My days are numbered as an electrician (11 years) I've been to some awesome places with it and done fairly well financially but I am just tired of it. Always been obsessed with aircraft and I knew in the long run i'd do something with them. Would have joined the airforce but you know.... Canada..... and our airforce is shit so here we are. I know I can go on other forums to read up on opinions but would be cool to hear first hand what someone thinks of their commerical pilot career? I'd probably be most interested in flying cargo to remote locations and eventually fly water bombers but I have no idea how realistic that is.
Any commerical pilots?
- Thread starter blk02edge
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It's probably pretty expensive to get the lessons and necessary flight hours in. I was always curious how much it would cost. But I applaud your decision to avoid flying passenger jets. F that.
I have a close friend that is a commercial pilot. He went to school at MTSU specifically to be a commercial pilot. They have a huge program for pilots. The industry doesn't seem to be too hard to get into, but it is not cheap. You will need a lot of hours (maybe a degree at this point, if you don't have any experience flying for the military), a lot of class, and a lot of money. The money straight out of school is really bad--I think it was pretty common to be making low to mid $20k starting out. But, it seems like you are able to move through the 'ranks' rather quickly and the pay jumps considerably with each promotion, 'graduation' to a bigger plane.
My son went to a 4 year university to get his commercial license on the G.I. Bill and got his reg. Pilots license and some degree in unmanned aviation. The commercial pilots don't make what you think they would. Willing to bet not as much as a licensed electrician.
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All I know is I pay those guys twice what I pay my Duke educated plumber, and a great HVAC guy, too.
1/2 the time, twice the cost.
Pretty much this, buddy I grew up with, school etc is finally flying bigger jets for American...he’s been the captain for years on puddle jumpers, regional jets from Miami to the islands....now at nearly 40 he’s finally flying 737s from DFW hub, but he’s back in right seat, first officer.
To the OP; why not just dip your toes in, private pilots license, single engine VFR to start.
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Lol its highly depending where I work, when I work remote locations like alaskan border in the middle of nowhere/arctic/northern alberta pay is around 140-160k a year but im tired of that, in town pay is 60k ish. I own a home and have zero debt other than mortgage so if I could get a 100k salary job id be happy.
I might just do that, from what info I have gathered commercial schooling is around 35-40k which is do-able but could start with private and see where that takes me, pilots are in huge demand around here
To fly is human. To hover is divine.
Would be ideal but getting a job is nearly impossible plus schooling is 3x the cost... I wish..
If I were a US citizen I would have joined the air force and gone full bore into that.
My grandfather had a flight school, even with unlimited Jet-a burning @ $200 an hour, it still took an awful long time just to rack up the required hours for your rating.
He flew for the sheriff's department for 15 years, and stored the county's OH58c at his place, but personally owned quite a few schweizers, last one being the first production 269d(333) in 2000. Once you fly a helicopter it's hard for a fixed wing to keep your interest.
Probably the largest market for commercial helicopter pilots I would think would be Vegas, i've been down the grand canyon a few times and there's a constant flow of tour's its ridiculous, other wise ya getting a rotary gig is pretty hard without military experience. Ive flown with some amazing nam vets that are unmatched in ability and skill, cant train what they've learned.
He flew for the sheriff's department for 15 years, and stored the county's OH58c at his place, but personally owned quite a few schweizers, last one being the first production 269d(333) in 2000. Once you fly a helicopter it's hard for a fixed wing to keep your interest.
Probably the largest market for commercial helicopter pilots I would think would be Vegas, i've been down the grand canyon a few times and there's a constant flow of tour's its ridiculous, other wise ya getting a rotary gig is pretty hard without military experience. Ive flown with some amazing nam vets that are unmatched in ability and skill, cant train what they've learned.
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Commercial rotor-wing pilot here. Though my schooling was paid for by US taxpayers, it is really expensive to get the ratings I have without military experience. I just retired, and I am rolling right into a civilian MEDEVAC job.
The airlines are looking at a huge lack of pilots in the next few years. Most of their senior captains are ex Vietnam pilots who are fast approaching mandatory retirement. To help with recruitment, the base starting pay for a second in command pilot has almost tripled in the last few years. You might want to look into it a little more in depth.
The airlines are looking at a huge lack of pilots in the next few years. Most of their senior captains are ex Vietnam pilots who are fast approaching mandatory retirement. To help with recruitment, the base starting pay for a second in command pilot has almost tripled in the last few years. You might want to look into it a little more in depth.
Thanks, that is what I have been seeing/hearing. I love all the aspects of communication, GPS, Radar. I'm sure i'd be 10x happier flying cargo in a turboprop than what I do now. Even if pay was the same for a few years, that is ok.
Helicopter pilot would be sick, but isn't it nearly impossible/extremely expensive to obtain life insurance in that line of work?
As I was de-planing a regional flight tonight, I realized I knew the pilot.
8 years ago, he was the lead singer of the damn good garage band that counted the house across the street as home base. I'm guessing he was 17 or 18.
He went to a well known flight school with operations nearby. Then he hired on as a pilot with skydiving jump zone, collecting hours.
Maybe 3 years ago, he was hired on with a regional carrier connected to one of the majors.
Next month, he starts with Spirit Airlines. I'm guessing he'll be 2nd in command for quite some time, but I'm also guessing he'll be Captain for a major airline before he's 30. And he's not military.
He's flown his ass off getting there, and I salute him. He's probably still not paid all that well, but he's making an investment that will pay off dearly, and soon.
8 years ago, he was the lead singer of the damn good garage band that counted the house across the street as home base. I'm guessing he was 17 or 18.
He went to a well known flight school with operations nearby. Then he hired on as a pilot with skydiving jump zone, collecting hours.
Maybe 3 years ago, he was hired on with a regional carrier connected to one of the majors.
Next month, he starts with Spirit Airlines. I'm guessing he'll be 2nd in command for quite some time, but I'm also guessing he'll be Captain for a major airline before he's 30. And he's not military.
He's flown his ass off getting there, and I salute him. He's probably still not paid all that well, but he's making an investment that will pay off dearly, and soon.
Commercial Multi Pilot here (Not Airline Pilot, Working on Flight Instructor now). Industry is needing pilots bad right now. Pay is going up but you need to see through the bonuses and really need to make sure you read contracts. Reality is you can go to any regional, build your time, then jump ship to a major. Captain upgrade in the regionals is averaging 18-24 months from people I talk to. Take an intro flight at your local flight school and try things out to see how you like it. It's a great time to get in on the fun. I forget which seat (FO/Captain) but my cousin is at Spirit right now flying the A320 and is based out of Detroit (The Dirty D) as the pilots call it. He's loving it.
TLDR; get an intro flight, and then if you like it, train as much as you can towards commercial, get your flight instructor (CFI) and grind away towards 1000 hours. That's the way most people do it nowadays if you're not in the military (so I've heard)
As an aside OP, the pay at the airlines is all based on seniority, which often resets when you switch aircraft (CRJ to 737 for example), switch seats (FO to Captain, and vice versa), and or switch companies.
TLDR; get an intro flight, and then if you like it, train as much as you can towards commercial, get your flight instructor (CFI) and grind away towards 1000 hours. That's the way most people do it nowadays if you're not in the military (so I've heard)
As an aside OP, the pay at the airlines is all based on seniority, which often resets when you switch aircraft (CRJ to 737 for example), switch seats (FO to Captain, and vice versa), and or switch companies.
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I can only imagine what the guys who are the getaway helicopter pilots for some of the major heists come out with. Hover over a building for a few minutes, pick up the crew, take your cut. Not bad. Not bad at all.
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