Alternative jobs for experienced pilots
 

Dear All,

I would appreciate your comments or advice on my career situation.

I am an experienced pilot with over 12 000 hours (7200 h. PIC) on medium to heavy passenger aircrafts in the middle east. My location is in Copenhagen, from where I am now trying to find a job. Unfortunately most of my hours are on older aircraft models, and as such I therefore find it hard to "get in" on the european airlines with their newer fleets.

I was wondering if their are any alternative job functions, that would be relevant for a pilot with my experience? Or what would you recommend for a pilot in my situation?

Any thoughts or ideas are welcome - thanks,

Try your local CAA, they often employ people with extensive experience.

How about being a simulator instructor?

Go back to school and get a degree in engineering or other area where there are good job prospects.

Until you find the right direction /employer, keep as many of those parts of your "technical brain" active on almost anything, not necessarily (apparently) aviation connected, or costly to either party.


First Aid and Home Nursing
Chemistry of Colour Photography
Chartered Institute of Transport
Training to be a Primary School Secretary ! ( An organisation wanted to assess what might be required.)
Woodworking
Gas and Arc Welding...


These are just a few that I have done, to a certain, non professional level.

You must know or can find out just what flying is required to keep your Licence itself, valid. At one stage I HAD to fly for six hours, doing six take-offs and landings every six months, to keep my, then, CPL valid.
I was able to fly a Dart Kitten for £1.50/ hour, then, which was sufficient to comply, and no check-ride as it was single seater !
It may be better to do what-ever is required a month early... just in case.

Assuming you are medically fit and would prefer to remain flying, bite the bullet and pay to get trained-up on one of the modern types...

I've never really undertood the rationale the pilots expect employers to pay for such training. If you want to be a doctor, lawyer, accountant etc, the majority of successful entrants pay for most or all of their professional training.

Yes, it's nice if you can get it, but don't expect it.

Good luck!

P.S. Couple of great guys I know became very successful Air Accident Investigators plus P/T private safety-instruction seminar roles.

I disagree.

Once a pilot has achieved his ATP, I believe it is more than reasonable that an employer pay for training. In fact (at least in the US), required initial training in a Part 121 carrier and training for a type rating are virtually identical. It costs no more for an employer to train a pilot "from scratch" than it does to train an already-type-rated pilot.

I wouldn't recommend anyone pay for a type rating unless he KNOWS that there is a job available that is contingent on the rating, AND requires no other experience in type. Right now, Southwest Airlines is the only such airline I am familiar with...

ATPL Ground Instructor? - always a need for experienced pilots to teach.


MCC Instructor?