Having a backup
Posted by LeeTheNomad@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 17 comments
I want to preface this post by saying that I am not planning on quitting flying and I’m on track to build pretty consistent hours as a CFI, although I’ve been thinking about what my contingency plan would be if I lost my medical or if the industry takes a huge downturn.
How many of you have been in the same scenario? What other plans do you have as a back up or should I just stop worrying about it and stick it out entirely on flying and progressing my skills/hours to be more competitive? Is it unreasonable to try and work on other things now that I’m in the beginning stage of my flying career?
Gabriel_Owners@reddit
I had a previous career as an engineer. I'll fall back on that, albeit for a significant pay reduction. If that fails, that's fine because my wife is a doctor.
That's my plan. Time to start thinking about yours.
hadshah@reddit
Hey! Current engineer, aspiring pilot. How was the transition from being an engineer to being a full time pilot? Did you get all your licenses while working? I currently only have a PPL and am about to start getting the rest of them done while working full time.
always_gone@reddit
Another engineer turned pilot.
Depends on your job. I managed to get onto nights and stay there while I finished out CSEL and CFI. Took 6 months combined. Was a lot, but totally manageable. The biggest hurdle is availability during daylight hours (not much of an issue for your IFR though), which shouldn’t be too much of an issue this time of year in the northern hemisphere. But you’ll come to a virtual stand still once the days get short again.
hadshah@reddit
I enjoy my work as an engineer, but flying has been my main calling since I was young. I’m finishing up my MS in AeroEng while working full time so I understand and am used to the grind, don’t expect any flying to be worse than writing a MS thesis after a full days of work.
InJailForCrimes@reddit
I don't know, my life and my job sucked before I became a pilot. If I lose my medical, I'm just gonna walk into the ocean and let the circle of life do its thing.
MrAflac9916@reddit
I am at 497 hours and I decided to get my masters degree this year. It’s not gonna delay my progress to the airlines by all that much… I had a fund that would pay for it… It would’ve been done for me not to get it.
runway31@reddit
Yep, aerospace engineering is my backup
MyPilotInterview@reddit
The problem is if you’re 3rd year Delta, unless your actively practicing law on the side, have a successful small side business you can scale nothing is going to replace your salary -
toraai117@reddit
For a single guy no kids if you gave me a delta salary for 2-3 years I’d scale my business enough to live comfortably if I lost my job.
Plus the max 401k and IRA contributions for 3 years would be a massive boost in retirement savings
Gotta hustle and invest in something.
Guysmiley777@reddit
Which is why when you win the airline job lottery you should take steps to set yourself up for some form of a "FIRE" plan from the start even if you don't want to retire early.
And revisit it every 5 years to align with your situation so that if/when the bottom drops out you are not suddenly left up a creek sans paddle.
DefundTheHOA_@reddit
Might not replicate the salary but being a bellhop is a great backup plan for Delduhh pilots. They can even use their old hat and coat
toraai117@reddit
The air national guard…
At my unit which is dirt poor they still have money to get you a couple years of full time work on short notice.
Depending on your job you have even more opportunities.
The caveat is if you lost your medical there’s a good chance the same condition is disqualifying in the military. But the military waiver process is significantly better than OKC
PropToThePeople_FMY@reddit
We always tell students that they should think of their pilot career as that of a professional athlete.. What we mean by that is that you should 100% have a backup plan just in case you have a medical issue or something beyond you're control happens.
This is a very cyclical industry and chances are that you WILL experience a significant downturn, loss of job, health issue or something else during a a 30 year career. It's almost inevitable.
That being said, get that first job at the airlines (or whatever you are pursuing) then start planning a side hustle immediately. Dont wait!
Many pilots we know are realestate agents, own income generating property, accountants and other jobs that are always in demand AND are flexible with their schedule to accommodate the airline career.
You're head is in the right spot. Keep acting on that instinct.
Cheers!
Chris S.
KintaroGold@reddit
Worked construction for 5 years and I’ll do that again until someone will hire me to fly something
thereasonableaviator@reddit
You can always plan on contingency’s but to be honest it won’t matter too much if you have a degree in something you never utilized, you will be taking a massive pay cut if they airlines dry up. Any comparable career pay wise you won’t be able to just break into after you have been out of the industry for years. At best you’ll be able to poorly compete with the people fresh out of college.
DefundTheHOA_@reddit
No think only fly
You sound young. You have a ton of options to choose from if you stop flying. Keep it in the back of your mind but don’t dwell on it just keep flying and building hours for now
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
I want to preface this post by saying that I am not planning on quitting flying and I’m on track to build pretty consistent hours as a CFI, although I’ve been thinking about what my contingency plan would be if I lost my medical or if the industry takes a huge downturn.
How many of you have been in the same scenario? What other plans do you have as a back up or should I just stop worrying about it and stick it out entirely on flying and progressing my skills/hours to be more competitive? Is it unreasonable to try and work on other things now that I’m in the beginning stage of my flying career?
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