thing I would
advise is to go take a few lessons to see if you actually like flying. Ask the instructors if they enjoy their
jobs. Find some corporate pilots and get their opinions.
Once you spend your $22K, you should probably have your CFI (Certified Flight Instrutor) as well. This
is generally the accepted entry position in aviation. Most instructors average 15-20 hours of flying per week.
After about a year of instucting (and waiting tables, fueling planes, mowing lawns [meaning you'll need
another job to pay the bills]), you should have enough hours to apply for charter/corporate/commuter jobs.
These can range in pay from $12K-25K depending on the job. From there on out, the (sorry) sky's the limit.
Miracles do happen, though. A former instuctor of mine wa hired by a commuter airline with 600 hours of time
in his logbook. Sometimes you just wind up in the right place at the right time.
I have just started my career as a flight instuctor. I have only made about $50 in two weeks of work,
but it was the most fun I have ever had on a job. Yes, the initial pay is low, the hours can be long, and the
future can be uncertain. However, you said it yourself "It's important to do something you enjoy."
Maybe I'm still in a daze from actually getting paid to fly, but I can't think of a better job in the
world!
Good luck in your decision
Joe Pinkelton