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Advice needed on a new career
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 2012-08-14 9:45 PM |
Elite  2791     Denver |  Subject: Advice needed on a new careerHey COJ, I'm looking at making a potential career jump to commercial aviation. Leaving the motivations aside, I have a few questions that I was hoping some of you might be able to help me out with. A friend who is currently a pilot pointed me in the direction of an international carrier that will provide all the training, all expenses paid, even if you have zero flight hours (which is me). The potential problem is this; they look heavily at your math class and physics class scores, all the way back to high school. I'm 30 now, and that was a long time ago. I screwed around a lot as a kid and didn't get the highest grades in high school. In college I was a scholarship athlete and pretty much majored in football, so bare minimum grades there too. I am wondering if it would help my cause to go back to school, potentially a local community college and get the grades I need there. Any ideas if this would help? Or any other thoughts that would solidify my case? Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks! -Jon |
| 2012-08-14 10:06 PM in reply to: #4363716 |
| 376 | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career Just be aware that it's a long road before you start making bank. If you can stick it out, it will be worth it. I went to Embry Riddle in Daytona for aviation maintenance and my roomate was in professional flight. Even after all his hours as a flight instructor, the time he got in school, and his internships, it took him a long time to get his captain. Right after school, I went into another industry so I never touched an airplane after school. He probably makes more money now, but for a long time I think I was making more than him. Well, I know he makes more now since I'm now a housewife and my wife works. |
| 2012-08-15 7:01 AM in reply to: #4363716 |
| Austin, Texas or Jupiter, Florida | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career Don't know if my own situation helps, but I'm going to retake some math courses before I start my MBA next year. If you need the math for your job, I'd do the extra courses. I too screwed around in school, but when I started blowing stuff up for a living and building stuff (Combat Engineer) I suddenly got better at math. |
| 2012-08-15 5:02 PM in reply to: #4363716 |
Elite 2791 Denver | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career Cool. I think it'll be good for me to do the extra courses either way. My brain needs a jumpstart and the community college is right here in town, they offer accelerated courses so I can get it done in less than a year. The cool thing about this pilot program is that it's all internal, so once you complete the 6-month training school, you start right away as a Second Officer and work your way from there. The salary of an SO isn't awesome but it's significantly more than what I'm pulling in now and is a much more viable career. Thanks for the notes, and please keep them coming! |
| 2012-08-15 5:29 PM in reply to: #4363716 |
Expert 1059 Newnan, Georgia | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career Aviation is a tough thing to break into. I am thinking about making the jump from military to civilian and it stresses me out. I know starting out it can be tough (especially at 30) so I would seriously weigh all the options and take a real hard look at the company that is willing to give you all that training. As with most things if it is too good to be true it might not be true. Read the fine print because you don't want to get stuck in a low paying job that you can't get out of unless you pay back your flight training. |
| 2012-08-15 5:59 PM in reply to: #4363716 |
Pro 4277 Parker, CO | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career Never a bad thing to educate yourself Jonathan. I also had really poor math scores in HS and had to take some lower level math before entering college. As far a a career in aviation, I hear good and bad from some friends that are commercial pilots. One guy hates his job (flying for American). He's been a pilot almost 20-years and has pretty much been screwed by the industry. The other 2-guys love their jobs though. One is a corporate pilot and the other has been flying for Frontier for less than 5-years. I think there is less bagage when you are new to the industry or not working for a commercial airline. Good luck! |
| 2012-08-15 6:01 PM in reply to: #4365189 |
Elite 2791 Denver | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career trmat79 - 2012-08-15 4:29 PM Aviation is a tough thing to break into. I am thinking about making the jump from military to civilian and it stresses me out. I know starting out it can be tough (especially at 30) so I would seriously weigh all the options and take a real hard look at the company that is willing to give you all that training. As with most things if it is too good to be true it might not be true. Read the fine print because you don't want to get stuck in a low paying job that you can't get out of unless you pay back your flight training. Thanks for the advice! I wouldn't say that it's necessarily "too good to be true". They are upfront that you are committed for four years after training in order to pay back the flight school, and the salary is relatively low, but it's still more than what I make now, and I would be ok with the locations that I would be living during that time (benefit to being single). I have several friends in the industry that are familiar with this airline and say that it's top notch. The only reason why they wouldn't jump on is because they wouldn't want to or can't, live in Hong Kong for that period of time. I'm asking for as much advice/opinion as possible, and doing as much of my own research as possible, because I don't know a whole lot about the industry. Your input is greatly appreciated! |
| 2012-08-15 6:02 PM in reply to: #4365230 |
Elite 2791 Denver | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career rayd - 2012-08-15 4:59 PM Never a bad thing to educate yourself Jonathan. I also had really poor math scores in HS and had to take some lower level math before entering college. As far a a career in aviation, I hear good and bad from some friends that are commercial pilots. One guy hates his job (flying for American). He's been a pilot almost 20-years and has pretty much been screwed by the industry. The other 2-guys love their jobs though. One is a corporate pilot and the other has been flying for Frontier for less than 5-years. I think there is less bagage when you are new to the industry or not working for a commercial airline. Good luck! Thanks Ray! I think I am definitely going to take the math courses either way. The main reason my friend suggested getting into commercial aviation is for that exact reason, it's easier to break in now through this route, then the way it used to be. |
| 2012-08-15 6:06 PM in reply to: #4365233 |
Expert 1059 Newnan, Georgia | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career wavedog - 2012-08-15 5:01 PM trmat79 - 2012-08-15 4:29 PM Aviation is a tough thing to break into. I am thinking about making the jump from military to civilian and it stresses me out. I know starting out it can be tough (especially at 30) so I would seriously weigh all the options and take a real hard look at the company that is willing to give you all that training. As with most things if it is too good to be true it might not be true. Read the fine print because you don't want to get stuck in a low paying job that you can't get out of unless you pay back your flight training. Thanks for the advice! I wouldn't say that it's necessarily "too good to be true". They are upfront that you are committed for four years after training in order to pay back the flight school, and the salary is relatively low, but it's still more than what I make now, and I would be ok with the locations that I would be living during that time (benefit to being single). I have several friends in the industry that are familiar with this airline and say that it's top notch. The only reason why they wouldn't jump on is because they wouldn't want to or can't, live in Hong Kong for that period of time. I'm asking for as much advice/opinion as possible, and doing as much of my own research as possible, because I don't know a whole lot about the industry. Your input is greatly appreciated! What airline? Edited by trmat79 2012-08-15 6:08 PM |
| 2012-08-15 7:39 PM in reply to: #4363716 |
Master 2538 Albuquerque | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career Only thing I can add is I would explore how other airlines look at that airline's training to be sure you are marketable to others when/if you want to change jobs later down the road. |
| 2012-08-15 8:20 PM in reply to: #4365362 |
Elite 2791 Denver | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career abqtj - 2012-08-15 6:39 PM Only thing I can add is I would explore how other airlines look at that airline's training to be sure you are marketable to others when/if you want to change jobs later down the road. Excellent advice. Thanks! |
| 2012-08-16 1:07 AM in reply to: #4363716 |
Extreme Veteran 1112 Las Vegas | Subject: RE: Advice needed on a new career For more than 10 years I owned and operated 2 flight schools in the Los Angeles basin, one fixed wing and the other a glider school. Our chief pilot was always looked at the big boys for his ultimate career move, however, after running hundreds of hours with us, he went onto Ameriflight, delivering checks, and then on to Net Jets, a Warren Buffet company. He loves his job, but is basically a taxi driver for the rich. They sit in leather and polished wood in the cabin, and he sits cramped in the small cockpit up front. If you have never flown, find a flight school in your area and take a discovery flight. For around $100 you can get the full feeling and even fly a little. One of our BT friends here has a wonderful signature about "once you taste flight, you can never go back". It is sooooo true. |
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