Advice Needed!!!!

[Asmir Hamidovic]

I am stuck between two paths for my future goal, the first path is going to my local community college and i can get a scholarship so i dont worry about the money. I will get all my ratings there 250 for all. After i plan to be a local flight instructor so i can earn around a 1000, than i will go to the regionals. But with such low pay in the Rj's i dont have any clue how i will survive in a new city

My second path is going to a local college ad getting a 4 year degree in somthing, after i go to a police academy and work as a patrol officer for 4 years so i can be transfered to another divison and i plan to go to Aviation. They have a couple of King Air and Bell helicopters. The pay as a first year patrol men can be around 40,000 $ and even bigger as a Helicopter pilot.


I am stuck guys i dont know what to do!

Please help me out!

[flyingbosshog]

Almost every regional/major looks for a 4 year degree.. They do not care what it is in most of the time, but they want you to have the 4 year degree....

[Asmir Hamidovic]

I dont have money for a 4 year degree.

[cegro27]

If you don't have a 4-year degree, then you'll have to make up for it by having lots of flying experience, especially pilot-in-command time, if you apply to a regional carrier. You'll need more instructor time, however the pay for a flight instructor isn't all that great either....so if money is the big issue after you leave college, become a patrol officer, do some extra flying on the side in preparation for openings in their aviation dept.

[screaming_emu]

Almost every regional/major looks for a 4 year degree.. They do not care what it is in most of the time, but they want you to have the 4 year degree....

What he said.

Get that 4 year degree. With the hiring slowing down and with possible furloughs to come, the more backup plans the better. If you look at the way a lot of people have been doing it lately and going to a large flight academy without getting that degree knocked out, they're gonna be pretty hosed if they get furloughed. No CFI certificate, no degree, no job, LOADS of debt. Not a good situation to be in.

Here's my advice. Figure out how to get the four year degree, work on your ratings the same time if you can. Don't be in such a hurry to get to the airlines, take the time to do it right and actually learn something. Find an instructing job and take the time to do some flying that takes you outside your comfort zone. Nothing unsafe, but if you learned to fly in a small airport that is not very busy, take the time to become familiar flying into busy airports. It will pay off later.

[flyingbosshog]

Here's my advice. Figure out how to get the four year degree, work on your ratings the same time if you can. Don't be in such a hurry to get to the airlines, take the time to do it right and actually learn something. Find an instructing job and take the time to do some flying that takes you outside your comfort zone. Nothing unsafe, but if you learned to fly in a small airport that is not very busy, take the time to become familiar flying into busy airports. It will pay off later.

Amen!

In the aviation industry it is always good to have a backup plan. I am lucky enough to work for a relatively well off operation, but I have back up plans ready to go if the need be. Coming out of a university program (Middle Tennessee State University) I got the knowledge that I needed for aviation, but I can easily transition to another profession if the need be. With majors cutting routes, and regionals loosing business I think you will be hard pressed to get a position in about 6 months, unless by some miracle you get hired on with someone like NetJets.

If you can get into a UND, MTSU, or ERAU DO IT! It is the best way to get the best of both worlds. Some of the advice that I have gotten from my faculty has been essential to working my way into a relatively safe position in the Commercial Aviation business.

Some of these schools are cheaper than others. MTSU is not too bad (I know this is turning into a yay for my school post). You will fly nice modern aircraft and you will get used to things like glass cockpits!

[screaming_emu]

If you can get into a UND, MTSU, or ERAU DO IT! It is the best way to get the best of both worlds. Some of the advice that I have gotten from my faculty has been essential to working my way into a relatively safe position in the Commercial Aviation business.

That is a good way to get both the degree and flight training done at the same time. However, the degree doesn't need to be in aviation. What companies are looking for is that you know how to study. Training at an airline is often compared to drinking out of a fire hose. Tons of information and you need to know how to effectively sort through it all and get the important parts.

If I were to go back and do it again, here is the route I would take. Right out of high school I would have started my training. Worked really hard, gotten my CFI, and then go to college. I would have picked a state school somewhere interesting and studied something other than aviation. Meanwhile, I would have worked as a CFI while going to college. Advantages of this are you have lots of time to build experience and as poorly as instructing pays, its still better than most jobs people have in college. Once I finished the 4 year degree, then its time to look at the regionals/corporate/whatever.

Again, there's plenty of different ways to get there, but if there's two things I want to emphasize its get the degree and expose yourself to as many different flying experiences as you can.

[Asmir Hamidovic]

Hmm very good advice, i always thought i should get into the airlines before i turn 30 years old, i am 17 now. Is it bad to go in to the airlines after 30?

[Crunk415balla]

Well, I am 17 years old too, and while I'm pretty close to being able to take my written, I have hardly any flight time...the last time I flew was September 17th. Money sucks.

Anyway, so far they've given you good advise. I'll try to lend a hand by telling you my career plan.

So for now, I'm just focusing on passing high school, homework has never been a strength of mine. When I graduate at the end of next month, I'm going to spend a week or so brushing up on the test questions until I can consistantly score at least a 90% or better. We've recently come across some money, so my parents will be helping me much more than I expected for the PPL, which is awesome because if I could afford to fly everyday, I would. In the meantime, I am going to go to community college and try to get into WN as a CSA. I'm going to save as much as I can and fly as much as I can all through school, with the goal being to acheive earning my CFI by the time I've gotten my 2 year degree and I'm ready to transfer to San Jose State or some other 4-year school. Of course, I'm going to have to live at home in order to blow all my money on flying.

When I start on my degree, I'm likely going to try to study areas such as ATC and Meterology as a back up. In the meantime, I hope to flight instruct. Instructors make $55+ an hour here, so thats great news if you're on the reciving end. The idea is to graduate with 2 years of Instructing and a degree, now wouldn't that be a nice way to get to the airlines? However, it likely won't be that easy, nothing ever is, and I have several alternative ways to get to the right seat. One being perhaps flying twice a month or so after I get my PPL and saving for 3 years or so to go to a school like ATP in Sacramento and get a crap load of multi-time and hopefully earn my ratings. At this point, all I can do is have an idea of what is to come, and not much else.

I hear you on how much it costs, I have to pay $135/hour for the cheapest 172 out here and $60/hour for my CFI. If you regret spending a penny of what you've paid to fly, you might want to ask yourself if this is right for you. There are many other jobs in aviation, but this is the one for me, and hopefully its the one for you too. Don't let the industry discourage you. Sure the airlines suddenly went from hiring to failing, but things change. Fast. And when you and I are in a position to apply, there will likely be a huge number of pilots from the Majors who were soaked up in the 80s pilot shortage retiring. As a result, the majors will soak up RJ pilots. As a result, a lot of RJ F/Os are going to become captains. As a result, they'll need us to fill the right seat.

Keep your chin up.

[screaming_emu]

Hmm very good advice, i always thought i should get into the airlines before i turn 30 years old, i am 17 now. Is it bad to go in to the airlines after 30?

I wouldn't say it is "bad", but it shouldn't take anywhere near that long to get there. The sooner the better as everything is based upon seniority, but a lot of people forget about enjoying the ride on the way up because they're in such a hurry to get there. Getting there by 30 shouldn't be a problem at all. I started my training when I was 18 and I'm 24 and flying for a regional. It took me a bit longer than usual due to transferring schools and taking a semester or two off.

[deltafan92]

I am stuck between two paths for my future goal, the first path is going to my local community college and i can get a scholarship so i dont worry about the money. I will get all my ratings there 250 for all. After i plan to be a local flight instructor so i can earn around a 1000, than i will go to the regionals. But with such low pay in the Rj's i dont have any clue how i will survive in a new city

My second path is going to a local college ad getting a 4 year degree in somthing, after i go to a police academy and work as a patrol officer for 4 years so i can be transfered to another divison and i plan to go to Aviation. They have a couple of King Air and Bell helicopters. The pay as a first year patrol men can be around 40,000 $ and even bigger as a Helicopter pilot.


I am stuck guys i dont know what to do!

Please help me out!

I know this is off topic but do you live in JAX?

[P3_Super_Bee]

Another option would be military. If money is tight for the 4 year degree, join as enlisted. You could even go into the aviation field on the maintenance side of the house, You would have the GI Bill, plus all branches offer Tuition assistance. If you went Navy and ended up on shore duty the first tour you would be in there, a LOT easier to work college on shore duty. Though it can also be done on sea duty too, just a little harder with the time. They also programs that will cross you over to the Officer side and into the Aviators world. Should be able to get a lot of info on the Navy's site on the different ways to go. I'd look there first, going to a recruiter would be good after looking the the info on the website,

[Asmir Hamidovic]

I know this is off topic but do you live in JAX?

Yes


And P3 i have considered the USCG Search and Rescue Helicopter Pilot

[Tanner_J]

I am currently at Kent State in a 4 year Flight Technology program. Most of our students end up with ExpressJet since we have a Bridge Program with them. I don't have the money to pay for it either, that's what loans are for.

I am more than likely going the law enforcement route also if I can get a job with the agency I want. Most local law enforcement agencies don't have fixed wing (except a few in Florida) so I am also looking to get up to my commercial rotor license after my fixed wing. I want to work for a Highway Patrol, the only problem with any law enforcement job is getting one. Since you don't need college at all to get one, the competition is there.

New York State Police open applications once every 4 years, they just ended on e in December and received 22,000 applications for maybe 300 jobs. It's because every person in the world thinks they can be a cop. The smallest thing will disqualify you, and you better be in damn good shape (I know you see the fat cops, but that's a thing of the past) and be ready for the first few years to be hell. The agency I am looking at starts out at $50,000 a year and I would have to be on the roads for 2 years. I have the feeling not many spots open up in the aviation division, but considering I will hopefully have my CFII, MEI, CFI in Rotor I would have no problems getting the spot. I have been doing a lot of research the past year or two and have even done an internship with a police department to get a feel for what it's like.

You better have a back up plan to being a pilot, and you better have a back up plan to being a cop. Neither of them are guarantees and mainly the law enforcement route since the competition and hiring standards are so high. Like I said, the smallest thing can disqualify you. Have you looked in-depth at the hiring process at departments? The agency I want takes 9 months to 3 years to get a spot. Law enforcement aviation is such a small field, I wouldn't bet my life that you're going to get it, but set a goal and reach for it.

[tsv]

If you're prepared to live abroad there are great opportunities in Australia. Both REX (a regional airline who has a large fleet of SAAB 340's) and Qantas have opened pilot training schools.

I understand the financial terms are very generous due to the chronic lack of pilots at the moment.

Not sure if they are accepting overseas students but worth asking if you're interested.

Cheers