Any pilots in here?

[Homeslice]

Went up with a chopper instructor once a long long time ago......Seemed fun, but you have to spend about $50K to get trained, and then the only job you could get afterwards is a CFI, making beans........And after a couple years doing that, you would have to find odd jobs with oil rigs, tourism firms, crop sprayers, photographers, etc. And pick up and move every 6 mos. or so. The only chopper pilots who have steady "permanent" jobs with benefits are ambulance, police, and corporate pilots.......And those jobs go to 50-60 year olds with tens of thousands of flight hours.

Or at least that was the story given to me by the CFI's, who probably wanted less competition

[Porkchop]

Originally Posted by Bryan

Any chance you can pry that recipe out of your neighbors head?

I can try. They aren't back from Florida yet though....

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Went up with a chopper instructor once a long long time ago......Seemed fun, but you have to spend about $50K to get trained, and then the only job you could get afterwards is a CFI, making beans........And after a couple years doing that, you would have to find odd jobs with oil rigs, tourism firms, crop sprayers, photographers, etc. And pick up and move every 6 mos. or so. The only chopper pilots who have steady "permanent" jobs with benefits are ambulance, police, and corporate pilots.......And those jobs go to 50-60 year olds with tens of thousands of flight hours.

Or at least that was the story given to me by the CFI's, who probably wanted less competition

Sounds pretty close. There is a national school (ATP) with a location in this area that offers an "Airline Career Pilot Program" that takes a person with zero flight hours and spits them out the back licensed and certified for single engine, multi engine, and instrument flight at the private, commercial, and instructor level in around 5 months. They quote $55,000 for the course. That is actually a pretty good deal considering the student ends up with 270 hours, 165 of which are in twin engine planes.

I can't imagine getting the rotary licenses and ratings that would actually be useful in pursuing a career in helicopters would be any less, and it probably costs significantly more. No matter what, at the end you come out with a lot of licenses and ratings but little flight time. Until a lot more hours are added to a logbook it is going to be difficult to get a job doing anything other than teaching private pilot students for low pay.

[6doublefive321]

Originally Posted by Bryan

Wow...thats all I have to say!

I used to land at Winder GA for gas on my to Florida, nice little place. Ever been by there?

I've been through Winder, but never spent any time there.

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Went up with a chopper instructor once a long long time ago......Seemed fun, but you have to spend about $50K to get trained, and then the only job you could get afterwards is a CFI, making beans........And after a couple years doing that, you would have to find odd jobs with oil rigs, tourism firms, crop sprayers, photographers, etc. And pick up and move every 6 mos. or so. The only chopper pilots who have steady "permanent" jobs with benefits are ambulance, police, and corporate pilots.......And those jobs go to 50-60 year olds with tens of thousands of flight hours.

Or at least that was the story given to me by the CFI's, who probably wanted less competition

That's about right for chopper pilots. Every single person I have spoken to that went for a chopper certification tells the exact same story. The only viable way to get a chopper cert and stay afloat is to do it through the military. That goes for a multi-engine pilot also. Most airlines won't touch anyone with less than 1500 hours. My CFI is about to turn over 1500 hours, and he can't get a sniff of a right or left seat commercial job.

[Homeslice]

So then what is the point of all those schools, if the airlines don't actually hire anyone from them? Other than to make money, which is obvious. But you would think that colleges/universities that don't attain a decent placement rate would eventually go under due to poor word of mouth.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

So then what is the point of all those schools, if the airlines don't actually hire anyone from them? Other than to make money, which is obvious. But you would think that colleges/universities that don't attain a decent placement rate would eventually go under due to poor word of mouth.

It seems most flight schools don't mess around with the professional side of it, only recreational. Some people want to follow their dreams though and these professional programs give them some sort of opportunity. The school I mentioned has some sort of guarantee they will hire you as an instructor after you finish (and I'm sure pay poorly for the privilege).

The reality is there are probably many times more people coming out of private colleges with degrees that cost significantly more in majors that make them no more employable. Those colleges don't seem to be going away.

[Homeslice]

Well, I'm talking about the schools like Embry Riddle, and there are a few others, that are focused on getting you a job in aviation.

I also seem to recall that a few of the larger airlines had their own school/program. Or at least used to.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Well, I'm talking about the schools like Embry Riddle, and there are a few others, that are focused on getting you a job in aviation.

I also seem to recall that a few of the larger airlines had their own school/program. Or at least used to.

There are jobs in aviation, some of which pay very well. If someone is smart with their major they should be fine. The problem is most of those jobs aren't in a cockpit. Those who love to fly, though will get a job flying. The pay will probably suck for a number of years, there will be little job stability, the person may have to live in the middle of nowhere, and for all that the person will have to bust their ass to get hired in the first place. For those who love flying though it is worth it to have someone pay for them to sit in a cockpit.

Of course there is always the other option, join the military and get flight trained and a bunch of hours while getting paid. That seems by far the most sensible path to me but there are downsides. Embry Riddle probably seems like a "better" alternative to some.

There are lots of jobs people still do even though the pay and conditions aren't great. Teachers are always bitching and moaning about their pay (though most pilots would love the pay, benefits, and job security) yet when you ask one of them why they don't do something else the response is usually something like "because I love it". I can't imagine a job with worse conditions for little money than being a lower ranked enlisted "boot on the ground" yet people with "better" options choose to do so all the time. For some the intangible benefits of a job mean far more than the money.