Midlife Career Change

[RedAndWhiteBaron]

Thank you everyone for your well thought out replies. I've got my medical scheduled next week, and I don't anticipate any issues. Once that's done (I don't want to get my hopes too high in case I'm medically unfit), I'll be going to BFC to sign up for flight school.

So far the overwhelming response is, more or less, "yeah you can do it, but at your age it won't be a cakewalk". Thank you all for your input.

If anyone has reservations about the Brampton Flying Club, let me know. I can go to Barrie or Collingwood or Guelph to train, even the Islands, if it turns out that Brampton is a shitty place to learn.

[cargocowboy]

The instructor is more important than the flight school. Find an instructor you jive with and flight school doesn't matter so much.

I switched careers at 35 and had zero trouble finding a job and moving up quickly. I'd say that my maturity and work record has been a benefit, not a deterrent, so far. Yeah, the pay sucks, but flying is the easiest job I've ever had, and the money will come. If it doesn't work out, you've got a fall back. I cringe at the 20yr old, 80k in debt, making 30k/yr, with no other life skills. But hey, whatever works for each of us.

Good luck.

[stormshadow503]

I would not recommend going through training at Brampton. I recently went through their college program and my experience with them was extremely transnational. They really don't give a damn if you are leaning or not but they are very quick to tell you you need extra SIM sessions or more dual flights. Instructors in general are relatively new with a very few class 1 and 2.. hence most of them are interested in building their own time.

ground school was more like lets get this over with kind of attitude..

do some research, there are plenty of good schools around the GTA. Oh and they also charge you a membership fee which is a complete waste ( although its a relatively small amount, it will add up if you choose to renew every year, unless you end up working there as a flight instructor).

[RedAndWhiteBaron]

Realistically I can deal with the "let's get this over with" attitude to ground school - I've done ground school 3 or 4 times now. I studied aviation in highschool (physics of flight, meteorology, and navigation), learned to fly gliders at 16, did an air studies summer camp with the cadets (top of my class), and then of course the 5ish years of ground school once a week with the cadets. It's a "let's get it over with" thought to me too. Aside from catching up on what's been happening in flight theory and air law in the last 25 years (and yeah, there've been changes in the last 25 years), I think I'm ok there. I hope I'm not being pompous or overconfident; please everyone challenge me if I am. It was 25 years ago now.

They also run 3 ground schools at a time, and you can just drop in on any class, at any time, if you think you need review. I've never been a good online learner, I do need a serious refresher, and they're 20 minutes from me. I could walk there if I had to.

In terms of instructors - my one and only requirement is: I do not want a time builder. I don't need a 20k hour retired airline pilot, but I do want someone who is teaching because he/she wants to teach, not someone who just wants to get the duck out of fodge the moment the airlines call. I think that's realistic?

And really the membership fee doesn't bother me. How many cities have an airport like Brampton? (Really, please tell me of them.) I don't mind supporting that for a couple hundred a year. Flying is not a cheap proposition, and the membership fee is barely a rounding error when compared to the cost of professional flight training.

Beyond all that, I'm only looking to get my PPL at Brampton, and then continue to a CPL elsewhere. Brampton doesn't offer float training (although they used to, not that I'd take it, we have no lakes big enough to land on anywhere within a hundred miles), it's extremely flat, and more than that, going the private route, I want to learn in a number of places; I'm even considering the Yukon. So, I'm not doing the college program or even my CPL - just my PPL at Brampton.

[pelmet]

Remember something...IT continues during times like this. I suggest remaining in IT, keep the income coming in and either fly at a flying club or purchase an aircraft for pleasure. It can be very rewarding.

[Jeremy Kent]

I can go to Barrie or Collingwood or Guelph to train, even the Islands, if it turns out that Brampton is a shitty place to learn.

I’m not positive, but I believe the school at Guelph has been closed for years. The air park’s down the road from my place, and I don’t see anything other than private aircraft overhead. Great restaurant there for breakfast, though, if you’re ever in the neighbourhood!

[Av8r7]

I say go for it.

But remember this industry can turn on a dime, and there are no guarantees.

The economy and aviation industry are long over-due for a correction.

Just stay out of debt!

nah man, its a pilot shortage! "This Generation will be the first to go through their careers without layoffs!"

-all sarcasm aside, man the wave was fun while it lasted! Going from an airline Captain to not being able to land a minimum wage job was a tough cookie to swallow. If the OP is still considering flying as a career....be warned....its a great job when its good but when its bad, its baaad!

[EPR]

What he said!

[OneYonge]

Please don’t offer to fly for free. That will close more doors than it will open in this very very small industry.

Hi, can you elaborate on this? I was not aware that this is a thing. What typically happens when a pilot offers to fly for free?

[garfield]

Please don’t offer to fly for free. That will close more doors than it will open in this very very small industry.

Hi, can you elaborate on this? I was not aware that this is a thing. What typically happens when a pilot offers to fly for free?

Your pay at the end of the year is 0.00$

[Invertago]

Those who still have jobs are often seeing companies cutting wages and working conditions because now they can because they have a pile of over qualified candidates ready to take your spot... and they love to say "you should just be thankful you have a job"

If your employer hasn't taken this opportunity to screw you over, you are one of the lucky ones.

[North Shore]

^Isn't that what the lawyers call 'Constructive Dismissal'?

[Invertago]

Yup it is, but If I have to get lawyers to deal with my employer I’d rather just leave. I don’t want to work for a place that does that kinda crap.

[OneYonge]

Please don’t offer to fly for free. That will close more doors than it will open in this very very small industry.

Hi, can you elaborate on this? I was not aware that this is a thing. What typically happens when a pilot offers to fly for free?

Your pay at the end of the year is 0.00$

But you get compensated in flying hours, as opposed to renting and paying for the hours... Isn't the reason people go after hours is it leads to better paying jobs?

It's a race to the bottom situation i know, but
what is the reason it closes doors? Someone said cleaning toilets opens doors, why wouldn't offering free labour?

[OneYonge]

Those who still have jobs are often seeing companies cutting wages and working conditions because now they can because they have a pile of over qualified candidates ready to take your spot... and they love to say "you should just be thankful you have a job"

If your employer hasn't taken this opportunity to screw you over, you are one of the lucky ones.

You have to understand the companies don't have enough income to keep you unless you take a pay cut. They aren't screwing you just because they are adjusting to COVID decimating the industry.

[Invertago]

Except when they congratulate you on having the busiest month since 2019 and there has been no slow down, only a pay cut. If I were twiddling my thumbs with no work I'd understand having a pay cut, but when they're constantly asking us to come in on days off its a little hard to believe.

[iflyforpie]

Offering to work for free does several things:

1) It offends more sensible owners and their employees who’s livelihood is based on offering a service for price. They often have to deal with bottom feeding competition and chisel charters constantly trying to undercut them.

2) It shows that you don’t value yourself. If you don’t even value yourself, how much are you going to value their customers, their equipment, etc? How are they going to retain you? How are they going to know if you are even going to show up on a given day?

3) It kills connections. That’s what helps you out especially in times like this. Insider information, a reference, a referral, etc. Everyone wants to make a living and if you are one that is willing to work for nothing.. they don’t want you around at better companies willing to work for less.

4) You can get blacklisted. There are/were some companies that offered free or pay to fly positions and they have been ruthlessly drug in the mud across forums and the industry. Even an operator like Swoop there has been talk of it being a career-killer because the pilots there make far less than their WJ compatriots.

[iflyforpie]

Those who still have jobs are often seeing companies cutting wages and working conditions because now they can because they have a pile of over qualified candidates ready to take your spot... and they love to say "you should just be thankful you have a job"

If your employer hasn't taken this opportunity to screw you over, you are one of the lucky ones.

You have to understand the companies don't have enough income to keep you unless you take a pay cut. They aren't screwing you just because they are adjusting to COVID decimating the industry.

The revenue stream for my job wasn’t affected by COVID and I got a pay cut.

However, I got it back after a month and thankfully it’s remained at the pilot shortage levels.

[OneYonge]

Offering to work for free does several things:

1) It offends more sensible owners and their employees who’s livelihood is based on offering a service for price. They often have to deal with bottom feeding competition and chisel charters constantly trying to undercut them.

2) It shows that you don’t value yourself. If you don’t even value yourself, how much are you going to value their customers, their equipment, etc? How are they going to retain you? How are they going to know if you are even going to show up on a given day?

3) It kills connections. That’s what helps you out especially in times like this. Insider information, a reference, a referral, etc. Everyone wants to make a living and if you are one that is willing to work for nothing.. they don’t want you around at better companies willing to work for less.

4) You can get blacklisted. There are/were some companies that offered free or pay to fly positions and they have been ruthlessly drug in the mud across forums and the industry. Even an operator like Swoop there has been talk of it being a career-killer because the pilots there make far less than their WJ compatriots.

Thank you. I agree with you and I have not seen this laid out as you have done. This is something to think about. I have heard people say you cannot just expect to get paid. When starting out...you might have to accept getting paid less than minimum for a while. Or maybe not even at all.... You have to clean toilets etc etc , suck it up until you are deemed worthy to get paid to fly. If you try to get paid or get a better deal....then you are being..."entitled". I could be wrong, but this seems to be the more prominent way people see it.

[photofly]

Getting paid not-very-much to clean toilets is very different to piloting an airplane for free.