Any pilots left who *enjoy* this profession?
I'm 24 years old, just graduated college with a Lib Arts degree, and have always wanted to become an airline pilot. But a few weeks ago, I was bit with the helo bug and decided to take an introductory flight...now I'm hooked.
Just like the fixed-wing, the helo market is saturated with *good* pilots (thousands of hours) who cannot find work. I live within my means, I don't expect to make a lot of money, and I'm thinking that I'd like to become a flight instructor as a career. Is the salary of a FI feasible? I'm thinking like 20K a year....which is fine by me, I already have everything I need, I just don't want to be "one of those guys" who work next to nothing just to fly a shiny new toy...I already know what that does to the industry.
Also, what do you enjoy most about the profession? For me, the appeal is the stick and "rudder" skills required to fly a helicopter, and that seat of the pants feeling. It's a challenge! Sure busting my ass to work for an airline would pay more, but my idea of fun is not showing up to an airport, plugging in some numbers into an FMC and letting the AP fly 90% of the time...No thanks!