feltf4

I am curious how you made it through 1st year regional pay?

I am thinking about making the jump back to the regionals until (hopefully) a major calls. That being said. I have been at 1st year pay before an it was rough! Commuting, crash pad, student loans... on and on. At the end of the month money was coming out of my savings to do it. So I left for a job that paid better. I have saved a substantial amount of money, living well below my means for about 2 years now. Now I have a lot of money in my rainy day fund and enough that I could live off of for one year at 22K. Just curious how you did it? I don't have Mommy and Daddy to throw me some money every once in a while or to live with. Plan on moving to base and hopefully finding a roommate. Toughest thing I am trying to come to terms with is the significant pay cut.....

pilotmec

I didn't go to work for a Regional but took a big paycut for a more stable position in the long run. So I worked for Sam's Club as a cashier for 1 1/2 years until the pay was better. They were very accommodating with my schedule at my primary job and I enjoyed working with the public. Pray about it.

wrxpilot

I left a higher paying corporate pilot job for the regionals, and planned for the worst case financially (reserve, monthly guarantee, etc.). I came in with a pretty decent savings, and planned to use $5k or more as needed. I also had zero debt, which made the whole thing possible with a minimal amount of pain. Fortunately I was off reserve very quickly, and ended up making significantly more than my worst case. In fact, I really didn't even touch my savings.

By the way, most people don't have their parents helping them out. Maybe I'm just reading into that a little too much, but don't carry that chip on your shoulder.

USMCFLYR

That is one of the biggest chips that people seem to carry on their shoulders - in aviation and life in general. Sometimes it is a fine line between helping your children do better than you did and teaching them some personal (and financial) responsibility. Much of that attitude is jealousy seeping into the open and carried on the wings of 'I did it myself'.

block30

What frustrates me is that the financial aid for colleges *automatically* assumes your family IS kicking money to you, the student. There is no way around that except for a few criteria. I was so glad my first deployment to a warzone was under my belt after my first semester of college. I was finally a veteran and could claim independent, like I had always been. I realize this isn't about school, but regional flying, none the less the expectation of family contribution is....shall we say, common??

block30

To answer the original poster's question, having no debt and a second job helped me a lot. My second job was my National Guard check and benefits, but I imagine any second job will help. Not sure if you are in a position to join up yourself, but that's my story. I share it because hopefully my story will help someone else.

feltf4

Thanks, but that was just a comment before others posted about it. No chip on my shoulder.. Just stating a fact.

USMCFLYR

Understood - but it certainly sounds like you would be resentful of someone who did in fact have help from their parents.

Maybe a better way of putting it would be something like 'I'm on my own' or 'I support myself'?
The whole "Mommy and Daddy" tag usually comes along with some baggage.

In any case - I won't give you any advice about how to make it on first year regional first officer pay since I didn't have to live on it myself, but just some general life advice and fiscal responsibility would be the key. Make good decisions, live within your means, save when able (remember the old 'pay yourself first' mantra).
Good luck if you decide to make the transition.

wrxpilot

I don't think it's that common from what I've seen in close to 3 years at a regional. A lot of people I work with made it happen themselves, and have the debt to prove it! . I paid for everything myself, and don't have loans. But it also took me longer.

Either way, it doesn't bother me. One of my good friends had a lot of help from his family, basically paying for everything. But he's a great guy, and has helped a lot of people in this industry out (including me, big time).

wrxpilot

Ok. Well I work where you're trying to get on, and I'm telling you you're "fact" is not so.

Like I said already in this thread, I came here from a higher paying job and had to make it all work myself too (like I've done since I was 17, including college and flight training). I outlined how I did it. If you want specific details, feel free to PM me and I'll fill you in on anything I can.