Positives:
- You get to fly some really great airplanes.
- It's not boring.
- You see the world.
- You get to serve your country, and you are making a difference. Every night when you put your head on the pillow, you know that you did something meaningful. People you never meet appreciate your efforts and hard work.
- A true sense of camaraderie and deep relationships.
Challenges:
- You will long for boring when you are being shot at! The routine of airline flying will look pretty good right then.
- You move approximately every three years.
- Your life is not your own. Someone is always telling you what to do.
- Depending on what airframe you fly, it is typical to have a ten to sixteen-hour duty day for 1 hour of flying. Pre-brief, plan, brief some more, finally fly, then debrief. It is not a great flight time builder. If you are trying to build flight time, you won't get a large number of hours, but you will get quality. (note- ATP requirements are reduced for hours acquired in the military).
- You have a 10-year commitment after Pilot Training.
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Positives:
- In addition to good pay and benefits, you don't take your work home with you. At the end of the trip, you set the brakes and go home. The office is not calling you on your off days.
- If you belong to a large flight department, you decide how big your paycheck will be. Bid 'min sked' (minimum schedule) and fly just enough to stay current. Or fly your fanny off and pick up overtime trips.
- Free travel for you and your family.
- You chose your own destiny by deciding when to upgrade to Captain or a bigger aircraft.
- If you decide to commute to your base you can live anywhere.
- Lower stress than other options because most everything is already planned, scheduled, dispatched, written up, etc. Have a problem? Call Maintenance. Don't like the flight planned route? Call Dispatch. Unruly passenger? Call Ops. As senior Captains like to say, ’Expand the team.’ If time is available, there is no reason not to phone a friend.
- Airplanes are typically very well maintained.
- The airlines invest thousands of dollars into training and the full motion simulator be programed for any scenerio. In training, you will to see everything.
Challenges:
- You will see everything. The sim is a pro and con. After a few years it is very rare to be surprised by something new. There is nothing 'new', you will learn a new procedure, but really it is the same old stuff packaged in a more efficient way. You need to guard against becoming desensitized.
- Flying the line can become routine. After a few years, the newness and the fun wear off. There are only so many commercial airports in the US or the world and they all start to similar. An ILS is an ILS is an ILS.
- It is hard to stay motivated because the challenge of learning new things just isn’t there. Complacency is something you must combat constantly.
- Deep meaningful connections with your fellow crew members or your passengers are rare. Often your are best friends when on the the trip but once the trip is over it is a real effort to stay connected.
- The TSA is a hassle and the logistics of busy airports and downtown layovers become a grind. It is not glamourous like you hoped it would be.
- Seniority is like golden handcuffs. Careers at airlines last longer than some marriages do.
- No darling boutique inn on the beach for several days straight. Every night you are sleeping in a new bed at a large hotel chain and you don’t get the points because the rate is negotiated.
- Eating well, good sleep and exercise are a real challenge.
Check out our How to Get Ratings page to learn more
Positives:
- Lowest stress of the other career choices.
- You don’t have to deal with unruly passengers. You don’t have to divert for a drunk in the back of the plane. Turbulence? No big deal, go ahead, fly the most direct route and save 30 minutes, but it was a bumpy ride. Boxes don’t complain.
- You don’t have to deal with traffic jams at home or on layovers. You work odd hours and are typically going against rush hour traffic.
Challenges:
- You fly at night. You are always tired. Your best friends are earplugs and a white noise machine.
- If you fly for Fed Ex or UPS, you probably live in Memphis, Louisville, or Anchorage. Commuting is still possible but more difficult for a freight pilot because of the departure times.
Positives:
- Every day is different, and every day is challenging. You won’t get bored.
- You get to know your passengers and fellow crew members very well.
- You are at home more than other career choices. You are on call, but you are at home.
- Depending on whom you work for, you could be on call for 14 days, but the airplane never moves from its cozy little hanger. The typical Part 91 corporate pilot flies 200-250 hours a year. Again, depending on whom you work for, it could be out and back and spend the night at home or multiple-day layovers, and it's cheaper to get you an airline ticket back to the base than getting your crew a hotel room.
- You can eat healthier than other career choices when you are on the road. Before departure, you order the crew meals. You get a wide variety to choose from that is always fresh and very expensive (but no cost to you!), not just peanuts and a bag of pretzels. After you land, you get to take the leftovers from catering with you on the layover.
- You get to keep hotel points and frequent flier miles, and often, they are lovely hotels or boutique inns in vacation spots.
- You fly into little airports with FBOs that are happy to see you. No crowded airports with cranky airport security. No overworked and understaffed gate agents.
- Expenses account for actual expenses rather than per diem.
- You are in control of everything: maintenance, dispatch, layovers. You don’t rely on someone else to make sure things run smoothly. It’s up to you.
Challenges:
- It’s a stressful job - you are it. There is no phone a friend. When someone else drops the ball, the hotel, the fueler, the catering company are short-staffed; you are the one that gets blamed and has to fix it, even though you have no power to change things.
- Many charter pilots complain about the schedule. With some outfits, you only spend 5-10 nights away from home per month, but you are on call up to 28 days a month. A pilot typically gets four hard days off per month. The rest are all on call.
If there is a divorce, an acquisition, or a downsizing, the flight department is probably going away, and you are on the street looking for a new job. - You don’t have a union.
- Airplane maintenance can be a problem.
Note - All charter positions are different. Flight time requirements to get hired are higher than other career options due to airplane insurance. Part 135 Charter is a great flight time builder, but your time is not yours. You fly a lot. But you typically cannot depend on which days you will have off. Part 91 Corporate Pilots typically fly about 250 hours per year. On-Demand or Contract Charter pilots typically get paid well but have to pay for their own training, pay for their own health insurance, and plan their own retirements.
Corporate - Corporate Flying Resources