johndetrick
Charter Member
I don't want to rain on your parade, but now is probably the worst time ever to become a commercial pilot. I should know, as I am one. Until very recently I was flying B767's. My company did a very deep furlough and I was caught up in it. So now I'm pounding the streets competing with all the other unemployed pilots out there. And there are more than you think. There are many reasons for the over abundance of pilots. The franchised educational system always hyping the "looming pilot shortage",they have been selling that premise for 30 years or more. The raising of the mandatory retirement age to 65 didn't help any. The continuing merger process and consolidation of fleets continues to shorten the list of pilots actually needed. And certainly the race to the bottom for salaries is a contributing factor. There are so many people out there who will literally fly for free to build time or for the love of it, that it is tough to find a flying job that actually pays a decent wage.
And now you into the mix the congressional mandate that first officers for any airline require 1500 hours and the ATP, you can see that it will be a long time before your hired. And then for minimum wage if your lucky. This requirement is even trickling down to non airline operators who in the past would hire you if you had the Comm ME Inst with a few hundred hours. Now the insurance companies are demanding the same standards for the non airline flying jobs.
Here is an example of the salary you may enjoy a fairly well known commuter airline. The airline is MESA and the data was taken from Airline Pilot Central.
Starting FO turbrop hourly rate is 19 dollars per hour. A guarantee of 76 hours. The guarantee is the minimum amount you will be paid for. If you fly 20 hours you still get paid for 76. Those days don't exist. You will fly the 76 and maybe more. It doesn't sound like much does it?
Your clock starts when the parking brake is released and stops when the parking brake is set. When you show an hour and half before your flight, you are not on the clock. When you are waiting 4 hours between flights, your not on the clock. My last sequence of trips that I flew before my furlough were relatively easy. Show up at 1 am for a 3 am go, fly 3.5 hours to Port of Spain, Trinidad hang around for the cargo unloading and loading and then back to MIA. That was usually a 12 hour day. That was an easy day. With the commuters, you add in 4 or 5 legs a day and you are beat at the end of it. All that for 1330 dollars a month.
I really hate to think how much money I have tied up in my licenses. In addition to the pilots licenses, I have my FE license and A&P licenses as well. I didn't attend a big college with high tuition. I kind of did it the old fashioned way. I think that I probably have 50,000 plus dollars
invested in all my certificates.
Like I said earlier, I don't want to rain on your parade. But I want to give you a honest assessment of what you may be getting into. It's not a glamorous life or profession. It's a ruthless dog eat dog world. We have a saying that the aviation industry "eats it's young".
Having said all that I've said, as far as I'm concerned, there's not a better job out there. The view out the window is incredible, and the challenges you face on a daily basis would make many people whimper in fear. I didn't mean to make this a long reply, but oh well it is what it is. If you want any more info please feel free to pm me.
And now you into the mix the congressional mandate that first officers for any airline require 1500 hours and the ATP, you can see that it will be a long time before your hired. And then for minimum wage if your lucky. This requirement is even trickling down to non airline operators who in the past would hire you if you had the Comm ME Inst with a few hundred hours. Now the insurance companies are demanding the same standards for the non airline flying jobs.
Here is an example of the salary you may enjoy a fairly well known commuter airline. The airline is MESA and the data was taken from Airline Pilot Central.
Starting FO turbrop hourly rate is 19 dollars per hour. A guarantee of 76 hours. The guarantee is the minimum amount you will be paid for. If you fly 20 hours you still get paid for 76. Those days don't exist. You will fly the 76 and maybe more. It doesn't sound like much does it?
Your clock starts when the parking brake is released and stops when the parking brake is set. When you show an hour and half before your flight, you are not on the clock. When you are waiting 4 hours between flights, your not on the clock. My last sequence of trips that I flew before my furlough were relatively easy. Show up at 1 am for a 3 am go, fly 3.5 hours to Port of Spain, Trinidad hang around for the cargo unloading and loading and then back to MIA. That was usually a 12 hour day. That was an easy day. With the commuters, you add in 4 or 5 legs a day and you are beat at the end of it. All that for 1330 dollars a month.
I really hate to think how much money I have tied up in my licenses. In addition to the pilots licenses, I have my FE license and A&P licenses as well. I didn't attend a big college with high tuition. I kind of did it the old fashioned way. I think that I probably have 50,000 plus dollars
invested in all my certificates.
Like I said earlier, I don't want to rain on your parade. But I want to give you a honest assessment of what you may be getting into. It's not a glamorous life or profession. It's a ruthless dog eat dog world. We have a saying that the aviation industry "eats it's young".
Having said all that I've said, as far as I'm concerned, there's not a better job out there. The view out the window is incredible, and the challenges you face on a daily basis would make many people whimper in fear. I didn't mean to make this a long reply, but oh well it is what it is. If you want any more info please feel free to pm me.
