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euro
22nd Feb 2008, 10:43
i have read with interest the section on becoming a pilot which is really useful.
however as its now early 2008 and if i go thru with the training i would nt be able to apply for work for another year maybe.

so would like to hear from newly qualified commecial pilots to find out how they are getting jobs.

its a lot of money to invest in training to find out there arent jobs !

also is there a uk employment market away from the north sea ?

thanks

Euro

g-mady
22nd Feb 2008, 17:51
Euro,

There was an interesting thread about a month back called something like "would i do it again?"

Doing my CPL now and still not really sure how I got into this position. Suppose it has to be purley the drive and determination - why else would anyone pay that kind of money for a slim chance of a job. Competeing against ex mil chaps who have more attractive work experience for employers.

Ģ40k down the line for me and I've often wondered what else I could have done with that money - and I cant:ugh::ugh::ugh:

MADY

Alloa Akbar
22nd Feb 2008, 17:52
Euro,

whilst the jobs market is ever changing, I think you will find a quick use of the search function on here will help. This question is asked on a frequent basis from new ppruners.

Good luck:ok:

euro
24th Feb 2008, 09:04
Hi Mady,

how much longer is it likely to take you to finish training then ?


i would be very interested & hopeful about your prospects of landing a decent job.

my situation is complex as i currently live in france , but my partner has decided to return to th UK to live with the children , once our property / business here is sold then i will return too.However i dont want to go back to my previous role in sales management - really looking to do something interesting / challenging which i can do in the future overseas again when the kids have grown up or possibly set up a business doing tourist flights somewhere.

i am being quoted around Ģ70 k to become qualified & ir rated - which is a big chunk of money to risk,i could simply buy a franchise or set up a business which would bring in profit / income much sooner than becoming a pilot would - so i am in a bit of a tailspin just now !!

MartinCh
25th Feb 2008, 02:58
most people don't go into aviation for the money.
or for convenient family life.

Rather, setting off for an aviation career, rotary especially, has an impact on both personal finances and family life (whether barriers, work/life -crazy saving- balance or just time spent with family)

planning on doing 'something interesting' when you're gonna get bored by boring job and no kids to take care of? Well, that one doesn't need comment

some people go into aviation to fly BIG JETS and/or with the carrot on a stick of earning BIG BUCKS later on down the line.

I can't tell how many people actually decide to embark on rotary career for either of the above, especially given the nature of job and differences with airline jobs.

Wife, kids. So you don't consider J1 and USA for two years. Well, you can always do hectic flying during summer or winter and do fATPL in the UK as many do.

I ALSO SUGGEST READING 'WOULD I DO IT AGAIN' THREAD.
Highly informative. I also came across some threads comparing RW and FW career routes, pros and cons. Also useful. Can't tell the heading. Search it.

You look at it as someone with commitments (family, stable income) or someone calculating 'investment return' on a venture?

Well, it's your life you'd invest the money in. Quality (or as some may say, lack of quality in following 2-3+ years) of life.

I'm sure zillions of wannabes and sometime-to-be-pro-pilots-in-the-making-right-now would only start to be envious of your 'options' especially availability of funds.

Some of us (me incl) struggle to finance, or even to draw realistic budget and plan for the coming years of 'getting there' ie first instructor job which still isn't proper 'there'.
Putting up with stuff, working too much, putting off other stuff. Spend and are willing to spend anything just to do something we REALLY DESIRE/DREAM OF WITH WHOLE HEART AND MIND.
Without any guarantees in the future.
Some just catch the bug later, but it's as strong as for someone adoring pictures of anything flyable or better still, some real machines around.

Don't take it negatively, but I'm not sure you'd find yourself in many aspects of what I just mentioned. Or understanding WHY.
Maybe it's just an impression.

As some say, a person with well paid job can afford to fly privately for leisure. The rest of us did/will/do work hard on a career out of flying knowing it's too expensive otherwise. Although is so expensive to get into.

Heliringer
25th Feb 2008, 03:21
Here in Australia there has been talk of a pilot shortage and to be honest there are signs of it. Higher pay, lower minimums and more adverts for jobs, However, this has led to a training boom and there are loads of pilots in the pipeline at the moment. I'm told chopperline has 20 students on the go now. Heliwest have got about 40. I don't know about the other schools but my guess would be running at maximum numbers.
This will flood the market with pilots and only a few will ever work in the industry.
It's a good job but I would fly for fun if I had my chance again and make good money in an other field.
Ringer

MrEdd
25th Feb 2008, 04:20
If u get in for the money,,,, choose something else. Even thou there are som jobs that according to me make good money.

Now i choose it becaus i wanted to love my work.
Itīs tuff education, bloody hussle to build your hours up and get a "grown up" work (where i am now) still in my mind itīs worth it.
Do i want to do it again - No.
Would i - Hell yeah man.:ok:

The mony, this is the way i see it - this is my university education.
I mean some people spend 3-5 years on university and spend the same amount.
So i did it in 1 1/2 year and hey they still cant beat my office view :E

A.Agincourt
25th Feb 2008, 04:48
MrEdd
The mony, this is the way i see it - this is my university education.
I mean some people spend 3-5 years on university and spend the same amount.
So i did it in 1 1/2 year and hey they still cant beat my office view

No that is true but I bet they can write better'n you. :}

Best Wishes

manfromuncle
25th Feb 2008, 05:57
Unless you can drop Ģ70,000 in order to earn a starting "salary" of Ģ20,000 don't do it.

heli-mad
25th Feb 2008, 10:05
Euro,

There is an old aviation saying: The only way to become a millionaire in aviation is to be a billionaire.....

If you look at as a business, if you invest 70k how long before you earn that money beck before you are in profit???

Your options really are in the "so you want to be a helicopter pilot" thread.

You have to go down the FI(H) or IR(H) route. Unless you come from a military backround where you have to devote a lot of years to "Uncle Sam" first!!

Only one thing is true...nobody did it for the money:)

Including myself, first you do it because you like it and you will find your own way as you go along. it is better to try hard for something that you love instead of becoming another businessman(??).

That's my theory anyway:E

Good luck

187nj
25th Feb 2008, 10:32
so whats the likelyhood of them 'CTC Cadets' walking straight into a first officer position after there 18 month pro pilot course?

Whirlygig
25th Feb 2008, 10:38
CTC cadets are all fixed wing pilots; a very different job market to rotary.

Cheers

Whirls

heliski22
25th Feb 2008, 12:04
I started flying in my thirties and after 17 years and many ups and downs, this sums it up for me:-

Each time I get the chance to sit in a hover, maybe a high-ish hover, and the heli just stays there like I have nothing to do with, and I can look in any direction with impunity, including straight down and still stay precisely over the same piece of ground, and it doesn't matter what heli, small piston, small turbine, light twin, larger twin, I can't ask was it worth it - I can't ask because I've got a silly grin on my increasingly wrinkly old face!

22

Plane-Trouble
25th Feb 2008, 19:22
Hey guys,

I am currently a ASEL/ASES/AMEL/AMES CFI CFII MEI AGI IGI, who is extremely interested in Rotors... I have had several friends come back from alaska and say they flew on a helicopter out to the glaciers and the pilots, were all young kids out of college and flight school, less than 23 years old... I thought if I could get my money back with a year I would get a Rotorcraft Comm, with CFI CFII tickets... But when I look at the website they want 1,000 PIC Helo and meet 135 mins... How the heck do these kids get that 1,000 hours, and from my complete understanding they were trained civilian. :ugh:
:ugh:

I want to fly rotors, I love helos... I love helos... :ugh:

Bravo73
25th Feb 2008, 21:27
How the heck do these kids get that 1,000 hours

Instructing then Grand Canyon tours invariably.


I love helos... I love helos...

Welcome aboard! :ok:

MrEdd
26th Feb 2008, 00:31
Hey A.Agincourt letīs make a deal. When you type and spell great in swedish i then promise you to write an 100 - page essay in perfect english.:ok:

PlankBlender
26th Feb 2008, 06:21
Here in Australia there has been talk of a pilot shortage and to be honest there are signs of it. Higher pay, lower minimums and more adverts for jobs, However, this has led to a training boom and there are loads of pilots in the pipeline at the moment. I'm told chopperline has 20 students on the go now. Heliwest have got about 40. I don't know about the other schools but my guess would be running at maximum numbers.
This will flood the market with pilots and only a few will ever work in the industry.
It's a good job but I would fly for fun if I had my chance again and make good money in an other field.
Ringer


Ringer I have a keen eye on the Australian market also :ooh: and can second your observations re. shortage. Not as pronounced as in the fixed wing world, but definitely getting there. Probably mostly due to retiring baby boomers/war pilots more than through growth in large operators.

BUT: What makes you say there's a training boom? :confused: At my school, one of the biggest in the country, there seems to be no big increase in numbers over the last year or so.

IMHO the number of students alone is not a sufficient criterion := unless they're all recent sign-on's and full time students and there's an expressed intention by many of those to take advantage of a better job market. All schools have varying numbers of casual students, plus the inevitable entrepreneurs and other assorted folk who will for one reason or another never hit the local job market, but are of course still counted in the overall number of students training at the school..

Also, I would doubt many could or would feel motivated by (what is still) a minor upswing in a difficult market for recent CPLs, to go and spend tens of thousands. I don't think the barriers for entry into the junior helicopter pilot market have changed much. Am I kidding myself? :confused:

Can you maybe elaborate on the numbers you quote and what makes you think there's a training boom? I'm genuinely interested as I am trying to suss out what position I'll be in once I finish my training!

Cheers :ok: