ElChronHolioll Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Hi, I just joined. I am 17 years old and in my junior year of high school and wanting to become a pilot. After reviewing the cost ( the local pilot school is Glacier Aviation, I have heard it is a good school is this true?) which is a-lot by the way. I first wanted to research future jobs to pay off schooling. Any help would be great. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle5 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 A future job that will pay off schooling? Well, if that schooling is flight school, good luck! Entry-level jobs in this business (or should I say THE entry-level job) is being a flight instructor. The pay for that job ranges from $0-800/mo. depending on how many students (if any) you can find? After your CFI tour of duty, the next level, which is working in the Gulf of Mexico, or tours in Alaska and the Grand Canyon, seems to pay around $30k,...from what I've seen? You'll need around 1500 flight hours for those jobs, by the way. So, if you're thinking of borrowing money for this, most here will say, DON'T! As for a good school? That depends on the individual and his flight instructor! What one person will say is an excellent school, another will say sucks balls!,...I know, that doesn't really help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombosi Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Hi.When I was heavily researching becoming a pilot and which school to go to, I came up with Glacier as my top choice. I had a nice chat with the owner on the phone.However, you can't rely on any of the flight schools for unbiased info regarding the job market and career placement. They will all tell you "there is no better time to become a pilot. All the Vietnam era pilots are retiring and there is a great lack of pilots...." etc... I am not in the industry, but my impression is that this is pretty much nonsense and what eagle5 says about the job thing is pretty much correct as far as I understand, which is exactly why I've put helicopters on the back burner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Hi, I just joined. I am 17 years old and in my junior year of high school and wanting to become a pilot. After reviewing the cost ( the local pilot school is Glacier Aviation, I have heard it is a good school is this true?) which is a-lot by the way. I first wanted to research future jobs to pay off schooling. Any help would be great. Thanks. www.goarmy.com 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azhigher Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Check out helicoptersalaries.com for an idea of what you can make at different levels of your career with different companies. At some point you're going to have to consider what field of helicopter work you'd like to end up in, i.e. EMS, utility, Off shore oil, law enforcement etc... Granted, this may be hard to do at such an early stage but once you have tentatively figured out where you'd like be you can have a much better idea of what jobs you'll be trying to land to ultimately get you into the field you want. Paying off school loans is tough but doable if you keep your expenses down. Staying single and living cheap will help out in that respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 The GI Bill is your friend. I used the old GI Bill and student loans. But in regards to the student loans, I had a full time job as a cop so paying them back wasnt to painful. I honestly dont know how entry level pilots survive while paying back loans. You dont even need to be a military pilot. The GI Bill will pay for it. But I wouldnt ponder it long though. I think the days of 100% funded flight school are coming to an end with the draw downs and troop reductions that are coming. Just a hunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeliNinja Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 First piece of advice, enlist or get a college degree/job in something you can tolerate doing for 5-10 years while you save up enough money to cover flight school. This also may allow you to fall back on that career in case flying doesn't work out or to help supplement your income during the lean years as a student and CFI. Second, which I alluded to earlier, is to resist taking out a huge loan. Live frugally and save like crazy. Those skills will help you during those lean years. Lastly, be absolutely sure that being a pilot is the only thing you can imagine yourself doing. It's not for everyone, it's hardly as glamorous as it's made out to be, and it requires hard work to get where you want to go. Be comfortable living below or near the poverty line and never burn a bridge as you will need the help of friends and family to weather the tough times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotortramp Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 After your CFI tour of duty, the next level, which is working in the Gulf of Mexico, or tours in Alaska and the Grand Canyon, seems to pay around $30k,...from what I've seen? You'll need around 1500 flight hours for those jobs, by the way. $30k seems really low for the Gulf of Mexico operators. Helicoptersalaries.com shows 60K as starting (2013) . Maybe I misread and you meant tours in Alaska and Grand Canyon which sounds about right. Just curious if there's something I don't know about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselBoy Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 A good CFI makes a lot more than that. The Gulf pays a lot more than $30k, the Canyon also pays more than $30k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonic04GT Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 A good CFI makes a lot more than that. The Gulf pays a lot more than $30k, the Canyon also pays more than $30k.Kind of what I was thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle5 Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 A good CFI makes a lot more than that. The Gulf pays a lot more than $30k, the Canyon also pays more than $30k. Sure, there are always people who may make more, I was just quoting pilots I know. The last job I interviewed for paid $7/hr to fly an R44, no flight instruction though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 paid $7/hr to fly an R44 Is that even minimum wage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle5 Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 (edited) Is that even minimum wage? I don't know what it is in the Carolinas, but the chief pilot did comment to me that it was sad that I'd make more money at McDonalds! Edited January 24, 2013 by eagle5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearly Retired Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Hi ECH, welcome to the board! Flying helicopters for a living is a unique job. No matter which segment of the industry you choose, you're pretty much guaranteed that your life will not be very "normal" or "mainstream." At age 17 you might only see the advantages in such a thing (and there are many) but there are also drawbacks and downsides to this lifestyle. Eventually, people do long for some semblance of normalcy in their lives. Don't count on it if you want to be a helicopter pilot. Even air ambulance jobs (what we call "EMS") - which are among the most "stable" in terms of schedule and location - usually require rotating day/night shifts and there is always the possibility of your employer losing the contract with the hospital and you having to move because of it. Such is life. You have a great advantage. Since the invention of Al Gore's internet, there is a ton of information available on becoming a helicopter pilot. There are many forums such as this one...good sites and bad sites. Take the question you asked in the first post of this thread, and ask it on the JustHelicopters.com "old" forum and you will receive more ridicule and abuse than you ever thought possible. You will come away thinking that helicopter pilots are sure a bunch of a-holes. Which...is not entirely incorrect. We are. We're vagabonds. We're gypsies. We're hugely independent. We think we're soooooo smart but we're usually not as smart as we think we are (and some of us are not very smart at all). We're typically extremely right-wing conservatives, politically. We all know more about the economy and running the country than the people we elected to do so. We're a lazy bunch - if we wanted to work hard we wouldn't have become pilots. We think mostly about ourselves first and foremost and *not* about the rest of the industry or our fellow pilots. We gleefully throw each other under the bus and stab each other in the back. And those are the *good* things I can say about helicopter pilots! So do your research. Don't listen to any one person or any one flight school. Read as much as you can. But don't make any snap judgments just yet. Go to an airport and meet some REAL helicopter pilots (this might take some effort). Take your time, get to know us, and form your own opinion as to whether you really, really want to pursue this as a career. Like someone else in this thread said, it's not for everyone. Good luck to you! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM5 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Starting out at 17....world at your fingertips! Many options, I suggest paying with money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 I suggest paying with money! I had a bunch of jokes to respond with, but they all sounded funnier in my head than when I wrote it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chitty777 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 If you can handle the commitment and lifestyle, try going mil. Every branch of service will have their pros and cons. It is up to you do decide which path you want. This site is pretty heavy on Army careers. check out airwarriors.com for navy, marine corps and some coastie info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridethisbike Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Is that even minimum wage? Looks like it's $7.25/hr... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Plan on struggling until you get past your instructing years. After that, your first job will be fifty to sixty grand. You won't see much change in that for some time to come...a gradual increase, but not a huge change. On the other hand, you'll be a lot farther into your career a lot sooner than your fixed-wing contemporaries, who will spend 10-15 years trying to work their way through the entry -level side of the house. In the end, they'll beat you on salary, but won't have nearly as much fun. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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