Consequences of taking a break...
02-12-2009, 05:58 AM
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2005
Position: Aviation Consultant
Posts: 320
ShortBus -
there are some good suggestions here and it seems the common thread is to stay flying... I have to agree, but with some caveats.
I think you already know how important it is to keep flying - recency is very important. Let's get to that in a second.
It is also so, so important for you to follow what drives YOU. If you want to leave aviation to pursue something that nags at you to do, then do it. Take the consequences when it comes. How will you feel if you do not pursue this venture? Will you regret it? Will you always wonder? Your quality of life and that of your family should be priority #1. Let's face it, as much as we all love flying - it really is just a job.
I wish there was some secret crystal ball where we could tell you what is going to happen in the future with aviation, but since there isn't such a thing we can, and must, make decisions based on today.
Now, back to the aviation industry. We saw the recency question in interviews spring up in relatively recent past. Why? Glad you asked!
From my perspective it became an important question when airlines were in the middle of a hiring frenzy, looking for quality people who really wanted to fly for a living. Two important reasons come to mind:
1. There were so many who were attempting round-two in the industry, having left in the 90s due to lack of jobs. Some of these folks hadn't seen the inside of a cockpit for many years, or perhaps only long enough to claim currency. For the airline this did not spell a good ROI - they may have trouble in training...costing the company a lot of money. What we found is that those who had at least 100 hours in the last six months stood a much better chance of successfully passing training with no delays.
2. How serious do you take this profession? Airlines only want to hire professionals - those who are serious about their job, the industry and their performance. After all, you will be representing that airline and professionalism is important.
The biggest question here is what will the face of hiring look like in a handful of years? Good question. We're all wondering that one. There are just simply too many variables to make a guess. We can use historical data to predict to some degree, but everything about our industry has changed. The economy continues to suffer, ticket prices remain at 1970s levels, fuel continues to bounce all over the map and we have a new administration in office. This industry has begun its morphing, but I personally don't think it's even close to being finished. We just can't really guess what it's going to look like in 2-5 years.
I hope this helps you in some small way. You really have to decide for YOU and for TODAY. Who knows - you might make this profession change and really love it...never wanting to return to the aviation industry!
Lori
there are some good suggestions here and it seems the common thread is to stay flying... I have to agree, but with some caveats.
I think you already know how important it is to keep flying - recency is very important. Let's get to that in a second.
It is also so, so important for you to follow what drives YOU. If you want to leave aviation to pursue something that nags at you to do, then do it. Take the consequences when it comes. How will you feel if you do not pursue this venture? Will you regret it? Will you always wonder? Your quality of life and that of your family should be priority #1. Let's face it, as much as we all love flying - it really is just a job.
I wish there was some secret crystal ball where we could tell you what is going to happen in the future with aviation, but since there isn't such a thing we can, and must, make decisions based on today.
Now, back to the aviation industry. We saw the recency question in interviews spring up in relatively recent past. Why? Glad you asked!
From my perspective it became an important question when airlines were in the middle of a hiring frenzy, looking for quality people who really wanted to fly for a living. Two important reasons come to mind:
1. There were so many who were attempting round-two in the industry, having left in the 90s due to lack of jobs. Some of these folks hadn't seen the inside of a cockpit for many years, or perhaps only long enough to claim currency. For the airline this did not spell a good ROI - they may have trouble in training...costing the company a lot of money. What we found is that those who had at least 100 hours in the last six months stood a much better chance of successfully passing training with no delays.
2. How serious do you take this profession? Airlines only want to hire professionals - those who are serious about their job, the industry and their performance. After all, you will be representing that airline and professionalism is important.
The biggest question here is what will the face of hiring look like in a handful of years? Good question. We're all wondering that one. There are just simply too many variables to make a guess. We can use historical data to predict to some degree, but everything about our industry has changed. The economy continues to suffer, ticket prices remain at 1970s levels, fuel continues to bounce all over the map and we have a new administration in office. This industry has begun its morphing, but I personally don't think it's even close to being finished. We just can't really guess what it's going to look like in 2-5 years.
I hope this helps you in some small way. You really have to decide for YOU and for TODAY. Who knows - you might make this profession change and really love it...never wanting to return to the aviation industry!
Lori
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