Q. Airplanes have always been my first love, but I raised my kids first. Now I would like a career involving flying and/or airplanes. I have an associate’s degree in business management, and a private pilot certificate. I have entertained the thought of teaching or charter flying. Do you have any advice or directions for me?
—Brad from Bloomington, Illinois
A. Brad, you represent throngs of pleasure pilots who have secretly harbored the dream to chuck it all later in life, damn the rat race and 60-hour weeks, and go fly for a living. The catch, though, is making a living.
Those who are best prepared for that midlife transition are folks who have lots of excess cash from years of work as a professional in some other field; who have a thriving business that can take care of itself thanks to good management and personnel; who have a stable source of income such as a military or government pension; or who are phenoms in the world of eBay.
At the very least, you will need to earn the commercial single and multiengine, and flight instructor certificates. Make some calls. Check with several of the flight schools and academies advertising in this magazine. Not knowing exactly how much time and experience you have, expect to invest tens of thousands of dollars to earn enough certificates and ratings to be both hirable and competitive.
Once hired, expect to earn way less than you are probably making right now. It may be years before you see $50,000 annually as an instructor or charter pilot. However, it can be done if money isn’t everything. Of course, another option is to look at charter flying or flight instruction as a part-time avocation while you continue to work outside of the aviation industry. Many aviators satisfy their aviation lust by serving as contractors for as many hours or days that they want.
As for instruction, the best gigs with the best pay are with either an aviation university or a professional pilot training center. Charter flying can mean flying Piper Senecas on a contract basis for $100 a day or Gulfsteams for $100,000 annually, so Part 135 flying is all over the board.
Over the years, I have written articles addressing both career paths. Go online (flighttraining.aopa.org) and search on “Consider 135 Operations,” “Make a Living Training Corporate Pilots,” and “CFI of Higher Learning.”
There is little doubt that the industry will be hurting for pilots in the next two to four years. I predict that there will be a great need for people just like you who look to instruction or charter flying. There may be no better time to make those dreams a reality.
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