Flymeaway

Ouch. COVID has really done a number on a lot of people. Some have lost their lives; many more their jobs. Your timing was just as bad as it could be short of catching it yourself and being one of the small percentage that die from it. Everything comes crashing down in the few days between leaving your previous job and starting your new one. So no job and no unemployment. I can't do anything for you other than say I'm sorry and I feel for you.

usfsfire

Had a class the first week of June, I really wish the company would at least send out an email to us explaining what we could expect when things come back online. I honestly have no idea if I'll get a call or if we've all been wiped off of the company list somewhere. I hope people start flying more, these last 6 months have been horrible.

CRJiceADsucks

Fair, that might actually be the worst possible position to be in. Not on the property but already gone from the previous job. I was mainly directing my comment to people who were able to go back to their CFI/91/135/non-aviation/retirement gig or never left it and are financially doing ok, and just want to be able to fly shiny jets.

Flymeaway

This is a reason to come to aviation. If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. But you do need to consider your family. I don't know where you live or where you want to live so it's a little hard to say how much money you'll need to cover the basics. A lot also depends on how wealthy your family was growing up and how wealthy your wife's family was. Also how old your kids are and whether or not you want to provide a college education for them. Seriously, you cannot assume that you will ever get hired at a major. Lots of great pilots never get hired. You need to be able to treat it as a nice to have pleasant surprise, not an assumption or requirement.

Assuming our pay rates don't slide back to $19k/year after COVID, you can probably count on $50k to $60k for at least 2 to 4 years before upgrading and making $90k+. It's unlikely you'll be competitive for the next 2 years at least, and probably longer, so look at where you'll be then. Add that to your wife's income and any retirement you'll be getting immediately and that needs to be a comfortable salary for you indefinitely or you should seriously consider sticking with your 9 days of firefighting and then instruct part time. Or get on with aerial firefighting in the summer perhaps, if the fire department would allow it.

I really enjoyed my time as an IP and later as a part time CFI, but I didn't make much as a CFI. But I never, ever looked at it as something I had to do to get to a job I actually wanted. I knew guys like that, and they were generally pretty poor instructors, and not very happy. Worried about maximizing flight hours and that was it. I suppose that's true in any job. The guys that love it put a lot more effort in than guys that are only there to collect a pay check (or flight hours.) I've never been a firefighter, but if you enjoy instructing, working 9 or 10 days/month fighting fires to pay the bills and 10-12 days/month as a part time instructor to get your flying fix in and stay current sounds like a pretty decent life.

I don't think trying to work full time at a regional plus 9 more days per month fighting fires would be very easy. If you bid a reserve line and lived near your base, and things were slow so you rarely got called it might work, sort of. But, you're looking at probably only a couple days per month where you aren't either working or on call, and as a reserve you'll be flying at all hours of the day and night, but need to be well rested when you get called.

Gone Flying

who flushed their pools?

madcow

Are there any Envoy cadets out there, instructing? Will you guys get to keep your health benefits and family flight benefits while pilots at the 3 wholly owned get furloughed? Have you received any updates lately? Are you guys just going to continue to be the luckiest pilots in the industry after your easy Envoy Cadet interview last year?

Gone Flying

why did u post this in a SkyWest sub forum?

metx192

Southwest did but I'm not sure about the others.

Meep

Think most of them let you sit there for a year then have to re interview

savedbythevnav

For what it’s worth, they probably have no idea. We’re struggling to keep everyone on property, let alone worry about hiring forecasts.

Hopefully things will be more clear by springtime and you’ll be able to have an answer