CAREER OPTIONS
This career is very diverse. Here are some of the pros and cons of a few of your options.
PASSENGER AIRLINE
Positives:
- In addition to good pay and benefits, you don't take your work home with you. At the end of the trip, you set the brakes and go home. The office is not calling you on your off days.
- If you belong to a large flight department, you decide how big your paycheck will be. Bid 'min sked' (minimum schedule) and fly just enough to stay current. Or fly your fanny off and pick up overtime trips.
- Free travel for you and your family.
- You chose your own destiny by deciding when to upgrade to Captain or a bigger aircraft.
- If you decide to commute to your base you can live anywhere.
- Lower stress than other options because most everything is already planned, scheduled, dispatched, written up, etc. Have a problem? Call Maintenance. Don't like the flight planned route? Call Dispatch. Unruly passenger? Call Ops. As senior Captains like to say, ’Expand the team.’ If time is available, there is no reason not to phone a friend.
- Airplanes are typically very well maintained.
- The airlines invest thousands of dollars into training and the full motion simulator be programed for any scenerio. In training, you will to see everything.
Challenges:
- You will see everything. The sim is a pro and con. After a few years it is very rare to be surprised by something new. There is nothing 'new', you will learn a new procedure, but really it is the same old stuff packaged in a more efficient way. You need to guard against becoming desensitized.
- Flying the line can become routine. After a few years, the newness and the fun wear off. There are only so many commercial airports in the US or the world and they all start to similar. An ILS is an ILS is an ILS.
- It is hard to stay motivated because the challenge of learning new things just isn’t there. Complacency is something you must combat constantly.
- Deep meaningful connections with your fellow crew members or your passengers are rare. Often your are best friends when on the the trip but once the trip is over it is a real effort to stay connected.
- The TSA is a hassle and the logistics of busy airports and downtown layovers become a grind. It is not glamourous like you hoped it would be.
- Seniority is like golden handcuffs. Careers at airlines last longer than some marriages do.
- No darling boutique inn on the beach for several days straight. Every night you are sleeping in a new bed at a large hotel chain and you don’t get the points because the rate is negotiated.
- Eating well, good sleep and exercise are a real challenge.
CORPORATE FLYING
Positives:
- Every day is different and every day is challenging. You never get bored.
- You get to know your passengers and fellow crew members very well.
- You are in control of everything: maintenance, dispatch, layovers. You don’t rely on someone else to make sure things run smoothly.
- You are at home more than other pilots.
- When you are on the road you are able to eat healthier than other career choices. Prior to departure, you order the crew meals. The food is always fresh and very expensive. You get a wide variety to choose from, not just peanuts and a bag of pretzels. After you land, you get to take the leftovers from catering with you to the layover.
- You get to keep the hotel points and frequent flier miles.
- You fly into little airports with FBOs that are happy to see you. No crowded airports with cranky airport security and overworked and understaffed gate agents.
- Expense account for actual expenses rather than per diem.
- Depending on who you work for, some schedules are two weeks on 2 weeks off.
Challenges:
- The schedule. Typically, you only spend 5-10 nights away from home per month but you are on call up to 28 days a month. A pilot typically gets four hard days off per month the rest are all on call.
- Flight time requirements to get hired are higher than other options due to airplane insurance.
- If there is a divorce, an acquisition, or a downsizing, the flight department is probably going away and you are looking on the street for a new job.
- Pretty stressful - you are it. There is no phone a friend.
- You don’t have a union.
- Airplane maintenance can be a problem.
Note - All charter positions are different.
Part 135 Charter is a great flight time builder but your time is not your own. You fly a lot. But you typically cannot count on which days you will have off.
Part 91 Corporate Pilots typically fly about 250 hours per year.
On-Demand Contract Charter pilots typically have to pay for their own training, pay for their own health insurance, and plan their own retirements.
MILITARY
Positives:
- You get to serve your country.
- Every night when you put your head on the pillow you know that you did something meaningful. People you never meet appreciate your efforts and hard work. You are making a difference.
- You fly some really great airplanes.
- You see the world.
- True sense of camaraderie and deep relationships.
- It's not boring.
Challenges:
- You will long for boring when you are being shot at! (The airlines will look pretty good right then.)
- You move approximately every three years.
- Your life is not your own. Someone is always telling you what to do.
- Depending on what airframe, some sorties are 10 hours on duty for 1 hour of flying. Brief, brief, brief, then fly, then brief some more. It is not a great flight time builder. If you are trying to fill your logbook you won't get quantity of hours, but you will get quality. (note- ATP requirements are reduced for military hours)
- You have a 10-year commitment after Pilot Training.
FREIGHT
Positives:
- Lowest stress of the other choices.
- You don’t have to deal with unruly passengers. Boxes don’t complain.
- You don’t have to deal with traffic jams, you are going to the city when everyone else is going the other way.
Challenges:
- You fly at night. You are always tired. Your best friends are earplugs and a white noise machine.
- If you fly for Fed Ex or UPS you probably live in Memphis or Louisville or Anchorage. Commuting is still possible but more difficult for a freight pilot because of the departure times.