Time to ditch that flying career?
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Time to ditch that flying career?
Question for you - a change of lifestyle that many out there may also have had to face recently.
I was caught out between jobs by the Ansett crash, making my 2,200 hours (1,100 Chieftain) seem like a pretty useless asset.
I am now in a menial job earning twice what I was earning as a GA pilot (now clearing $1,000pw minimum) and I have the opportunity to return to Uni and re-train in a lucrative, flexible white collar profession while maintaining the obscene income.
What would you do?
I was caught out between jobs by the Ansett crash, making my 2,200 hours (1,100 Chieftain) seem like a pretty useless asset.
I am now in a menial job earning twice what I was earning as a GA pilot (now clearing $1,000pw minimum) and I have the opportunity to return to Uni and re-train in a lucrative, flexible white collar profession while maintaining the obscene income.
What would you do?
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Well if you are even thinking about it then its not in your heart..
You shouldn't be in this industry for the money but for the love of being a lovesick angel....
You have to enjoy what you do everyday, and want to jump out of bed and goto work, then the money comes next!!!!!
So I would encourage you to leave aviation alone, as maybe my next job could have been the one you just left....
Cheers <img src="eek.gif" border="0">
You shouldn't be in this industry for the money but for the love of being a lovesick angel....
You have to enjoy what you do everyday, and want to jump out of bed and goto work, then the money comes next!!!!!
So I would encourage you to leave aviation alone, as maybe my next job could have been the one you just left....
Cheers <img src="eek.gif" border="0">
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I encourage you to stick at it, if you can. I am only a PPL pilot and love flying, will be sitting my CPL exam this year. I have no plan to do it for a career at this stage, but that could change. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">
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Perhaps the best of both worlds for this person is to take the job that pays the most, thus deriving some job satisfaction and flying for fun when time and money allows. Thus the best of both worlds! God, I haven't flown for "fun" in probably ten years.
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A great way to figure out what you really want to do is to throw a coin in the air (Call flying heads for example) if it comes down tails and your disappointed and perhaps tempted to toss it again then you'll know what it is you really want to do.
Flying for fun is great when you get the opporunity, you pick the aircraft the destination and the pasengers, what could be better.
[ 09 January 2002: Message edited by: Throttlemonkey ]</p>
Flying for fun is great when you get the opporunity, you pick the aircraft the destination and the pasengers, what could be better.
[ 09 January 2002: Message edited by: Throttlemonkey ]</p>
I, unfortunately am in the same position as yourself.. while things are quiet in Aviation I have taken a boring labouring job to keep on eating. However I will never lose sight of my dream of making it to the airlines one day. I suppose you need to ask yourself is Flying in your blood or not!
Don Quixote Impersonator
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Go my son, do not look back lest you turn into a pillar of salt.
May I leave you with a thought.
Who would you rather be, the GIB telling the crew where he wishes to go and when, taking the odd turn in the "front office" when it suits you, or, the G'sIF sitting around waiting for him to turn up or for the ring in the middle of the night despatching you hither and yon??
Both are worthy pursuits.
I know which way I would go you must decide your direction.
May I leave you with a thought.
Who would you rather be, the GIB telling the crew where he wishes to go and when, taking the odd turn in the "front office" when it suits you, or, the G'sIF sitting around waiting for him to turn up or for the ring in the middle of the night despatching you hither and yon??
Both are worthy pursuits.
I know which way I would go you must decide your direction.
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I was asking what YOU would do guys, not what I should do! <img src="wink.gif" border="0">
Supercharged - why hang around?
I have dedicated 15 years of my life [I]Heart and bloody soul[I] to aviation, and having been rejected by QF early last year I thought AN and DJ were good options.
How wrong I was.
Why dedicate another 5-8 years working at Chieftain time and Metro time and Cherokee time when the airine I get into, if I ever get into an airline, has a reasonable chance of being "the one that didn't make it"? (This is not a debate about which airline will survive the next 30 years, by the way!)
I will be in my mid to late 30s before the backlog of Ansett, KD, ZL and Duck pilots clears. Instead, I will jump at the chance of re-training while I am still young enough to enjoy it, get it over with, and get on with breeding rugrats (or practising for it in the meantime).
Cheers guys
Supercharged - why hang around?
I have dedicated 15 years of my life [I]Heart and bloody soul[I] to aviation, and having been rejected by QF early last year I thought AN and DJ were good options.
How wrong I was.
Why dedicate another 5-8 years working at Chieftain time and Metro time and Cherokee time when the airine I get into, if I ever get into an airline, has a reasonable chance of being "the one that didn't make it"? (This is not a debate about which airline will survive the next 30 years, by the way!)
I will be in my mid to late 30s before the backlog of Ansett, KD, ZL and Duck pilots clears. Instead, I will jump at the chance of re-training while I am still young enough to enjoy it, get it over with, and get on with breeding rugrats (or practising for it in the meantime).
Cheers guys
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If the chieftain job isn't paying the bills I'd punch out and take the other job, maybe fly as a casual when possible.
If the flying gig pays the bills then just hang in there, I'm sure your turn is just around the corner !!
A touch decision I know. Flying is the best job in the world in the worst industry in the world !
Good Luck. <img src="wink.gif" border="0">
If the flying gig pays the bills then just hang in there, I'm sure your turn is just around the corner !!
A touch decision I know. Flying is the best job in the world in the worst industry in the world !
Good Luck. <img src="wink.gif" border="0">
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Flying is nothing other than a DRUG, though admittedly a legal one (most of the time anyway <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> )
Before I got addicted I had a good career, a pretty girlfriend, heck, even a car that looked like it still had some metal left in it.
Now, I lie awake at night thinking what tomorrow will bring, even a quick island hop would stave off the shakes for a while.
When I'm not flying, I have to resort to strong caffeine, smokes, and the *occasional* beer to stop the taunting voices that call me back to the airport for just another fix...
But I know that I can stop any time I like !!
<img src="wink.gif" border="0">
Hell, I got thrashed by storms the other night that seemed intent on reducing my 'plane to its original pre-metallic state. The radar packed in, the kids were screaming. Someone chucked up down my shirt collar. I turned up all the lights so the pax wouldn't freak (any more anyway) about the electric blue haze surrounding the aircraft.
After making a controlled contact with mother earth once again, I dished what was left of my passengers to the terminal, and that of my 'plane to the engineers. My second port of call was the bar, but the first was operations to see if they had any more jobs for me......
I suppose it's like masterbating, Mum told us that our hands would drop off, but we still did it anyway <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">
Before I got addicted I had a good career, a pretty girlfriend, heck, even a car that looked like it still had some metal left in it.
Now, I lie awake at night thinking what tomorrow will bring, even a quick island hop would stave off the shakes for a while.
When I'm not flying, I have to resort to strong caffeine, smokes, and the *occasional* beer to stop the taunting voices that call me back to the airport for just another fix...
But I know that I can stop any time I like !!
<img src="wink.gif" border="0">
Hell, I got thrashed by storms the other night that seemed intent on reducing my 'plane to its original pre-metallic state. The radar packed in, the kids were screaming. Someone chucked up down my shirt collar. I turned up all the lights so the pax wouldn't freak (any more anyway) about the electric blue haze surrounding the aircraft.
After making a controlled contact with mother earth once again, I dished what was left of my passengers to the terminal, and that of my 'plane to the engineers. My second port of call was the bar, but the first was operations to see if they had any more jobs for me......
I suppose it's like masterbating, Mum told us that our hands would drop off, but we still did it anyway <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">
PPRuNeaholic
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HdG... I hear what you're saying about asking what we would do. The problem here is that each of us, even if in the very same situation, will have a somewhat different idea on how to rectify the problem. So I think that the posts you've already seen here could be the best answers you're likely to receive.
For my part, I'd move heaven and earth to make something else happen for myself in the industry that I love. But, then, I don't believe there is any such thing as logic, where this industry is concerned... <img src="eek.gif" border="0">
For my part, I'd move heaven and earth to make something else happen for myself in the industry that I love. But, then, I don't believe there is any such thing as logic, where this industry is concerned... <img src="eek.gif" border="0">
PPRuNe's Paramedic
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I loved my flying and still do... thats why I left the industry. I now have a highly rewarding job and learning more about people that I could have ever imagined.
Its a totally different world than my flying career but now I deal with fast flying road borne white trucks with red lights and getting my crews to where they can save lives (ATC for ambulances) as well as the long term goal of becoming a fully qualified paramedic.
Not everyones cup of tea but hell, neither was flying... I get try to get the most out of every job I have ever done by putting in one hundred and 10 percent. That is why most pilots get so much from flying, its a love affair with the heavens and the piece of machinery which propells them there. A sense of reward and acheivement is gained by learning, persisting and updating.
I have seen pilots get very stale when they dont have something new to learn. The human mind is an active entity which can die and decay if left to its own devices. If anyone has problems getting bored while they wait for the next flying job up the scale of things... then do a ground school... corrospondance course or something to keep your mind active.
For example I know a couple of guys who started doing their AME tickets, and they got to go on test flights all the time (and sometimes on really nice machinery) while all the regular line guys remained well and truely grounded. The AME's were getting obsene amounts of money into the bargin (compared to the run of the mill GA pilot) and they accelerated through their careers at an awesome rate. Now each of them has a jet job and hasnt had to get their hands greasy for a number of years.
Some other options tie in very well such as customer service / marketing related studies. It could make a whole world of difference to your ability to deal and rope in a whole new clientel.
So on the snakes and ladders game of aviation.. after experiencing a run of snakes, dont let the slide become complete. Multi skilling can have you climbing ladders faster than you ever dreamed was possible.
And a special thank you to a special friend who took me for a fly after nearly six months of being grounded (barring airline flights). Even though the territory weather was being as fickle as ever, a flying "fix" after a long break is greatly appreciated.
[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: northern_chique ]</p>
Its a totally different world than my flying career but now I deal with fast flying road borne white trucks with red lights and getting my crews to where they can save lives (ATC for ambulances) as well as the long term goal of becoming a fully qualified paramedic.
Not everyones cup of tea but hell, neither was flying... I get try to get the most out of every job I have ever done by putting in one hundred and 10 percent. That is why most pilots get so much from flying, its a love affair with the heavens and the piece of machinery which propells them there. A sense of reward and acheivement is gained by learning, persisting and updating.
I have seen pilots get very stale when they dont have something new to learn. The human mind is an active entity which can die and decay if left to its own devices. If anyone has problems getting bored while they wait for the next flying job up the scale of things... then do a ground school... corrospondance course or something to keep your mind active.
For example I know a couple of guys who started doing their AME tickets, and they got to go on test flights all the time (and sometimes on really nice machinery) while all the regular line guys remained well and truely grounded. The AME's were getting obsene amounts of money into the bargin (compared to the run of the mill GA pilot) and they accelerated through their careers at an awesome rate. Now each of them has a jet job and hasnt had to get their hands greasy for a number of years.
Some other options tie in very well such as customer service / marketing related studies. It could make a whole world of difference to your ability to deal and rope in a whole new clientel.
So on the snakes and ladders game of aviation.. after experiencing a run of snakes, dont let the slide become complete. Multi skilling can have you climbing ladders faster than you ever dreamed was possible.
And a special thank you to a special friend who took me for a fly after nearly six months of being grounded (barring airline flights). Even though the territory weather was being as fickle as ever, a flying "fix" after a long break is greatly appreciated.
[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: northern_chique ]</p>
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ahhh flying for fun! what more could there be! i didnt want to go down the pilot career path because i believed doing something for a living will in the end, destroy the thrill of doing it for fun!
so i bough my own aircraft and fly whenever i can! and its surprisingly cheap! $25,000 for the plane, cruises 100Kts, 700Nm range, tail dragger, open cockpit options, +12 -6G rating,and all for the running cost of $15 per hour, including replacing the engine in 400 hrs instead of overhauling it!,
but still, nothing can compare with the sense of pride i have lifting off in my OWN plane! to do whatever i please! chase clouds, loops, rolls anything , total freedom! i wouldnt give it up for a top airline job!
if you are thinking of getting out, then your hearts not in it! get out and enjoy flying for fun!
[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: Ultralights ]
[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: Ultralights ]</p>
so i bough my own aircraft and fly whenever i can! and its surprisingly cheap! $25,000 for the plane, cruises 100Kts, 700Nm range, tail dragger, open cockpit options, +12 -6G rating,and all for the running cost of $15 per hour, including replacing the engine in 400 hrs instead of overhauling it!,
but still, nothing can compare with the sense of pride i have lifting off in my OWN plane! to do whatever i please! chase clouds, loops, rolls anything , total freedom! i wouldnt give it up for a top airline job!
if you are thinking of getting out, then your hearts not in it! get out and enjoy flying for fun!
[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: Ultralights ]
[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: Ultralights ]</p>
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Trying to ditch the flying career, even flying altogether. You wouldn't belieeeeeve what I'm considering now.
I've learned to drink hard and not look up when something flies over. Do you know I still feel the appropriate nerve impulses in my hands when a I see an aeroplane take off.
Plus I've stood looking into the canal a few times now.
I've learned to drink hard and not look up when something flies over. Do you know I still feel the appropriate nerve impulses in my hands when a I see an aeroplane take off.
Plus I've stood looking into the canal a few times now.
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<a href="http://www.users.bigpond.com/stevendumesny/" target="_blank">http://www.users.bigpond.com/stevendumesny/</a>
i have custom ordered long range tanks, and a 4 blade Bolly Optima prop,
best thing is with a GA licence, you can fly it anywhere you would a GA aircraft! with trasponder, even CTA is legal!
[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: Ultralights ]</p>
i have custom ordered long range tanks, and a 4 blade Bolly Optima prop,
best thing is with a GA licence, you can fly it anywhere you would a GA aircraft! with trasponder, even CTA is legal!
[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: Ultralights ]</p>
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I'd take a good break from flying...a few months off are not going to make a difference. Have you considered any other work around planes? Agree with NC's suggestion...go AME, it can be a good one.
Just Binos
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You'll have to excuse me because I have no love of flying in my blood, so I can't help you. But what I want to know is what is the menial job that clears you a minimum of $1000 a week??
<img src="eek.gif" border="0"> <img src="eek.gif" border="0">
<img src="eek.gif" border="0"> <img src="eek.gif" border="0">