Next career after flying?

[Rudy]

What are some good alternatives? I'm willing to go back to school if need be.

[BTyyj]

Petroleum engineering. If you're willing to live up in Fort McMurray, starting salary can be in the six figures.

[co-joe]

It's like when you get a new girlfriend. You look for everything the last one didn't have/do. Getting out of flying you'll want non salary, weekends off, home every night, 8 hour days instead of 15, etc...

[Deltawidget]

Any type of trades.

The baby boomer generation pushed all their kids to NOT be welders, plumbers, carpenters etc.

The result is that you will make more after a 2 year apprenticeship than 6 years of classes to do an MBA.

Heres how you get the best of both worlds.
1.) Learn a trade
2.) Buy a business text book
3.) Follow a newspaper which follows business like the Wall Street Journal or Financial Times
4.) Listen to commentators on Bloomberg Radio or CNBC
5.) Be able to re locate

If you do the above, I trule believe you end up with a powerful combination of having a skilled trade AND understanding how the world of business works. Too often, people are content with havingthe former, but not the latter

[wang dang doodle]

So,co-joe,would that be a REAL girlfriend? Or a blow up ??............Ramble On

[Expat]

Any type of trades.

The baby boomer generation pushed all their kids to NOT be welders, plumbers, carpenters etc.

The result is that you will make more after a 2 year apprenticeship than 6 years of classes to do an MBA.

Heres how you get the best of both worlds.
1.) Learn a trade
2.) Buy a business text book
3.) Follow a newspaper which follows business like the Wall Street Journal or Financial Times
4.) Listen to commentators on Bloomberg Radio or CNBC
5.) Be able to re locate

If you do the above, I trule believe you end up with a powerful combination of having a skilled trade AND understanding how the world of business works. Too often, people are content with havingthe former, but not the latter

But if you got your degree before going flying, you can get straight into management. Six figures there too.

[El Comat]

Rudy I'm asking myself the same question. Two that I came up with were policing and fire fighting. Both allow you get hired off the street and will provide all the training necessary for the job, and both have pretty good job security. I'm leaning heavily towards fire fighting due to the fact that I'm already a "volunteer" (that gets paid) member of my city's fire dept. Also, FFs tend to get shot at less and people don't hate you like they hate the police (until the police are protecting/rescueing them) .

Also, what was said about the trades is 100% true. Kids these days are lazy and don't want "lowly" blue collar jobs that require them to actually do anything. I built a house last year and when I saw how much I had to pay some of the trades I was left scratching my head wondering why I didn't pick up a trade to go along with flying.

Good luck with your search, I know how hard it can be to contemplate leaving the flying world!
EC

[GRACIE]

I left flying for policing in southern Ontario after approx 8 years. No regrets getting into flying as I was beyond lucky with the breaks I had while in the industry but in hindsight; absolutely zero regrets bailing on aviation.
Since the job change, I have never felt physically felt better, I've never had so much time off and I've never once worried about if/where I will work in six months. I work four days on four days off and in the last six months I've been home late once by two hours... Once...
I volunteer a pile at my child's school and I own a sweet motorcycle that I'm actually home to blast around on. Having said that I wouldn't suggest entering policing or firefighting for the perks I noted; you have to be willing to grind thru a year or two of testing/interviews etc and ultimately be willing to die for the cause. The stuff is real and people will try to kill you much like weather and old airplanes. Very similar to pilots, cops and firefighters are unique to their own groups as it takes a combination or true heroism and pure stupidity to do what we all do.
There are definitely people hired who do their best to milk historical injuries as they're too afraid to work on the road or only do it for tons of time off or 100k a year, but those people are quickly branded so again, it has to be something you've always wanted.
I miss the airplane and the guys but with 100% honesty not a thing else.
Best of luck in 2012 to us all!

[1000 HP]

If you like working outside, are willing to put in lots of hours (most pilots already do this), don't mind getting dirty (some pilots), and like large paychecks with huge growing potential (all pilots ?), I'd recommend getting into the oil patch. If you can go to work when the phone rings even if it is 2 am the oil-patch will work for you.

I started working the oil-patch part time in 2004. Basically, I worked the patch in the winter after being laid off from my seasonal float flying position. It took several years of moving up in the business just like flying. But my starting wage in the oil patch was better than my ending wage flying. In 2011 I made 482% more than in 2007. And 2007 was a good year.

I gave up flying full time at the end of 2009. I flew bush and had about 20 years experience, so the money was already really good. I'd make more money in 5 months than a West-Jet co pilot makes in his first year. Poor starting wages in the airlines, plus the "ramp work" made upgrading to an ATPL unappealing because I had children and couldn't afford to take the pay cut or shell out the money for additional training. Also, I got my pilot license to fly, not work an airline desk and watch other people fly.

Have I got any regrets? Sure I do. I'd love to fly an AT802 in Columbia and dust cocaine crops for the DEA. Or a ski equipped DC-3 for Buffalo Joe. Or maybe deliver new aircraft overseas...I even miss flying drunken tourists up to a beautiful sand beach in the middle of nowhere, and contemplating not picking them up...But I can still do some of these things on my days off. Last year I bought a little plane to travel to jobs. I still contract fly if I have time.

If you love your flying job and can pay your bills, stay with it. If you need to change careers, due to health or financial reasons, the oil patch is one direction you can go that offers variety, advancement, and excellent remuneration. PM me if you want more info. I work as an overseas consultant but I still live in Alberta half the year.

[Lost Lake]

MINING! MINING! MINING! I live in northen ontario and this is a crazy business. Mining engineer = + $200k++ a year. Work world wide or just Canada. Common core training for the un educated $6K training, pay = Starting $100k +, shift boss in 3-5 years, $150K. Live local to the mine or rotations...2 weeks in/2weeks out, paid travel. If I had it to do over again.................................

[Flybabe]

I would seriously look at Power Engineering. Good $$$, lots of demand.

[zeppelin]

I've mostly flown in the bush,so always had the winters off.This lead me to buying a house on a tropical island,instead of sitting on my butt wacthing snow,rain and T.V...Next ,I had to make some money,so I bought a sailboat and went about forming a charter bussiness..I combined sailing and scuba diving and have been pretty successfull..Just about the same time the season slows down,it's time to go back to flying...It works for me and my family...

[1000 HP]

I wish I woulda though of that

[zeppelin]

1000HP ,reading some of your latest posts,I think I'm just north of you a bit....Phuket

[172pilot]

Rudy,

What are you interested in doing everyday? Lots of well paying jobs out there, but do what you enjoy.

[Cadismack]

Government, at least thats what I did. Sure its not the money of the rigs but theres a pension and after 20 years I get 9 weeks holidays. Sure I do miss some of the 17 hr days up in the arctic, tenting engines and loading drills, but getting to put my kid to bed every night quickly makes it all come into perspective.

[flyinthebug]

After my crash and subsequent loss of my medical in 09...it forced me to make this decision. I decided to stay in aviation, but in a management capacity exclusively now. I spent the last 10 years of my flying career in some form of management anyways (CP, Ops Mgr etc)...so I just expanded on my scope of management and stayed put in our industry. It makes for some long hours but im home every night with my sweetheart and enjoy somewhat of a normal lifestyle now. Very seldom does my phone ring at 2 am anymore...and when it does, im not being called to go flying after only 3 hours sleep! Aviation management needs people that have been in the industry as a pilot, that know what is involved. I believe it helps make a more effective manager, when you`ve actually done the job(s) you are managing.

AS an FYI, I went back to College in 09 for 2 years and got my Diploma in Social Services, but absolutely did not like that industry (or the pay) so I came back to the industry I know and (sometimes) love.

Management is an option after your flying career is over.
Fly Safe all.

[co-joe]

So,co-joe,would that be a REAL girlfriend? Or a blow up ??............Ramble On

Still pissed I joked that bush flying wasn't a "real job" eh?

[Dash-Ate]

Good news, Ontario just legalized brothels! A new business idea .

Who's in?
We can call it Training Bondage.



http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/art ... legal?bn=1

Ontario's top court allows brothels, but soliciting ruled illegal

[Dr. Mcillicuddy]

Has been mentioned here bouts before, Quality control in a whore house. Have a great day. dr