Career change advice needed

[scopiton]

but there is too much luck and timing involved to bet a good stable career against the odds of landing one the few great jobs flying.

you forgot to mention "who you know"

[Canoehead]

From the airline point of view. It's a great job, but a horrible career.

Some folks here might tell you that the 'naysayers' forget why they got into this...the love of flying etc.

What people fail to remember is that for many of us (naysayers), an event happened on September 11th of 2001 (years after I got into career flying) that changed the face of the airline business. For many, it simply ruined it. I am a second generation airline pilot. I watched my dad have a very enjoyable career growing up. So desirable it was that I followed along in his tracks. And it was fun. Until that fateful day. Now you just have to look at some of the threads here on AvCanada to see why it is no longer desirable to go to work: It's getting RIDICULOUS

Then there is the financial side of it. Airlines used to be run by folks who were 'airline people'. Now they are run by 'business people'. It is all about the bottom line now- their bottom line. They typically don't give a rats back-end about the employees, as long as they are getting maximum bang for their buck. More and more, you are not a person. You are a number. You aren't an asset, but rather, a liability. And they don't care about the long term well being of the company either. They are at the airline for 5 or 10 years, then on to their next source of pocket-lining (railway, transit corp, hospital, bank etc...). We (the front line employees) are still here, trying to make a go of it for 20, 25, or 30+ years.

I am 35 years old. I started flying when I was 19. I've flown commercially (703/705 ops) for 10 years now. I make about $55,000 per year. My dad was making $55,000 in 1978. The first 'airline' job I had paid me a whopping $26,000 per year. That was just 7 years ago! The highest paid pilots at my company make about $110,000 per year. Not a bad wage I guess, but with a bit of overtime, I could be a TTC driver and make more then that. A cadet in training for the Toronto police makes over $50,000 per year. My TAFB (time away from base, or more simply put- time at work) averages about 300 hours per month. Yep, that's about 75 hours a week. You can do the math. Many of my high-school buds were making that kind of money by the time they were 25, and they have only ever had to work 40 hours per week.

For some of the reasons noted above, this is not the best career for a family man. You need a spouse who is extremely understanding. Just Google 'divorce rate and pilots' if you don't believe me. Then imagine trying to explain to your kids why you are missing their birthday again. All for what?

My advice, for what it is worth: don't do this for a job, just do it for fun. If you really want to fly, and get paid to do it, join the military. But the bottom line is, you gotta be happy doing what you're doing.

Again, flying airplanes is an awesome job, but it is a terrible career.

[A330]

My 2 cents...

I would agree with most and pay off your flying hours and continue working to have your CPL with no debt if possible. Send out your CV and work hard at finding an entry level flying job. I would say you're at a big advantage with your previous work experience, age and education. I'm sure most employers would agree.

In industry is very unpredictable but there have been far less people interested in a flying career recently. Combine that with a large number of retirements in the next 5 years, and your timing could work out well. I know it's been said many times before about a shortage but it could happen in 5-10 years.

In any case, I would follow your dreams and press on with building your hours. Good luck.

[bubby]

Join the military if you want to fly some pretty cool stuff and do some unique and challenging flying. I've seen plenty of guys much older than you make it through. Not a recruiting thing here, but it's a pretty good life and the pay is much better than you'd probably expect. Pm me if interested.

Remember: never under any circumstances should you take a laxative and a sleeping pill at the same time

[Chaffey]

Honestly.. Thats a huge step. I agree with Hedley. Take it at a good pace. Keep your job and build hours instructing on weekends or evenings. Once you have enough hours, move on to something steady. The airline industry is SLOWLY picking up. There used to be lots of hiring a few years ago, but it seems to have dropped off a bit. Im sure it will pick back up again soon.

[Expat]

At 18, I joined the military to be a pilot. After a year, they told me that there was something wrong with me distinguishing greens and reds, and could not fly. I stuck with the military, and retired at 38 with a paid house, and pension for life...
I have no regrets, as I think my career was fantastic.
I then had a second career in business, and that is when I decided to fly, but strictly for fun.
Now, in my third career, there is no time for flying, but the money is better than an airline captain salary, and the life much better.
The thing is to step aside for a moment, and look at all possibilities to have a good life. Flying, or not...

[Luscombe]

Hey Dazednconfused,

Check your PM's.

Cheers

[Beefitarian]

What a depressing thread And I say this as somebody in his early 30's as well, with my CPL with all the goodies attached to it, 500 hours and having a hell of a time finding something. I have a very good ground based job in the industry and that's a good thing. It's still a tough position to be in, but I really think that things are turning around and that it will be worth it in the long-run.

Don't let it get to you. It can definately be depressing to see how difficult it is to get to the point of actually making a career of being a pilot. Part of why being Captain at a large airline has allways been something respected and admired is the sheer difficulty of getting there.
Keep at it and enjoy the rewards. Hopefully you can someday get to where you can feel, "I have the best job in Canada." as someone else posted. What ever job you have if you can enjoy it your life will be better for it.

[Hawkerflyer]

I wouldnt take any advice from ppl here, they all forgot why they did this job in the first place and now they just think about making money and how bad everything about flying is

You are so very right my friend. Mistake #1, asking for advice on AvCanada!

[Hedley]

Don't forget that 99% of pilots get into aviation because they love flying and because they are young and have no needs or obligations, they are willing to live on KD.

However, if the money doesn't start to show up, 99% of pilots will move on to a non-aviation career as they get older and have wives and kids and houses and braces to pay for. That's just the way it is. I really doubt you could find a pilot with 30 years experience that earns $5k/yr. At least, I hope you can't.

Pilots get into flying because they love it, but they stick with it because of the money. It's just an age thing. As you get older, you will start to understand.

[warbirdpilot7]

Very true Hedley..........To me, flying is almost like a drug, once you are hooked, its hard to give it up. The TV show "Intervention" should help us pilots with this problem

The money to start is absolute garbage. Starting your aviation career, your only hope(of maintaining sanity) is to look at people who have it worse then you. I say this not to make light of anyones bad breaks, just maintain perpesctive.

There is nothing easy or a "slam dunk" in this industry, only hardships at the beginning

Regards,

[dazednconfused]

This is long overdue but thank you to everyone who wrote back offering advice!! I read all the posts a few times and got quite a few PM's that i need to respond to.

I realize some say aviation is horrible and stay far away but many office jobs can be the same. I know lawyers who work 14+ hrs/day, including saturdays. Sure you make ridiculous money, have some prestige etc, but so what. Most of my friends dont look forward to waking up tomorrow and Sunday's are full of anxiety. They are too busy to even enjoy their money. Not to mention, many energy companies here in YYC are/have been laying off now. There's no such thing as the long stable career with a big corporation any more. Life is pretty short so you need to look forward to every day. I have a friend who flies at WJ and another up north. Both on 737's now, and they started about seven years ago and really enjoy what they do. Maybe they got lucky, but from what i hear, if you put your time in and you are somewhat sharp and ambitious, it's very doable. I'm somewhat lucky as i'm debt free, have a decent amount saved up and can probably build my time without going into debt. And, if it doesn't work out, there will always be office work or university to go back to.