Tell me about your first job experience and how you got it.

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Aerial survey. I had 225 hours and did a 4000km (about 2500 miles in freedom units) roadtrip to apply to about 75 jobs in person. Even went all the way to places like Sioux Lookout and Pickle lake for those who know where that is. Asked to speak with the chief pilot/ops manager/ base manager / whoever was available at the time. Literally last company I applied to, emailed me 2 hours later to schedule an interview the next day and I got the job.

Flew 172s and 206s for survey for about 300 hours, then got a pc12 gig in my hometown.

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LessTraining1985@reddit (OP)

How long did u move away for?

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Full_Wind_1966@reddit

9 months. The survey job was "nomad" if you will. So I got rid of my apartment and just lived on the road for 9 months. Not for everyone but I had a blast doing it.

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LessTraining1985@reddit (OP)

Hmm sounds like smt that would be fun. Might actually consider that

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Mobe-E-Duck@reddit

Bugged the heck out of a survey operation until they realized if they didn’t hire me they’d never have a peaceful moment.

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LessTraining1985@reddit (OP)

Just spam emails??😂😂

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Mobe-E-Duck@reddit

And phone calls.

I applied everywhere to avoid becoming a CFI. I was - and am - still interested in instructing but it seems whenever I get serious about studying for it I get hired on somewhere.

At some point a survey operation in Florida gave me an interview, gave me a contract, and then just never called me in to start. 6 months of “call again in two weeks” before they admitted they lost or didn’t get the government contract I was being hired to fulfill and the owner put a good word in for me with another survey operation just to get me off her conscience.

So then I bugged the heck out of them. “You were way over the top” was what the owner said regarding my enthusiasm and persistence. And he was right.

Got my second job networking over the radio with another operator’s survey crew enquiring about the weather they were seeing.

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LessTraining1985@reddit (OP)

I don’t really wanna become a CFI so I might just have to do the same thing u did

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Throwawayyacc22@reddit

This is the way! (I’m guessing)

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Mobe-E-Duck@reddit

Persistence is the only way I’ve gotten any of my flying work. That and having randomly met the chief pilot on a flying excursion not knowing he was the chief and helping chuck bags while asking about the plane.

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ce402@reddit

Faxed my resume to 5 banner tow companies I saw advertising in the Trade-A-Plane.

Two weeks later I got a call from one of them, inviting me out for training. Drove half way across the country, slept in the hanger for 3 weeks until I saved enough to pay a deposit on a room for the summer in town.

Worked 6 days a week all summer, pretty much broke even. Next summer got 2 of my buddies jobs there, we rented a 2 bedroom attic. Good times.

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LessTraining1985@reddit (OP)

All about the grind huh

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ce402@reddit

You asked. After 9/11, options for entry level jobs were pretty limited. You could grind, or sit on the sidelines and not work.

Won’t even tell you what the second job was.

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LessTraining1985@reddit (OP)

What was the second job

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Full_Wind_1966@reddit

He just said he wasn't gonna tell you

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Apprehensive_Cost937@reddit

Applied for the job at the company website. 210h total time.

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LessTraining1985@reddit (OP)

That’s crazy

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Apprehensive_Cost937@reddit

A completely normal, every day thing, as soon as you cross the US border.

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LessTraining1985@reddit (OP)

Oh yeah for sure, seen that thousands of times

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nadi207@reddit

Well I gave them $50,000 and they decided they like me enough to employ after that.

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LessTraining1985@reddit (OP)

😂😂

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SilverGO777@reddit

Just got accepted, class starts in september i think, i have 210 hrs (not in the US)

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LessTraining1985@reddit (OP)

Congrats

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WillSoars@reddit

How I got them? Hanging around the airport and getting to know everybody.

Them . . . obtained my Commercial-G the summer I turned 18, and have picked up a flight or two at my club . . . it wouldn't pay the bills, but technically it was my first paying job.

Added CPC-ASEL that fall . . . at about 300 hours split almost half-and-half gliders and airplanes. I had been trying to get a tow job with my club . . . they had plenty of "volunteers", but hooked me up with another club who did not. So, I got the endorsement and worked the summer I turned 19 towing gliders . . .

But, after I got the tow gig, and before it started, I got a job flying high value freight in low value airplanes (also thanks to contacts that I had made).

With three jobs I could just about afford to live.

I'll hit 1,500 wa-aa-ay before I'm 23. Banner tow and Alaskan Bush Pilot are on my things to do list.

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DeltaPapa402@reddit

2007, Cape Air. 300 hours total time, 30-ish multi-engine time. Job was First Officer flying the Cessna 402 on New England Island hops and EAS routes.

I was a Florida Tech student and walked into a job fair at Embry Riddle to interview for the position after applying online and talking to a Cape Air recruiter at another job fair a month prior. Myself and an Embry Riddle student got the job.

I'm pretty sure being a former Massachusetts resident who did a lot of flying with their private pilot license around the state in the winter helped me in the interview.

It was a fun time flying, made me a heck of a lot better pilot. Just sucks because all of that flight time and experience are sitting unused now that I do ground based aviation jobs.

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Efficient_Presence63@reddit

Lemme tell you how I survived 3 years at southern airways express

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Efficient_Presence63@reddit

Anyone genuinely interested can pm me lol

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Necessary_Topic_1656@reddit

seems like southern today is the modern day equivalent of Great Lakes / the EAS dumpster fire flying 1900s 25 years ago.

1500hrs got you direct entry captains that had no 121 time and no 1900 time flying with FOs that had more 121 and 1900 time than the captains they were paired with.

everyone is glad to leave but is grateful for the flight time they got and just hoping to survive their time keeping their certificates intact without any FAA violations.

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Throwawayyacc22@reddit

Please please please tell.

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SquishyCoffee6640@reddit

Bro what there’s a write up about it? Please point me where I can find that!

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Throwawayyacc22@reddit

Here

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EdBasqueMaster@reddit

Part 135 caravan operator. Emailed their customer service address while in instrument training. Somehow got forwarded to VP of flight ops who said to email him back when I got my commercial. Emailed him within an hour after passing my checkride. Interview a week later. In class within two months.

This was in a time, like today, it was not easy to get these jobs out of school. I cold called probably 40 companies before I even had my ratings. This is who replied and it paved the way for my entire career for a variety of reasons. Shear luck and timing on getting that initial response.

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BeefyMcPissflaps@reddit

I'm going to assume you're not asking about your first CFI job so I'll bite... I was a CFI at a flight school whose owner also crewed a couple of PC12's. It started innocently enough.. "hey dude, I have an open seat to SLC" and I did that a few times. Just getting the feet wet. Then it turned into "hey do you want to start flying Nxxxx with xxxxx"? So I got a few hundred hours over the next year making about $500/day as pilot #2. We didn't have a PDP but I logged everything dual. About 9 months and 300 turbine hours later the dude I was flying with just up and quit. So I was the logical option because the owners of the airplane and I had a great relationship at that point. I've since flown about 2k hours in the PC12. The last 900 hours or so as a mentor pilot/instructor. That first opportunity opened every door to an incredible career that isn't corporate, isn't airliner but pays very very close to the same between the PC12 work I still do and my full time Falcon gig. You can make nearly airline captain money in the corporate world but it takes a LOT of things falling into place and the right situations.

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Oregon-Pilot@reddit

That’s a great story, /u/BeefyMcPissflaps

All about relationships and right place/right time

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JeffSmisek@reddit

That's awesome! Good for you

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PinKindly7701@reddit

First job was an a320, applied through company website, was 22 and had around 150 hours at the time (integrated training, EASA). Base was about an hour's drive from my hometown. The company went bust a year and a half later.

Needless to say, not the US.

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lnxguy@reddit

After two years of full time instructing and ferrying, I got a call at 5:30am and it was a Part 135 charter/scheduled airline in Alaska. It was Friday morning and I had to be in a remote village in Southeast Alaska the next day and be able to pass a check ride on Monday. I made it through the next few months ant was all a blur before things settled down.

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minfremi@reddit

At around 400TT and 6 months after getting commercial SEL, I found a link to Indeed on a Facebook aviation group. I emailed my resume to the company located in Guam for a sightseeing job. Some days later I get an email in Japanese from the owner of the company. Interview was conducted entirely in Japanese.

Couple weeks later I quit my job at Signature FBO and fly to Guam, stopping in Taiwan for a couple days. Arrive Taiwan 3.3.2020 and left 3.7.2020. I would be one of the last group of tourists to be in that country before COVID. I arrive in Guam.

I was explained in the interview, and also in person, that due to the fear of COVID, business is slowing. I have flown a couple times with other people to get to know the routes for training. Slowly, other people were sent back to their respective home countries. I would have been the last one remaining. ICE related things were happening because of no visas with the other pilots. The owner disappeared.

I stayed in Guam for a bit because we had toilet paper there. Then gas was running out in the company car, I was using mobile wifi and not connected to any cell network, I decided it was time for me to leave (I couldn’t even go to the beach). I looked up places to finish up my AMEL training. Despite my parents telling me to come straight home, I instead diverted to Minnesota for a week and came home with a new temp certificate.

I wouldn’t have another flying job for 2 years after that. However during those two years, I have worked on helicopters and seaplanes. So alles gut.

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grumpycfi@reddit

Between that comment and your flair you have a vastly more interesting career than...most, I'd say.

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Adonde_Cuh@reddit

I had shaken the hand of the owner of the flight school when I was doing my commercial. Sent him an email with a resume and 2 weeks later he hired me.

Networked a similar way into my first jet as well.

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CryOfTheWind@reddit

I had around 120 hours rotor and was picked up to fly a TV news helicopter in Toronto.

Took me 6 years of ground crew and networking to get that one. Ended up with the job because of a random connection I made. I was working as ground crew for a survey company on a contract in Uranium City Sask (corner of the province near Alberta and Northwest Territories). We were behind schedule a couple months because of equipment procurement issues so the rock doctors who were supposed to use our findings were there too.

I was chatting with their pilot who was flying for a different company and found out that his company had just taken over the tv news contract. After a couple weeks working with them I got my resume hand delivered to the chief pilots desk. Next opening a couple months later and I was in. Guy quit no notice and I was already familiar with the airspace having trained there so was tossed in right away.

Never know when you're going to meet someone with the connection that can be your big break!

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Zealousideal-Ad9663@reddit

First real job was as a CFI in 1996 at $16 per hour net + free housing. Did that for 7 years. Then moved on to flying cargo Single Pilot ME and then a Regional that no longer exists.

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chickcox@reddit

First job was a pizza boy. The hot cougar in the neighborhood said she needed a sexy pizza boy to show up and giver her some sausage. Walked straight into the pizza shop and signed up.

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Independent-Reveal86@reddit

Aerobatic joyrides. I knew the right people. 207 hours.

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AceTend@reddit

Walked my resume in to a local 135 company

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360_bratXcX@reddit

i got a call from delta saying that even though i’m too young to work for them that they’d make an exception for my young age (17), and wanted such an experienced young woman to come fly for them 🥹🥰

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Ambitious_Bee9564@reddit

The day I graduated college (Embry Riddle), I got a call from Delta to be a 777 captain. They said they could waive their typical minimums because of my exceptional performance at the world's most prestigious university.

Unfortunately I got displaced from the 777 and now I'm stuck as a life-long A-330 captain flying the same old Europe destinations for the next 39 years.

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360_bratXcX@reddit

ur so lucky bro

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Key_Slide_7302@reddit

At least the graphics is FlightSim continually improve with each release! You’re getting a better version of Europe with each flight.

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iamflyipilot@reddit

Applied to every job I met to mins for right out of college in 2019. Took the first job responded, happened to be flying aerial survey. Absolutely fell in love with the job and type of flying and have been doing it ever since. I have switched companies a few times to find one that had the best QOL.

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F1shermanIvan@reddit

I had about 225 hours and 22 on floats when I got hired to fly a 185 on floats in the middle of nowhere in Manitoba.

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Busy-Examination8821@reddit

Aerial survey. Pure luck and timing. ~250 hours with the ink still wet on my commercial cert.

The Aerial Survey Pilots group on FB was a great resource for openings.

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