Jobs right out of school?

[Hammertime9]

I am just finishing up my CPL in the next few months and have started to look at the job market for Commercially liscenced pilots in Canada. Just wondering if any of you experienced pilots have any advice for an up and coming pilot about where to work where not to work, what kind of campany i should be looking for, things to avoid, things to look for. The thing I am finding is that, with the bare minimum flight hours to take the CPL flight test , there are almost no jobs for pilots with 200 hours. Sorry if this is a highly repeated topic on this forum i took a quick peek around and didnt find anything similar, any advice is greatly appreciated.

[BigQ]

Welcome on avcanada.

There's a bunch of listings in the job forum.

Read on here, and be ready to work the ramp. Ask people who work at the places you're interested.

[Invertago]

Welcome to Avcanada

Seems to be quite the unusual situation you find yourself in unable to find work with 200hrs and a CPL. Have you emailed a resume to Jazz yet?

[Bushav8er]

Welcome to Avcanada

Seems to be quite the unusual situation you find yourself in unable to find work with 200hrs and a CPL. Have you emailed a resume to Jazz yet?

LMAO, Invertago you bugger, play nice.

Welcome to the Boards, in what appears to be AvCanada style

[Nark]

Here is some advice I wish I knew when I started out.

Don't work for someone for the sake of a job. Does that "job" pay you enough for your services? How about to live?

Don't keep working for someone who is 1 second late with a paycheck.

Don't ever chase an airplane you'd think would be cool to fly. Chase a paycheck that arrives in time.

You got a commercial certificate because you thought it would make a great way to earn a buck right?

[North Shore]

Dude, didn't you do some of this research before you plunked down your $50K+ for your CPL?

Search is your friend - there's lots of questions similar to yours on the board, and the answers are the same: More $ for an instructor rating, more $ for a float rating, and work the dock, or go 'north' and work on the ramp until your time comes up to go fly. One place is pretty much as good as another at the bottom of the pile..

[Dagwood]

Welcome to the board! Don't take us too seriously here, we're all just pilots

From what it appears, 200 hour wonders usually get an instructor rating, float rating, or work ramp. Take your pick, there are few, if any jobs for any of those.

If you don't have your MIFR, you might like to drop another $20K or so and get it. It will make you more employable for the jobs that don't exist.

The industry is in a slump. Tough it out for a couple years and try and find flying work in the meantime. You might be lucky!

[JULIETTE]

I know that you are probably quite eager to get out there and put your commercial license to good use, but the sad fact is right now jobs are hard to find even for some higher time people, so it is the bottom of the barrel type jobs you will find right now for someone in the 200 hour range.

If you find a job right now that is willing to pick up a 200 hour person, there is probably a good reason why some more experienced people have not taken that position or have left that job. In short, they probably dont have good working conditions, pay, safety, ect. If you are willing to put up with it, take a few risks, or spend allot to buy a PPC there is always a job out there. I would highly recommend not taking one of those jobs though.

In my opinion, and Im sure allot of people will agree and disagree, but the industry is not far from a bit of a recovery. Sadly, you might have to wait 3-6 months before things start to move enough to accommodate low time pilots.

My advice right now would be to get the best paying non-aviation job you can, do some more training, and have yourself in a good position for when things pick up.

If you are determined to get a flying job right away, bank a few hours working up north at jobs few other pilots will do, send me a PM. I know of a few places that would hire a 200 hour guy right now given they move to work at the company, get paid very little, and pay a training bond up front. Again I would not recommend these companies, but sometimes people just have to make their own mistakes.

[skypirate88]

An instructor rating is a good way to go...at least in my opinion. I have got my self over the 900 hour tt mark do date and have been instructing for just under a year. It keeps your skills relatively sharp, and your knowledge up to date. I have recently completed both ATPL exams with relative ease just because a lot of the knowledge were things I use while teaching.

Whatever way you go, all the best of luck. Jobs aren't great know, but be patient and change will come.

[Nark]

Sorry dude, I am an instructor in the US with both an instrument and Multi certificate. I'll be the first person to tell you that you aren't worth a whole lot more than the day you got your CPL license.

Would you take off without checking the NOTAM's? or weather? Then why the hell would you do the same for an education in this racket.

In can be very rewarding if your willing and understanding, but if not. Become a welder.

[canpilot]

Yup,

The bigger the wallet.. the bigger the mess.


want to see the inside of a B738 after a good long hockey charter? Cups full of used chew, gum and or food everywhere, food waste stuck in on the emergency seating card..

NASTY

[SuperchargedRS]

Easiest way to go, get your instructors ticket. Dont bother with your multi, no one is going to hire you (or care) or even fly a multi with 3 figure hours.

Second way to go, go get some gas and start road trippin'

[fallex]

I began down the instructing route myself after school, however had a tough time of it due to a lot of bad luck and more specifically, lack of students. If your flat broke like many who just finished their cpl, I would strongly recommend taking a ramp job. Depending on where you go, you may be able to get yourself on a multi turbine with 6mo-1yr ramp time. Some places even cover the cost of a multi-ifr rating.

Do your research wherever you go, flight schools, or ramp. There are many places out there who just want your money and could care less about giving you an actual instructing job.

[iflyforpie]

The best route is to get your first job with a company you work for already. That's what I did. Started at the company as an AME, and they seemed to be progressing so I decided to pursue my CPL. Got (re)hired as a 702/3 pilot and then as an instructor after I got my instructor ticket. My first job at 220 or so hours (was still working on the IR) was flying cargo around Southern BC in a Cherokee SIX. Sure beat going up to BFN to sweat it out (or freeze) on a ramp or going endlessly around in circles in a 150.

As sweet as that all sounded, it wasn't to be. One good season of flying and a great company who kept all their employees in spite of no work. Guess where I wound up, back in the shop. Didn't fly commercially for two years until I got this gig, mainly because I didn't want to go north, didn't want to do rotation, didn't want to pay for my job, and refused to work for shady operators or peanuts.

If you stick to your guns, good things will happen. But remember the order: lifestyle, pay, metal. Nine years of flying and I still tear holes in the sky with a 172. As long as the cheques don't bounce, I'm home every night, and things get fixed; I don't care what I fly.



Best of luck!

[Minimums]

Sorry dude, I am an instructor in the US with both an instrument and Multi certificate. I'll be the first person to tell you that you aren't worth a whole lot more than the day you got your CPL license.

Would you take off without checking the NOTAM's? or weather? Then why the hell would you do the same for an education in this racket.

In can be very rewarding if your willing and understanding, but if not. Become a welder.

Well praise the Lord, someone in this world who actually get it! Thank you for being on planet earth. Instructor hours aren't worth crap I'm sorry to say. Don't waste your time with that route. As I've stated in other posts, nobody wants a big headed cocky attitude chump with 900 or 1200 hours of sitting in the right seat of a 172 telling people how to fly on calm, clear weather days. Nobody cares that you're up to date on your atpl's or how well you know the cars and regs. Go north young one, bite the bullet, find a ramp job, and go to it. It will take a couple of years, but you'll be farther ahead by year 5 this route than you will be sitting in an instructor position, with a lot better pay, and experiences to last a lifetime. It'll give you a chance to learn about whatever company you work for, thier SOP's, airplanes, flightcrews, experiences, and the transitions will be far easier with this inside knowledge. Don't be a chicken and stay home with mommy and daddy, life is an adventure, and it can't be had sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring.

[Minimums]

Easiest way to go, get your instructors ticket. Dont bother with your multi, no one is going to hire you (or care) or even fly a multi with 3 figure hours.

Error, error. Most companies do care if you have a multi license, since some own more than one engine airplanes, and it'll help out later on when you want to transition to bigger airplanes. Get it done now so you don't have to worry about it later, like when you're promoted from the 180 to the navajo and wait,....you don't have a multi license,....sorry pal, we'll have to give it to someone else, we need them right now, you'll have to wait. Get it done. End.

[peakbagger]

Well praise the Lord, someone in this world who actually get it! Thank you for being on planet earth. Instructor hours aren't worth crap I'm sorry to say. Don't waste your time with that route. As I've stated in other posts, nobody wants a big headed cocky attitude chump with 900 or 1200 hours of sitting in the right seat of a 172 telling people how to fly on calm, clear weather days. Nobody cares that you're up to date on your atpl's or how well you know the cars and regs. Go north young one, bite the bullet, find a ramp job, and go to it. It will take a couple of years, but you'll be farther ahead by year 5 this route than you will be sitting in an instructor position, with a lot better pay, and experiences to last a lifetime. It'll give you a chance to learn about whatever company you work for, thier SOP's, airplanes, flightcrews, experiences, and the transitions will be far easier with this inside knowledge. Don't be a chicken and stay home with mommy and daddy, life is an adventure, and it can't be had sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring.

+1 !! and don't limit yourself, go for the multi.

[Big Pistons Forever]

Well praise the Lord, someone in this world who actually get it! Thank you for being on planet earth. Instructor hours aren't worth crap I'm sorry to say. Don't waste your time with that route. As I've stated in other posts, nobody wants a big headed cocky attitude chump with 900 or 1200 hours of sitting in the right seat of a 172 telling people how to fly on calm, clear weather days. Nobody cares that you're up to date on your atpl's or how well you know the cars and regs. Go north young one, bite the bullet, find a ramp job, and go to it. It will take a couple of years, but you'll be farther ahead by year 5 this route than you will be sitting in an instructor position, with a lot better pay, and experiences to last a lifetime. It'll give you a chance to learn about whatever company you work for, thier SOP's, airplanes, flightcrews, experiences, and the transitions will be far easier with this inside knowledge. Don't be a chicken and stay home with mommy and daddy, life is an adventure, and it can't be had sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring.

To all you aspiring new pilots. The only hours "that aren't worth crap" are those hours where your mind is closed to learning. It doesn't matter how you start out if you work hard and get the most value out of every hour aloft. Sure there are arrogant cocky instructors , just like there are folks like the little shit I heard the other day who thought his 500 hr warming the right seat of a Ho made him the ace of the base, or the moron boasting about his multi PIC all of which consisted of flights between YYJ and YVR in an Islander, or the young bizjet FO who grandly announced he never had to do any "blue collar" bush flying . Ignore the small minds of Avcanada. It doesn't matter what kind of flying you do...your first 1000hrs can be a 1000hrs or 1 hr 1000 times....it will , good, bad or indifferent be what you make of it. If there are arrogant crappy instructors out there it is because they choose to be, just like the bad pilots in every other kind of flying made choices about what attitude they would bring to flying....

[young grasshopper]

Big Pistons Forever wrote:

To all you aspiring new pilots. The only hours "that aren't worth crap" are those hours where your mind is closed to learning. It doesn't matter how you start out if you work hard and get the most value out of every hour aloft. Sure there are arrogant cocky instructors , just like there are folks like the little shit I heard the other day who thought his 500 hr warming the right seat of a Ho made him the ace of the base, or the moron boasting about his multi PIC all of which consisted of flights between YYJ and YVR in an Islander, or the young bizjet FO who grandly announced he never had to do any "blue collar" bush flying . Ignore the small minds of Avcanada. It doesn't matter what kind of flying you do...your first 1000hrs can be a 1000hrs or 1 hr 1000 times....it will , good, bad or indifferent be what you make of it. If there are arrogant crappy instructors out there it is because they choose to be, just like the bad pilots in every other kind of flying made choices about what attitude they would bring to flying....

+1 !!! It is what you make of it. I worked the ramp, did some bush flying, and now do 705 work. The one thing I regret is that I didn't enjoy each step enough as I was living it!! No matter which route you take (as gloomy as it may seem at times), learn something from each step, and make the most of it! This is the best job in the world (regardless of what you'll hear from some folks)...so live it up! If you want it bad enough, you'll get where you wanna be - just make sure to remember the ride! Good luck!

[AEROBAT]

A multi-IFR may not make you that much more employable but it does make you a better/safer pilot IMHO.

In your situation, 200 hours, I would buy a plane before I would buy a PPC.