Best Aviation Career Advice

[RitterKreuz]

     For those of you who wish to start an airline career I have only one piece of advice to offer. The best way to become a professional pilot and be well paid is to GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL AND BECOME A GYNECOLOGIST. I sincerely wish that someone would have gone back and given me a severe beating for ever wanting to become a professional aviator. I know one thing is for sure, and that is - the day my little son says

[Sytse]

Wow! That's another way to look at it... I just started looking around for flightschools. Thanks for the good advise. People tend to forget that they earn money when they 'recruit' you and they don't really give a **** about what happens to you after you have completed your training, so they can tell you whatever they want to get you in. And most people buy it...

[Craig.]

like any job, you gotta work your way through the ranks to get the big money. its just annoying that in aviation you first have to pay a ton to even get there. As for going to med school. While yes the  job prospects leaving med school can sometimes pay well. the average med student leaves college/university/med school upwards of $100,000's in debt.

[Antei]

Well, i'd rather earn 1600 and fly than earn 2000 and cook

[jrpilot]

Let me start off by saying this:  Don't get into aviation if you want to make millions right away.  Most pilots  go in and rent/buy a house to live in at their bases or what not.  also not sure on your airline but one rejional airline I know of you go from FO to Captain in 9 months on a beech 1900D, although there are a few guidlines to that.  the best way to get into aviation (as I was told by pilots) is go in single and without children so you have no one to owe other than creditors.  Aviation goes in waves and as you mentioned right now is a good (high) part but two days from now your airline or any airline may start putting pilots back on furlough.  The key is to never settle in when you are young I've heard many stories of pilots loosing jobs bacause they missed a day at work and the recruiters came and picked other people.

Those are just my feelings..
May I ask which commuter airline you work for?

[beefhole]

Exactly why I have no intentions of taking the civilian way up-only as an absolute last resort will I take the CFI route.

[TacitBlue]

And there's why I don't want to fly for an airline. I make as much now as I would for the first 5-10 years. Plus I'm not interested at all in flying heavy iron. I would love to fly light planes for a living, but I don't yet know in what capacity.

[RitterKreuz]

This post was originally typed up more for humor than anything. But there is a great deal of truth to it as well.

As with anything you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. It just so happens that the bottom of the airline industry is quite a ways down there.

I have enjoyed the heck out of being a flight instructor. Im not knocking that profession, but yes being single and childless helps! There is only so much 50 cent Cup Ramen to go around. I have made a lot of life long friends in the process of instructing and a lot of fascinating people have crossed my path (Gynecologists included).

I cannot mention the exact name of the commuter - but it is strongly affiliated with a very American Airline.

Yep, there is a slight hiring trend right now, and as mentioned it comes and goes in waves so surfs up for the time being.

I would love nothing more than to settle down in a nice town and fly some rich guy's Citation around all over the place but lets face it those jobs are few and far between in some areas and you really have to know someone to get into that sort of gig. Ill do this for now, my long term goal is to become an Examiner and do Private and Instrument check rides. I think that would be fun!

[EGNX]

Who cares about income and all that nonsence. im gonna be a pilot and thats final and none of you are going to stop me  >:( Grrrrrrrrrrr.....

[jrpilot]

Who cares about income and all that nonsence.

Not that anyone has said this around here before  :-X, but it used to be and probally still is thought that pilots start off making $100,000 a year when we know that is far from the truth.

Also I see this post was made for some humour, but if anyone wants to be a pilot or any job I would suggest you do lots of research on it by talking with people in that profession.  Just don't get into a profession you have no idea about other thatn the outside.  Just my opinion.

[Craig.]

[quote]Who cares about income and all that nonsence. im gonna be a pilot and thats final and none of you are going to stop me

[C]

[quote]Who cares about income and all that nonsence. im gonna be a pilot and thats final and none of you are going to stop me

[MadDriver]

And that's why I decided not to be a pilot and become an air traffic controller!    I have to admit... I agree with you!  ahaha

[C]

And that's why I decided not to be a pilot and become an air traffic controller!

Ahhhhh! Not one of them!

[beefhole]

[quote]And that's why I decided not to be a pilot and become an air traffic controller!