Q. I am a commercial pilot with instrument and multiengine ratings. I have more than 1,200 hours total time and 720 multi, but am having a very hard time finding work. Do you have any ideas? —Vince from Albuquerque
A. Well, Vince, if it is any consolation, you are not alone. When you say you are “looking for work,” just what kind of work? CFI? Regional airline pilot? Crop duster? What are the 10 companies that you would like to work for based on your experience? What part of the world? What are your goals? Too many starry-eyed aviators will say, “I just want to fly!” Not good enough. You have not provided enough info to give you any direction, which probably means you have none at the moment.
Let me take a guess. With your experience, you should be a candidate for a regional airline first officer position. Those are actually great credentials.
There is some good news on the horizon. ExpressJet recently brought 100 pilots back on line. This could be a first sign of a thaw in the hiring freeze.
A director of training for a significant regional airline fears for the future. He said, “I am worried about what’s going to happen around here in the next five years. I really don’t know where our future pilots are going to come from.”
If corporate flying is your objective, getting work is a business of networking.
Put yourself into the position of a director of operations or chief pilot at a large corporate operator such as Walmart or Exxon. If one of your pilots leaves for other pastures, how will you begin your search for a replacement? You will bring in a couple of trusted company pilots and ask, “Do you guys know of someone?”
Until a better day comes, insert “pilot jobs” or “CFI jobs” in any search engine. You will be blown away with the amount of work that can be had.
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