Expert: David A. NewMyer - 4/21/2004

Question
what kind of working coditions are involved in a  piloting career?

Answer
Hi, Erica:

Thanks for your question...I will try to assist!

Actually, pilots work in all kinds of conditions, so it depends on what sort of pilot your are talking about.  In general, the working conditions get better as you gain experience and are able to have a larger, wider choice of who you fly for and what sort of flying that agency or company does.  I will answer this question, therefore, by levels of experienced as expressed by numbers of Pilot in Command or PIC flight hours that one must have to do a particular job:

Below 500 hours PIC:  Normally the main job you will get at this level of flight experience will be as beginning flight instructor.  The working conditions vary from working out of a local flight school with one or two other instructors to working in a large FAR 141 Pilot School where you have a standard syllabus for everything.  Large FAR 141 Pilot schools can be at universities or colleges or can simply be privately owned technical flight schools such as Flight Safety Academy or Delta Airlines Academy or Pan Am International Flight Academy (see their ads in Flying Magazine).  A flight school or a flight training company will work you very hard, especially on good weather days....in Calif, Florida, Texas and Arizona, that is a lot of the time!  You are paid hourly in most cases and at the better companies a salary is paid.  Benefits are rare but they are offered at the bigger flight schools and university flight training companies.  Average pay is $8 to 12 an hour.  Average salaries at colleges vary from $1750 to $3000 a month depending on where you are.

500 to 1500 hours PIC:  Advanced flight instruction jobs, charter jobs (flying for a non-scheduled Air Taxi Operator flying under FAR 135), specialty flying such as flying aerial advertising (towing signs), flying bank checks for bank clearing houses or flying pipeline inspection flights.  Generally 500 hours is the minimum # of hours required by aviation insurance companies for a job at an air taxi or specialty flying company.  Specialty flying and charter flying is AS NEEDED BY THE CUSTOMER, 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.  You have to be ready to go on short notice.  A demanding series of jobs but you have to realize that most people use these jobs as a stepping stone to bigger and better jobs, so, most do not mind the abuse of their schedule.  Pay is better than as a flight instructor but the key thing is to get a broader set of experiences with bigger and faster aircraft and, hopefully, some multi engine flight time.

500 to 1500 hours PIC WITH 100 TO 300 HOURS OF MULTI ENGINE EXPERIENCE:  A job with a smaller regional airline is possible at this level of flying experience.  Airline flying with an airline flying smaller turboprop or piston twins will usually be a maximum of 100 hours a month.  Most regionals schedule you 4 to 5 days of work a week and you will work a lot of weekends to start with since you will be a "junior" pilot at first on the seniorty list.  The better flight schedules normally go to the more senior pilots.  Regarding working and living conditions with a regional, you need to watch out for where their PILOT CREW BASES OR DOMICILES are located.  Some are located in big cities like New York or Chicago or Atlanta....and, since regionals do you pay well, you will likely be living in a "crash pad" with several other pilots in the same boat as you.  You will be on the road a lot...but, some of the smaller airlines will get out "out and back" the same day from a hub and require few overnights.  Only one or two regionals pay up to six figures ($100,000 a year) for a captain with ten years of experience.  The rest pay less than that.  Starting salaries at regionals are more like flight instructor salaries the first year....maybe $20,000 to $25,000 a year.

2500 to 4000 hours WITH 500 TO 1000 HOURS TURBINE PIC (OR CAPTAIN IN A JET) FLIGHT EXPERIENCE:  This is when you begin to qualify for a national or major airline such as jetBlue, Midwest, American or Southwest or a large cargo airline like FEDEX or UPS.  The lifestyle at some airlines will require several three and four day trips with total working days averaging 12-16 a month.  So, you will be gone a fair amount.  But, after serving any "reserve" time (that is, pilots at the beginning of their career with a company do not  get a schedule and fly a "reserve" schedule, filing in for pilots who call in sick, etc), your schedule gets better and more predictable with time.  With a large major like United or American or Northwest you might be spending time overseas, too....four and five day trips to the Orient, for example.  The pay at the most majors tops out at $250,000 a year for a 20 year captain on their largest aircraft.  Starting salaries at most of these type of airlines are in the $30,000 range.

2500 to 4000 PIC flight time with 500+ in jets:  Also gets you a chance to fly for a corporate flight department.  The lifestyles at these companies can vary a lot depending on their size.  The schedule is much like an airline schedule and the places you fly will depend on the type of aircraft operated....many corporate jets have intercontinental capability.  But, chances are you will be gone a fair amount on overnight trips.  Smaller corporate flight departments with only a few pilots will be at the mercy of the aircraft owners in terms of their personal schedules.

I hope that this helps.

Best wishes to you and let me know if you need anything else.

Sincerely,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
http://www.aviation.siu.edu