Airlines based out of MCO

I think the normal course of action is that you go a regional owned by the major you eventually want to end up with. Your "base" is not where you live. You hop on a flight (usually in a jump seat, etc.) to your base. You live in a crash pad (why pilots used the word "crash" I don't know) with a bunch of other pilots while you're on the job. When done you hop on a flight and head home to the wife and kids. Repeat.

Eventually with enough hours you move up / move around.

At least this is how my CFI explained it to me.

You can eventually make a nice living. Nice meaning above the median income / more than most. Not doctor income. I don't see that one becomes a pilot to be in the upper 10% income bracket. Many other ways to do that. You become an ATP because you like to fly.
 
Long-time lurker and 40+ y/o student pilot with no interest in a professional aviation career. Take with a grain of salt and not intended to troll or prompt a flame war.

It took airlines two years to recover from 9/11, per CEO of JetBlue (https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/03/11/jetblue-ceo-coronavirus-airlines). Unfortunately, the end is not yet in sight for current situation. While I am personally optimistic this could be under control in a few weeks, the (global) economic damage has been done and will take a while to recover.

While it is reasonable to expect some pent-up demand for a quick recovery--and I am one of those periodically hoping to find a great fare for Europe in the fall--the current situation is demonstrating how well (or in some cases not) many functions can be handled virtually. I would not be surprised if there is a longer-term drag on business travel requirements as firms recognize that a significant portion of travel is nice-to-do vice have-to-do. (Additionally, it remains to be seen how well businesses recover from the economic downturn and the measures they'll have to take to cut costs.) I will go from several years in a row with near demi-god status with a major carrier to nothing since my own travel has ceased and will be hard to justify at the same levels through the remainder of the year (once the restrictions are eased).

As many others have already stipulated, aviation is fickle. Have a plan B (and C and D). There is also more to an aviation career than flying for the airlines. Take time over your training journey to learn what else exists. Learn about critical infrastructure and see whether you could add value to utilities to build time (or a different type of career). Learn GIS programs and see whether you could add value in the world of surveying and land management. I met a guy through training who got his PPL so he could do photography over large engineering projects as part of his day job. He is not a professional pilot, but aviation clearly plays a big part of his professional life. Learn finance and go into asset management. I know there are hundreds of other stories like that out there and I suspect folks might have great ideas. Basically, see if there is a way to combine aviation with something else you might be passionate about.

Good luck. Things will get better, and your timing could work out perfectly in two or three years.
 
NoVA GA said:
Long-time lurker and 40+ y/o student pilot with no interest in a professional aviation career. Take with a grain of salt and not intended to troll or prompt a flame war.

It took airlines two years to recover from 9/11, per CEO of JetBlue (https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/03/11/jetblue-ceo-coronavirus-airlines). Unfortunately, the end is not yet in sight for current situation. While I am personally optimistic this could be under control in a few weeks, the (global) economic damage has been done and will take a while to recover.

While it is reasonable to expect some pent-up demand for a quick recovery--and I am one of those periodically hoping to find a great fare for Europe in the fall--the current situation is demonstrating how well (or in some cases not) many functions can be handled virtually. I would not be surprised if there is a longer-term drag on business travel requirements as firms recognize that a significant portion of travel is nice-to-do vice have-to-do. (Additionally, it remains to be seen how well businesses recover from the economic downturn and the measures they'll have to take to cut costs.) I will go from several years in a row with near demi-god status with a major carrier to nothing since my own travel has ceased and will be hard to justify at the same levels through the remainder of the year (once the restrictions are eased).

As many others have already stipulated, aviation is fickle. Have a plan B (and C and D). There is also more to an aviation career than flying for the airlines. Take time over your training journey to learn what else exists. Learn about critical infrastructure and see whether you could add value to utilities to build time (or a different type of career). Learn GIS programs and see whether you could add value in the world of surveying and land management. I met a guy through training who got his PPL so he could do photography over large engineering projects as part of his day job. He is not a professional pilot, but aviation clearly plays a big part of his professional life. Learn finance and go into asset management. I know there are hundreds of other stories like that out there and I suspect folks might have great ideas. Basically, see if there is a way to combine aviation with something else you might be passionate about.

Good luck. Things will get better, and your timing could work out perfectly in two or three years.
Click to expand...
Thanks for taking the time to write this. Great info and thoughts!
 
NoVA GA said:
Long-time lurker and 40+ y/o student pilot with no interest in a professional aviation career. Take with a grain of salt and not intended to troll or prompt a flame war.

It took airlines two years to recover from 9/11, per CEO of JetBlue (https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/03/11/jetblue-ceo-coronavirus-airlines). Unfortunately, the end is not yet in sight for current situation. While I am personally optimistic this could be under control in a few weeks, the (global) economic damage has been done and will take a while to recover.

While it is reasonable to expect some pent-up demand for a quick recovery--and I am one of those periodically hoping to find a great fare for Europe in the fall--the current situation is demonstrating how well (or in some cases not) many functions can be handled virtually. I would not be surprised if there is a longer-term drag on business travel requirements as firms recognize that a significant portion of travel is nice-to-do vice have-to-do. (Additionally, it remains to be seen how well businesses recover from the economic downturn and the measures they'll have to take to cut costs.) I will go from several years in a row with near demi-god status with a major carrier to nothing since my own travel has ceased and will be hard to justify at the same levels through the remainder of the year (once the restrictions are eased).

As many others have already stipulated, aviation is fickle. Have a plan B (and C and D). There is also more to an aviation career than flying for the airlines. Take time over your training journey to learn what else exists. Learn about critical infrastructure and see whether you could add value to utilities to build time (or a different type of career). Learn GIS programs and see whether you could add value in the world of surveying and land management. I met a guy through training who got his PPL so he could do photography over large engineering projects as part of his day job. He is not a professional pilot, but aviation clearly plays a big part of his professional life. Learn finance and go into asset management. I know there are hundreds of other stories like that out there and I suspect folks might have great ideas. Basically, see if there is a way to combine aviation with something else you might be passionate about.

Good luck. Things will get better, and your timing could work out perfectly in two or three years.
Click to expand...
Note that there is not a large destruction of infrastructure; when everyone heals, they are healed. I have a different way to think about things, but my plan of selling my company, retiring, and becoming a CFI to prevent boredom aren't happening this year.
 
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