Contract flying?

[WMUSIGPI]

35 and single? Unless you have an ex wife with three kids to go along with that girlfriend, I would suck it up for a year and move on to a major. If you can't afford a paycut for a couple of years as a single 35 year old, you need some help in managing your finances.

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner....
I know plenty of 40+'s going to Northwest (one of the worst paying first year places) with 2+ kids/wife/house, ect. Second year pay shoudn't be to much less than what you'd get as a 10th year captain at the regionals, by year 4 you should be ahead for sure.....

 

[rabbit]

Hey!

Three years ago, I left my job as a captain at a US regional for contract work in Asia. It was easily the best career move I ever made. I make very good money, have paid off my debts, saved a ton of cash and basically, completely turned my financial future around for myself and my family, who also moved with me. While it hasn't always been easy, it has been more than worth it and I have absolutely no intentions of coming back home to fly. It's a big world out there and many parts of it have booming aviation sectors with a great demand for experienced crews. My contract position allowed me to meet and work with talented pilots from all over the world and besides being extremely lucrative, has led to the next step in my career...I will soon be starting a permanent position with a very well regarded Asian carrier. I have a wife and two children. The contract position has allowed us to see the world, expand our mindsets and basically live a pretty interesting life. I fly new, well maintained equipment and have no fear for my job security, something most guys at home will never have. I also find the place I live in to be much safer than the States, which is important to me and my family. While it's not for everyone, it has been a great experience for us. The positives in a nutshell: Good tax free (or mostly so) salaries, global networking opportunities, truly excellent health insurance which completly blows away anything I had back home,meeting great people from all over the planet, great vacations, way more job security than you'll ever get in the US (my opinion) and expanding your personal and professional abilities. If you're the kind of person who relishes an adventure, then it might just be for you. Perhaps most importantly, I feel good about not accelerating the downward movement of pilot payscales. I truly thought I deserved more in terms of pay than what many US carriers were offering and with a little hard work, I have achieved this. Best of luck to you and anyone else considering the move. There aren't many of us Yanks flying around the world, but I hear more and more of us on the radio these days which says something about the aviation climate back home. No disrespect was meant to those of you flying for US carriers, I wish you all the best and hope your carers are long and fulfilling! But, for me, living and flying overseas has been the best move I've ever made in aviation. If you do go, make sure you are with a reputable contract outfit and go with an open mind. Lots of interesting ways to live a life! Good Luck! Cheers!

 

[Dumb Pilot]

Is great to have choices. At 35 you seem a little young to be thinking in terms of running out of time in the US market, but to each its own. What I'm wondering is why with those times you are looking at contract flying on a CRJ when there are many good contracts flying wide bodies?
At 43, I went with contract flying and I'm enjoying it very much. My advise would be to look at other options out there for contract flying, not only CRJ's and not only in India. Many, many good opportunities out there flying heavy Iron with heavy pay, commuting contracts and even US based contracts

Good luck

 

[Aviator]

.....

 

[Aviator]

.....

 

[freight dork]

It's funny how the people who bash overseas contract flying are the people who have never done it. The best move I ever made was leaving my US 121 carrier and going on contracts. I make the same pay as a 10 United FO. In Dec I flew 55 hours with 5 overnights and Christmas off, and that was a normal month for me. I'll also have my house in the US paid off in less than five years and then I can move back to the US and afford to take the pay cut to go work for a US airline. I wouldn't trade the experiences I've had, people I've met, and places I've seen for a boring US airline job. Best of luck.

 

[oceandude]

India is not bad! Expand your horizons!:nuts:

 

[sluggo]

Air Japan? I've got an interview in April. Any info. should would appreciate it.

 

[mach10]

Sluggo, are you going to Seoul for the screening? I'm hoping to get any info on the AJV interview. PM me if you find anything.

 

[Dumb Pilot]

This is a post from pprune that I think is pretty informative.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=247182&page=15

PM me if you want to know anything else.

Good luck with the interview