Aviation as a Career

[ScudRunner-d95]

I received an email today from a young pilot asking me what I thought was a simple question, but then I got thinking about it.

Here is the Question:

[quote]Hey man I've had some thoughts over the past couple days and I was wondering what your thoughts were..
I saw pilot / flight instructor ranked at #4 best job in Canada in 2016 - I am looking at completing a CPL , however the salary and information online just doesn't line up with what people post about. Median salary of about 80k which surprised me.
Is aviation worth pursuing these days? What's your opinion on what the industry will look like in the long term future ?
I realize your in corporate aviation , which seems like an awesome place to be , maybe even with a second discipline ?
Thanks ,[/quote]


One of the main goals of this site is to encourage thoughtful discussion about flying and helping each other out. So I thought I would open this up to all your thoughts, I replied to him with a short answer and said I would get back to him with more as I was fairly busy at the time. But dammit this question has been rattling around the grey matter since receiving it, whats your opinion he reads this site so lets help him out.

Scud

Ill post my response later

[mmm...bacon]

pehaps Im in the minority, but i did very little research about salary and other things when I started.  and when ppl ask me 'why did I choose aviation?' I reply, that I didn't - it chose me - when i was 3/4/5/6/7?? years old and an airplane flew overhead.  F'in coolest thing I ever saw - and have seen since ( and that includes a fair number of shapely legs and feet pointed towards the ceiling! 8) )
its all very well to rumble on about salary and other things, but if planes dont reach out and grab you, then go and become an accountant, because you won't put up with the crap that aviation flings at you..

[David MacRay]

Dear career counselor ScudRunner ESQ,

I am old and fat. It seems I am starting to go blind mostly in my left eye. I am dumb as a tractor and no longer strong as a horse. I am about as strong as a miniature pony now. I have lost weight recently and if I don't give in to emotional over eating should be able to lose 80 of the 100 pounds my doctor wants me to lose.

Do you have any tips for how I could get through the transport Canada CPL written test? I tried studying but I have add like the younger actual melenials.

I plan to got to an optometrist and might try Harv's ground school. Though I suspect long hours staring into this screen is harming my eyes.

K thks bai.

[ScudRunner-d95]

I think if you go in aviation you should not just focus on salary or the airlines, you might be very disappointed. You should be aware or have exposure to all sorts of types of flying. Bush, Military, Fire Fighting, Corporate, Airlines, Regional. Ex Pat etc. You have to find something that fits your personality and life style.

I know of a few people that worked their ass off to get what they thought was the holy grail and realized what they had been striving for wasn't at all what they thought it was. If money is what your after become an Investment Banker or securities lawyer and buy a toy to tool around with on the weekend.  If you know you want to be a pilot it can be lucrative but there will always be trade offs.

Of all the flying I have done the most fun was the bush flying up in the Yukon, wages sucked old planes and it was dangerous at time. I really recommend to anyone who wants to improve their skills to head north first. When sipping coffee from my gold plated coffee mug holder I haven't heard one interesting tale from another pilot about instructing or that time I was sitting right seat flying ILS to pavement.

As far as money goes, well if you intent to live in a big city and have a big house well ya then that is very relative, I know a few guys in YQT who are making 100K and own their own homes on big acreages. They don't fly fancy flashy planes but have the lifestyle they want and I would say are richer than the guy making 180K in the GTA owing 700K on their mortgage. 

There are so many different ways to pursue aviation as a career that I think sure go for it and enjoy the ride, worst case you learn something about yourself and then go be comfortable at TC and tell others how they should operate.

[Colonel]

Pilots get into flying because they love it, but
they only stick around if the money shows up,
which with all the boomers retiring these days,
happens pretty quickly.  Not like in the old days
when you needed 10,000 hours to fly a ho, and
many pilots moved on to better-paying careers
with improved lifestyle.

PS  Agree on the nutjobs in aviation.  Often more
personality disorders at airports than mental
hospitals.  God help you if you don't nuture them
and tolerate them with big smiles.