Advice needed - dispach job or instructor rating?
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Join Date: Aug 2006
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Advice needed - dispach job or instructor rating?
Hello,
I finished my studies about month ago - got 270h TT, MEIR, MCC; fATPL, as usual.
Applied for some places, got knowledge, that my timing for graduation wasn't best.
Got 2 offers, First is sponsored instructor course in beginning of november and possibly instructor job afterwards(if there are still PPL students), and occasional freelancer pilot in King Air.
Second offer was office job(dispacher + office clerk) for one small businessjet company (they have now 2 LJ60s), and possibility to step on the F/O position, when vacancy arises. At the moment they got 4 pilots, all qualifed LJ captains.
No certain dates, only point in the agreement, that company hires me as a pilot first, when they need it.
I had to decide quickly. But as mu funds starting to end, there seems that 'payed' aviation job, is better than instructor one. Both jobs don't have rock solid flying end..
So, which one is better ?
Regards,
epsum
I finished my studies about month ago - got 270h TT, MEIR, MCC; fATPL, as usual.
Applied for some places, got knowledge, that my timing for graduation wasn't best.
Got 2 offers, First is sponsored instructor course in beginning of november and possibly instructor job afterwards(if there are still PPL students), and occasional freelancer pilot in King Air.
Second offer was office job(dispacher + office clerk) for one small businessjet company (they have now 2 LJ60s), and possibility to step on the F/O position, when vacancy arises. At the moment they got 4 pilots, all qualifed LJ captains.
No certain dates, only point in the agreement, that company hires me as a pilot first, when they need it.
I had to decide quickly. But as mu funds starting to end, there seems that 'payed' aviation job, is better than instructor one. Both jobs don't have rock solid flying end..
So, which one is better ?
Regards,
epsum
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: England
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Hi
It's a hard decision and one you will be thinking over and over and if you made the right one! I feel your pain!!
I think the bottom line is....
keep in a job (if you can) no matter what the pay is that will keep you current and experienced. After all you learned to fly so sitting in an office isn't what you wanted to do. Now... If that office job went into a DEFINITE job with the biz jets then obviously you would go for it. The word definitly is not used in aviation I find unless it is in the phrase
"what goes up definitly must come down!"
I would stick in the job that gives you the flying experience and keeps you current if you can still scrape by. Then you will be in prime posistion to apply to airlines when recruitment picks up. Where as if you stay in your desk job for 3 years and have no flying, you won't be hired by anyone.
All the best
It's a hard decision and one you will be thinking over and over and if you made the right one! I feel your pain!!
I think the bottom line is....
keep in a job (if you can) no matter what the pay is that will keep you current and experienced. After all you learned to fly so sitting in an office isn't what you wanted to do. Now... If that office job went into a DEFINITE job with the biz jets then obviously you would go for it. The word definitly is not used in aviation I find unless it is in the phrase
"what goes up definitly must come down!"
I would stick in the job that gives you the flying experience and keeps you current if you can still scrape by. Then you will be in prime posistion to apply to airlines when recruitment picks up. Where as if you stay in your desk job for 3 years and have no flying, you won't be hired by anyone.
All the best
Thread Starter
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Thanks for the reply. Discussions are in the middle with the b-jet company, and my requirement was, that they will keep me current as a bonus in case of they don't send me to the typerating course beforehand. They'll seem to accept that.
So, some more undefined numbers to the equation
So, some more undefined numbers to the equation
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Ep
Hay there, you make your choice, remember there are 'Ops Clerk's' out of work. Hope u have experienced all operations with your paid for qualification before you take a 'Clerks' job
good luck to you, hope to have you on the fleet, on the phone.
a 20 year in Ops guy....................................Happy with his lot, as is the wife, only..........well only
good luck to you, hope to have you on the fleet, on the phone.
a 20 year in Ops guy....................................Happy with his lot, as is the wife, only..........well only
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There are pros and cons for both - much will depend on how quickly you can get a paid job down either route and how badly you need an income now. Instructing will keep you current and in the industry, and is a proven way to a RHS, particularly when times are hard as they are now; you just need to ensure you're instructing on a regular basis (ie not just weekends) and don't get stuck in the job unless you want to be a career instructor. An ops job is again a route into the industry, ie it'll often get you access to those in the know, ie pilots, fleet managers etc. I've known guys get jobs this way, and to join a GA bizjet operation you often need to have done a stint in the back office before you're let anywhere near the 'front office'.
In your case, it may boil down to how quickly you can get an instructing job providing regular hours and income, versus how big the ops company is and the potential and opportunity to mix it with key influencers and decision makers. I was in a very similar position to you a month ago, but have since been offered FI training and a position back at my FTO, so that's where I'm heading.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
HW
In your case, it may boil down to how quickly you can get an instructing job providing regular hours and income, versus how big the ops company is and the potential and opportunity to mix it with key influencers and decision makers. I was in a very similar position to you a month ago, but have since been offered FI training and a position back at my FTO, so that's where I'm heading.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
HW
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This is a really interesting thread and I wish you the best of luck in whichever route you choose to take. I'm curious to know how common it is to be sponsored through a FI course, and also how much a 'dispatch' job pays and how easy they are to come by.
I've pretty much got my heart set on getting into an integrated course by hook or by crook, and I am well aware of what I am letting myself in for in terms of my chances of getting a flying job at the end of it diminishing day by day (but hopefully improving over the next couple of years, we shall see). I have a career at the moment that pays well enough to allow me to service my debt, but it's not one that I'm keen to go back to as I don't enjoy it (I know, you can't afford to be too choosy in the current climate...). Anyhow, I have a little bit of knowledge about FI ratings, and it seems like a sensible stepping stone while waiting for a RHS job that may not exist when I graduate (by RHS, I mean in something larger than a C152!!) - however, obviously the availability of such jobs is dependent on the number of people investing in flying training. I didn't, however, know that sponsorships were available.
And onto the second question - dispatch/ops jobs. Hard to come by? Do you need any additional training/qualifications/experience above and beyond CPL/IR / ATPL? Sufficient pay to service a debt?
Any input, as ever, muchly appreciated.
I've pretty much got my heart set on getting into an integrated course by hook or by crook, and I am well aware of what I am letting myself in for in terms of my chances of getting a flying job at the end of it diminishing day by day (but hopefully improving over the next couple of years, we shall see). I have a career at the moment that pays well enough to allow me to service my debt, but it's not one that I'm keen to go back to as I don't enjoy it (I know, you can't afford to be too choosy in the current climate...). Anyhow, I have a little bit of knowledge about FI ratings, and it seems like a sensible stepping stone while waiting for a RHS job that may not exist when I graduate (by RHS, I mean in something larger than a C152!!) - however, obviously the availability of such jobs is dependent on the number of people investing in flying training. I didn't, however, know that sponsorships were available.
And onto the second question - dispatch/ops jobs. Hard to come by? Do you need any additional training/qualifications/experience above and beyond CPL/IR / ATPL? Sufficient pay to service a debt?
Any input, as ever, muchly appreciated.
