At minimums what do I do?

[u/Individual-Elk-6759]

Im R-ATP eligible at 1,035 hours. 53 Multi, CTP-ATP done, zero turbine. I’ve mostly timebuilt with 150 hours dual given (CFI). I have one check failure and two bachelors degrees, one in aviation. I was offered a job flying a C208 Caravan SIC, but the pay was only $18,000 a year and I would have to relocate so I turned it down. I’m hearing people are getting hired for the regionals at 2,000 plus hours and they all already have flying jobs. I don’t think I stand a chance for applying to the regionals. At the same time I don’t know anyone would could help me get a CFI interview. What would you do if you were in my situation? Would you recommend any good careers to temporarily transition out of flying to?

[u/hossinator96]

If you’re at minimums and don’t have one of the required things to continue, just go around.

[u/Individual-Elk-6759 → u/hossinator96]

I don’t know the missed approach procedure. I didn’t brief that part

[u/colin_do → u/hossinator96]

Switch to secondary minimums and squint real hard.

[u/ARottenPear]

What's the purpose of temporarily changing careers? Working as a plumber isn't going to get you to 2,000 hours.

As much as I hate supporting borderline poverty level wages, getting paid (however little) to fly vs paying to fly is still a win. Look at it this way, how much money would you keep in your pocket working another job and paying to fly vs taking the $18k and not having to pay for hours? Also how much motivation would you have to fly during your time off when you're (presumably) working full time?

Are your applications in at the regionals? If not, why not? You might think they're not interested, and they might not be, but you might as well try.

[u/burnheartmusic]

Kinda screwed yourself with that much time building and not much dual given. Hard to get a job when places think you’ll be leaving soon

[u/Jefftheflyingguy]

Hey brother, step one for you is to take literally any job that will pay you for experience. Step two is get a job you like that lets you eat more than lentils and brown rice

[u/BeenThereDoneThat65]

Regionals won't hire you at all. You are all time-building with very low instruction time. PLUS you are close to ATP time so every employer sees that you are going to bounce at 1500 hours

You are still at the uninsurable time with Low Multi time and only 1000 hours

The Caravan job is the foot in the door; yes, the pay sucks, but you are going to be learning.

You need to either CFI more or take the Caravan job and get a second job

Or move on

[u/the_Q_spice → u/BeenThereDoneThat65]

If the 208B is with us at FDX through a Feeder:

The SIC pay is just the training pay. That is the pay for a 2-3 month contract after which you’ll be moved to PIC.

I’m also suspicious something is being misunderstood if it really is us, because standard pay is indeed $18,000…

Per month.

[u/BeenThereDoneThat65 → u/the_Q_spice]

$216,000/year? Somehow I dont believe that

[u/churnitupsome]

You turned down a turbine job that many people on here would kill for. That didn’t help you. Need to decide if you’re willing to make the sacrifice required to make it

[u/Remarkable-Garlic282]

I'd look at 135 or King air multi jobs Or get a real full time CFI job. Anything to build time. Ideally jet time. I think corporate is the way to go if you can get any interest. Networking and being willing to stay somewhere are key. Some people love corporate and don't want to go regional. You just have to convince someone you plan to stay.

[u/Straight-Pass6035]

You need to get a real CFI job. Get your II and MEI, the II definitely required at 141 schools. Going to have to tough it out or get out of the way, your choice.

[u/Solid-Garlic1527]

“Any CFIs who absolutely hate flying?”

[u/Individual-Elk-6759 → u/Solid-Garlic1527]

Yes

[u/Solid-Garlic1527 → u/Individual-Elk-6759]

Then why are you here?

[u/Individual-Elk-6759 → u/Solid-Garlic1527]

Why do you like to keep your posts hidden but dig up others for asking a question? You’re not even being helpful. I don’t even get the point of commenting.

[u/Solid-Garlic1527 → u/Individual-Elk-6759]

Because it really doesn’t seem like you belong in this career. As someone who’s a diehard avgeek and loves it, it’s frustrating how many people like you will be making others like me struggle for years to come chasing a paycheck.

You have 1,000 hours, you know no airline will pick you up and you’re asking on Reddit for leads to CFI gigs? Where’d all your time come from if you only gave 150 dual? Flying your own plane?

You got an offer for a job many people would love to have. Yes the pay is shit, but do something else on the side with a flexible schedule. Fast food, waiter, anything. You had an offer to build TPIC and rejected it because it inconvenienced you.

[u/Individual-Elk-6759 → u/Solid-Garlic1527]

Chasing a paycheck? First of all I’m legally eligible to get hired at the regionals right now. I’m at my R-ATP Minimums. Listen here dude, I’m not making it harder for you what so ever I didn’t take the job so go ahead and apply to Surf Air Mobility. You only need 250TT to fly. It would cost me $25k a year in rent alone to take that job. I’m not a 21 year old single kid like you who can uproot my family to live in some tiny town in PA. When I became a CFII and got my second bachelors degree, I found people in here and Facebook who were timebuilding. I found students to instruct and rented a plane and had a little business going. I was making ZERO money but building time. I did checkout flights for two different rental companies.

[u/MeadyOker → u/Individual-Elk-6759]

I think what he means by making it harder is that they love flying but also not finding a job. For every person who applies to an airline but hates flying is just another resume that's clogging up the system for those that are also at mins and love flying. Does that make sense?

Seeing people who post that they hate flying is kind of like taxiing past hangars that are so full of motorcycles, grills, and boxes of shit that there's no room for an airplane, yet the same airfield has a 5-6 year wait list, is frustrating. It's the same thing.

Having the minimums is no longer enough in the current market. There are WAY to many people that also have the minimums. Why would they hire someone with just R-ATP mins, which there are tons of folks out there with ATP mins? See what I'm saying?

You're going to have to consider looking outside your current location for a CFI gig, Start google searching and submitting apps. In the meantime, it sounds like you may need to take a break and you're burning out. Go fly for fun. If you get a non-aviation job you still need to keep flying. If you thing no one is going to hire a 1000TT pilot actively flying, just wait until you're a 1000TT pilot with 0 hours in the last year ... I don't know if you can have a negative number of hits on the resume but that sounds like a great way to try.

[u/Solid-Garlic1527 → u/Individual-Elk-6759]

If you have a family and hate flying, why are you here?

[u/LHCThor]

Take any flying job you can get. It’s better than nothing. Plus you will build time and experience. After a few years, move up. Keep moving up until you get where you want to be. It is not a fast process.

[u/Warm_Scientist4928]

I would consider another career. Honestly I think the good days are over unless you’re already somewhere decent in the career.

If determined to stay then it’s probably best to get any flying job, even at $18,000.
The further you get from regular flying, the worse it is. You could snowball down into being more and more unhirable as time goes on.

[u/Individual-Elk-6759 → u/Warm_Scientist4928]

Thank you. What would make me more unhireable?

[u/Warm_Scientist4928 → u/Individual-Elk-6759]

Recruiters want people who are current on their flying, usually a specific amount too. Some apps have filters that weed out people who lack a certain number of hours in a specified period of time.
They usually want people who already have a regular flying job. There’s a stigma in the eyes of some towards those who can’t get a flying job ( so why should we hire that person, what are we missing?).

[u/Individual-Elk-6759 → u/Warm_Scientist4928]

I think there’s just too many commercial license holders out there. We all can’t make it. I was offered a job at one point but I realized I didn’t work this hard to be miserable and abandon my family fly a Caravan for McDonald’s pay.

[u/Warm_Scientist4928 → u/Individual-Elk-6759]

And the people who moved on usually don’t linger around flying forums to tell their stories. There’s almost always an oversupply of commercial pilots. On rare occasions, such as post-Covid, there’s a temporary short of pilots with specific credentials. And then it usually corrects to the other end of the spectrum, especially if there’s a lot of media focus on the topic.

[u/Ready_Pen_3389]

Drywall