Ag pilots respected in industry?

[skihard]

I have a chance to work for an ag company this season driving a truck, which Im excited about. I was told I be able to fly for them the following season. I'm thinking that I want to do this for a while. I am wondering if I want to move on later, how my experience will be looked at in the industry. I have done tours in a 44, and flight instruction in the past.

 

Thanks in advance for input

[avbug]

Ag Pilots respected in industry?

 

 

In my experience, not so much. There have been a lot of cowboys come and go in the ag world. Good ag pilots tend to be very, very good sticks. There are a lot who have come into the industry and left, many in a body bag or dumpster, who have given the rest a bad reputation.

 

A background in ag gives makes it expensive to get life insurance, sometimes for the rest of your life.

 

Ag work is a respectable profession, but not everyone sees it that way, including future employers.

 

How you're viewed by future employers is largely up to you, but when your resume is the first thing to cross their desk rather than your hand offering a shake, don't be surprised if some operators round file it long before they give you a call.

 

If you have aspirations on the fixed wing side of the fence, especially corporate or airline, think long and hard before you undertake ag work.

[Dragbrace]

If your end goal is to build time, Ag is not the place to do it. A good ag pilot is about 5 years in the making. 1 to 2 years on the ground to learn the ropes of the business and 3 seasons in the air to acquire the skills needed to properly do the job.

 

Ag is more about knowledge and decision making than about flying. You will have to have a good working knowledge of all the chemicals you work with in order to properly apply them. Also Ag work is all about customer relations, You will need a good working knowledge of the crops you will be applying pesticides on and the problems the grower faces in raising them.

 

As avbug pointed out Ag is a very respectable and rewarding career but you have to be willing to dedicate yourself to it.Iyou are to receive those rewards. If you plan on being a short timer in the Ag world forget it. You will not be doing yourself or your employer any favors.

Edited March 27, 2016 by Dragbrace

[R22139RJ]

If Ag is your goal then follow your dreams. Every person is different. I was very lucky and got trained up the first season. It's a lifestyle more than a job. I don't see family, friends or many days off during the season but I have 5 months off during the winter. I work for a company that mostly sprays timber. I think anyone is going to respect a pilot that can work 14 hour days in the heat, doing 70-100 landings a day off a truck at max gross weight. I fly about 500-700 hours a year, I think it's a good time builder.

 

The chemicals are a huge aspect. The price of Chems far outweighs the application cost. The farmer, grower doesn't care about how fast you turn, just the straight line you make over the field. Every application we do gets downloaded and sent to the grower on a log file. We send them a printout of the shape file and where we applicated along with the shape file they sent us. The money is great but only with time.

 

Plus you can give your 135 friends crap. You know, with their air conditioning, duty days and schedule... Oh wait....