New Career

[onmyway]

Anyone here left an airline job or any other flying job in pursuit of new career?

[wtf_over]

top poster

[onmyway]

Top Poster ?

[Captain_Canuck]

cat driver = top poster

[JBI]

...

[onmyway]

I want to be carefull and not bash aviation. It's been a roller coaster for me in over the last 21 years. Really good times, really bad times. I guess I've had enough. It's funny, I'm in a position to go anywhere over seas direct captain on any wide body, and I don't care! I'm looking forward to getting back to University, learning, and most of all being home with my wife. No more nights and days away. Will I miss flying? You bet, it's all I've known since I've 19, but it's time for me to move on. I was once told that you'll know when you hit the wall, I really didn't understand it till now. Like I did in for aviation, I've got to follow another dream! Lifes short.

[Mach .28]

Left aviation for 2 years to play with trains after having a hard time finding work. Made 3x the money but suffered in the quality of life department. Worked mostly nights, weekends and could never get vacation besides the winter. Got the company to pay for schooling though.

Back flying now for 1/2 the salary and wouldn't think twice about going back. Watching that sun come up every morning is awesome compared to being stuck in a cubicle. There is way less stress in my life and I actually get to spend some daylight hours with the family.

[tdawe]

Does it count if you thought you were working in the aviation industry only to discover you were, in fact, working for a circus?

[moe]

yes my three armed, claw toed flame thrower, it does.

[FlowPack]

i am now in a career outside aviation. its not nearly as much fun tho. and i didn't stop flying because i hit the wall, but because sometimes you cant just think about yourself. family and finances being the clincher for me. but i can do a whole lot of fun stuff i couldnt swing while flying for a living (like filling my car ALL the way to the top).
flying.. it is my medicine and it is my poison.
so maybe not the same thing.. really...at all.
oh that reminds me.. now i can be a raging alcoholic too.

[Rubberbiscuit]

I think I know what you mean when you say "I have hit the wall". I had some bad luck after about 12, 13 years of flying, and even though I was in what many pilots would consider a dream job, I found myself very unhappy. I decided to to pursue family life rather than airplanes and paycheques. My wife wanted to go back to school so I took a job that brings me home every night. I am very happy in my job, working great and easy hours doing the type of flying I always enjoyed the most. More importantly family life is great. I thought very hard of changing careers at one point but my wife talked me out of it.. I apologize for not really answering your question but I guess my point is... rather than cutting all ties to aviation off, have you considered trying a flying job that will give you a different lifestyle? Sounds like you have been at the airline, living out of a suitcase, going from hotelroom to hotelroom for a while. I know I did not enjoy it. Good luck either way!

[fboog]

It seems kind of weird reading how you guys would like to get out of flying when all I can do is daydream all the time on how to get out of the railway industry, to start flying again, and maybe have a long shot at the airlines some day. Is the grind and very bumpy road all worth it??

[Pugster]

Have you thought about an operator like (or, just) Canadian North?

From what I understand they are home a lot, the flying is fun, and the people are good. I have a couple of friends there and they have described it as the best non-airline airline job out there. Might fit the bill for someone who is tired of living out of hotels and wondering why every time they end a pairing their kids have grown 6".

[aeroyt]

I was born into aviation and spent 30 years flying and now I fly a Kenworth. the reason, money I still love flying and if there was a job out there flying that I could get and be able to pay the bills I would take it. Driving a truck is not so bad when you make 140,000 a year for only 6 months work. I chose not to fly for Air Canada because I enjoyed flying the bush and have had a great life doing that, its just the money.

[albertdesalvo]

Driving a truck is not so bad when you make 140,000 a year for only 6 months work.

So truck drivers make $280K per annum? Boy, all those doctors and lawyers are sure gonna be pissed off when they hear that!

[Buschpielot]

I'm another pilot who left flying for the railway. Flying was great in my 20's but I got into my 30's, got married, kids and decided that lifestyle and being alive to see my kids grow up meant more than airplanes. I can't speak for all railways but at the one I work for safety comes above anything else and isn't a nudge-nudge-wink-ha-ha thing like it was at the aviation companies I worked for.

[Highflyinpilot]

I did all my training got my cpl, floats, didnt even get a start in the industry(not because I couldnt, because I had a change of heart). I moved on to a diffrent career mainly because I wanted more so to plant my feet as soon as possible ie buy a house, raise my kids(while being at home and not in a hotel room), have my toys(Atv, snowmobile etc.) and still be able to pay my bills at the end of it all.I love the fact that I know every 2 weeks my paycheck will come in and my bills will get paid, get to go home at 5pm, eat supper with my wife and daughter every night(just having a family life.)

I must say I miss flying so much, would of loved to see what could've happened had I stuck with it, but then I look at what i got and say to myself, I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW, IM JUST LOVING LIFE THE WAY IT IS.

So I guess depends on what people want in life. Every one has diffrent taste, and a life of constatly relocating, working for peanuts sharing apartments with other people that I dont even know wasnt for me.

To each their own.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

I can't speak for all railways but at the one I work for safety comes above anything else and isn't a nudge-nudge-wink-ha-ha thing like it was at the aviation companies I worked for.

Cheer up, when SMS comes to 703 you can come back, it will be safe then.

[Justjohn]

I've been out of professional flying going on 15 years. Like many, I drive a truck. I think about airplanes EVERY day.

And no, I don't make $140K in six Or $280K in 12. I know what that # really means. That's gross earnings before expenses like Fuel etc for an owner/operator. But I'm awful close to 6 figures driving for Tim Hortons. ( and I get all the coffee I can drink ). And I'm home every night. And I'm about to . it all and dive back into poverty wages and a rekindled flying career. I really enjoy my driving job. but Life is short. Bills are looked after. Its time. With 2700 TT it should still be possible.

[SinkRate]

I guess I have a few questions?
You say you can get a widebody job anywhere overseas..... Awsome , you must know your shit....This means you have attained a level in aviation I can only hope for in my career.
You now want out cause youve hit "the wall".
Im not draggin on you at all, I completely agree with the outllook "if your not happy change your life".
But I am curious cause i am probably 10 yrs behind you in this career.
Whats "the wall" ?
From my perspective It must be pretty shitty to want to get out after yrs of climbing the "ladder" and finally making decent pecos.
And if it is that bad, should i even bother continuing the rat race for another ten yrs so I can experience it for myself?
Personally my education is geared towards nothing but aviation, which means outside of aviation i am qualified to drive a taxi .
Without flying what do you plan on persueing?

Sinkrate

[tesox2]

When I was in flying, I related the career of flying to playing a video game. It was like constantly trying to get to that next level, building up ratings and hours, and very few that I knew in flying actually loved where they were...it always seemed like they were working towards the next thing, and not really enjoying where they were. I loved flying, I loved every bit of it, the sensation of takeoff the enroute beauty of the clouds and the terrain, I loved the challenges of navigating my way around weather and I loved the idea that I was controlling a machine on a 3 dimensional axis, the freedom was amazing...but after I got my licences, and started to look for work, and met a lot of people who were constantly starving for a few hours here and there, I realized it was a carrot chase....the love of flying, for me, turned into a resentment for the sacrifices that were needed. Now, when I go home at night, I take my hat off and stop thinking about what my job is....I focus on my family, and my closest friends, and I live my life, balanced. Flying seems to tip the scales of a balanced lifestyle.

Sorry guys, Im in a little bit of a bad mood, I truly love flying, many of my closest friends are pilots, this is just the perspective of one guy.

Cheers,

[xsbank]

The problem with this career is that you soon learn that one airplane is pretty much like the last one you flew but the new one probably has more knobs and levers and takes more study to pass that recurrent ride every 6 months. The take-off may be faster and louder but its pretty much the same thing. So then you realize that the equipment is only important when you're comparing lengths in the bar and what really matters is the salary, the days off, the way your outfit treats you, the ability to watch your kids grow, whether you can make it to the school play or your daughter's graduation.

That's not to say that there's not a lot to like about this path I'm on, just don't think its all about the view or becoming "master of the airways" or that the flying is all that there is. And don't forget your health, your risk of death and your responsibility!

When some guys reach that realization, they decide the BS they've been putting up with just isn't worth it and they bail - there really are better careers out there for some. I have a friend who has his own law firm and he's happy! Go figure.

I got fed up a while ago, fed up with all the crap at my long-time job and I changed my career path entirely, still in aviation, but I get home virtually every night, have medical, dental, pension, can sit at home and watch the sun go down with my wife and actually have hobbies and other stuff that I do in my own house, and my car was made this century.

Your niche doesn't have to be an A380!

This missive is why I tell everyone who will listen to get yourself educated in another career option (MBA or backhoe, it doesn't matter) so that if this one sours, you won't be driving a city bus or taxi.

[ea306]

Hi guys,

This thread caught my attention and I thought I would post. Not sure if I will by the time I am done writing… so we shall see once I am done.

I have been in aviation for some time now. My first flight was in 1978...3rd August 1978... and I was 15 years old at the time. My mind and heart were filled with dreams about having a flying career. I had been mad on flying since I was 6 years old living in Fort St. John BC and watching CPAir's B737-200s arriving and departing whilst I was attending the Airport School located in a hamlet called Baldonnell BC. I well remember waiting for the school bus and listening to those engines.

Later the next year I had my first airplane ride on a CPAir B737-200 from Fort St John to Calgary...a first flight of many... we were off to visit relatives in the UK. It was a night time departure.... amazing. I remember turning to my father and with all the enthusiasm of a wide eyed child, I announced that I knew exactly what I was going to do when I grew up! I was going to fly airplanes! My dad just laughed and never took that announcement seriously for the rest of my growing up years. We were just humble immigrants from England with simples means.... only the privileged could afford to be in aviation was how my parents viewed flying. I was the oldest of six children and my parents would never have the means to pay for my aviation career ambitions.

Since then I have accumulated 15 type ratings and have had the privilege of flying these types all around the globe. I have many photos that I have collected over the years and stories to go with them (although clearly not enough). Flying had been a passion for me for most of my life.

Yet interestingly I find myself looking at another career. Maybe a career to supplement my flying career. Flying has not been what I had hoped it would be. The remuneration has not been what it should have been. There are no pension plans to look after our old age. The time away takes a toll on family life. I never dreamed that I would one day become a statistic to A.I.D.S. (Aviation Inducted Divorce Syndrome) However Aviation and the time away from the family did take its’ toll and ultimately I did pay the price. That however is a topic I will choose to keep out of a public forum.

I still enjoy flying and find myself wondering what else I might be qualified to do outside of flying. There may be elements that could be transferable, but really a Pilot’s License does not make you qualified outside of flying to do much. So I have been looking at other options such as business and investing that I can do as a parallel career along side of my flying career.

Ultimately, I would love to be able to fly less and have the time to pursue other interests. It is easy to become a nomad in aviation and spend much of your life in hotels around the world. Very challenging to maintain relationships and to have a normal family life.

Flying is a drug…. Or maybe it is a disease… I am not sure which. We become obsessed, addicted to flying. We resent our being away from home so much. Conversely, when we are home it does not take too long before we start to miss flying airplanes again.

I have a friend who makes more money in a month with his business than he does flying a Jet all year long. Yet when he was not flying he was miserable. However he chose to not let flying interfere with being home for his family and raise his children.

He is not the only one I know that has taken a break from flying and has come back later to resume his career.

I admire them as they some how managed to find balance and keep their families in tact and still pursue their dreams. They put their families first and they still have their families.

So I now reach the point of the topic of this thread. A career change.

I can appreciate that some feel they are not getting out of aviation what they want in life. Flying is a wonderful career. However… at the end of the day… it is a job. A means to make a living. I would like to work for a living. Not live for work.

The demands we face have us away from base for days at a time. My present company has us away for upwards of a more than a week at a time. Scheduling has no empathy on your personal life. Nothing is more important than being there to fly an airplane for the company. Your wife has a special day set aside for you? Too bad. Anniversary? Too bad. Need an appointment to see your divorce lawyer? Well that’s too bad too. I’ve had a schedule that gives you 4 days work plus a GDO (Guaranteed Day Off) which all takes place in a time span of 84 hours (yes you did the math right….that is 3 and ½ days)! And here I thought 4days work + 1day off = 5days. But it actually = 3 ½ days… go figure....silly me!

Some places have it better, others have it worse. But these are just examples of what life is like in aviation… and sadly even in the airline environment.

So yes, we can “hit the wall” as a previous poster mentioned. You can hit a saturation point where you start to think maybe there has to be a better solution.

Personally I would love to fly a little less. I would like to have the time to enjoy life and pursue other interests. I would not like to be paid any less as I think the industry has already adjusted the salaries downward quite enough. However I would gladly take a half salary and work half time. Now that would be amazing! Time to grow in other interests and still maintain your passion for flying. Have your cake and eat it too! Why not?

Yeah I know, I don’t want much…. I just want it all!

I apologize for the long post. There are so many perspectives. At the end of the day you have to do what is right for you. You have to live your life.

I like what one fellow pilot told me a few years ago. Remember to keep things in balance with your family life. The Boeing Rep or the Air Bus Rep is not going to come to your funeral and place flowers on your casket and tell everyone what a wonderful person you were to fly their precious airplanes.

Enjoy your time with your families this weekend.

D.

[phillyfan]

I think about it every summer. Flying over town at 10 pm after a 15 hour day where I have to start again at 4am. I look down and see people out BBQing and having a life. Float flying has taken every summer from my life since I was 17.

['79K20driver]

ea306:
That's probably one of the best posts I've read on here. Thanks for writing it. I've recently moved into the world of jets and hotel rooms and I can tell you, its giving me pause for thought. I've got about 25 years to go and I'm just not sure its for me. I sure find myself missing the floats and being in my own bed every night, working on my hobbies during time off and not spending it on a lay-over somewhere. You get to a point where it feels like you're wasting your life away. I guess it's not for everyone.