Leaving aviation

This forum has been developed to discuss aviation related topics.

Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, lilfssister, North Shore, I WAS Birddog

garfield
Rank 4
Rank 4
Posts: 290
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 5:35 pm

Leaving aviation

Post by garfield »

Hi,

Does anyone of you ever tough of leaving aviation? I guess everyone did!

Is there anyone here who did it an was happy with his decision?
---------- ADS -----------
 
ditar
Rank 6
Rank 6
Posts: 407
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 1:09 pm
Location: This pale blue dot

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by ditar »

I have often thought about it. But then I realize I like working only half the month and am not sure I would like to go back to a 9 to 5 job. I've been out of my original career for so many years that it would be an uphill battle to try get back into it. And with a mortgage and kids to feed retraining for something new isn't an option. I know I would miss flying most times too.
---------- ADS -----------
 
YNYTS
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:15 am

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by YNYTS »

I left aviation a few years ago. flew for 10 yrs before pulling the pin. gained a lot of experience, and just the thought of starting back at the bottom with a new company and a pay cut, flying a bigger machine just didn't do it for me. I left and never looked back, started a new career making 100K a yr to start, and now I just rent a plane and fly on my own terms. I work about half the month and make double what I was making flying, and I only spent about 25 nights away from the family.
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
single_swine_herder
Rank 7
Rank 7
Posts: 627
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:35 pm

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by single_swine_herder »

Yup, I thought about leaving aviation, and had solidly made my mind up that I'd had enough of travelling around the countryside as if I were living in a Gypsy Wagon while trying to get "the right kind of time, training, and experience" so I would no longer have to be working for criminals.

A couple of them had screwed me over far too many times. Although I was doing what I wanted to do since I was about 5 years old, I was done, done, done, with the business, almost killed myself a couple of times while trying to satisfy some scumbag operator who would have made more money if I were dead in the airplane.

I was going to go to university and become an Electrical & Electronics Engineer..... another childhood interest that should pay well enough that I could buy a nice Piper J-3 with wheels, skiis and floats and fly for fun on blue sky days.

That was about 35 years ago. I was just waiting for university applications to open up, and I was going to be gone.

Then came a lifeline with a life preserver attached that had been tossed by Transport Canada Inspector Dave Brophy, who told me of a great job, and recommended me for it.

From there on out, my career changed for the better, and because of that break, I continue to do what I've wanted to do since I was five.

Many people drop out along the way for many different reasons, some who stick it out never manage to find a decent situation regardless of what they do or who they know, some seem to do absolutely nothing but manage to grab the brass ring and live a charmed life.

If you look for justice in this business, or think it is like a chemistry lab demonstration experiment predictable outcome by getting the right mix of ingredients .... it ain't gonna happen.

People often ask me "when are you gonna retire?" My answer is that I retired when I was about 23, left my previous career, and started in aviation.

As the expression goes .... "your mileage may vary."

There is the story.

SSH

Edit ..... one of the best bits of advice I received was "Don't limit yourself to only flying airplanes. This is a big industry that needs good people and you can carve out a good living by finding what fits."
---------- ADS -----------
 
Last edited by single_swine_herder on Thu Oct 20, 2016 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DanWEC
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2311
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:05 pm
Location: 404

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by DanWEC »

YNYTS wrote:started a new career making 100K a yr to start, and now I just rent a plane and fly on my own terms. I work about half the month and make double what I was making flying, and I only spent about 25 nights away from the family.
Out of curiosity, do tell! Almost sounds like a spam email. ;)
---------- ADS -----------
 
Meatservo
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2565
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2005 11:07 pm
Location: Negative sequencial vortex

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by Meatservo »

I don't know how to do anything else. :(
---------- ADS -----------
 
If I'd known I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself
User avatar
complexintentions
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2183
Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2004 3:49 pm
Location: of my pants is unknown.

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by complexintentions »

Ditto.

Besides, I have friends in a wide variety of professions and everyone pretty much thinks the grass is greener doing something else.

If you can't find a measure of enjoyment in being a pilot, fer feck's sake, you probably won't be terribly happy in some other job. Unfortunately most don't discover that until it's too late.

Human nature is the problem, not the job.

*rubs chin wisely, while nodding slowly*
---------- ADS -----------
 
I’m still waiting for my white male privilege membership card. Must have gotten lost in the mail.
JBI
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1064
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2004 11:21 am
Location: YYC / LGA

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by JBI »

I left and then returned to flying. After 4 years up north I left my airline on good terms to go to school. Two months after I left, they went out of business. I enjoyed school and stuck with it for another 4 and a half years getting a professional degree. I worked in an office for 5 years. Made great money, but while I was home most nights, really didn't have that much quality time off: I was answering emails on my honeymoon in Italy! I would work Monday to Friday usually 7 or 8 until 6 or 7 (or later) and usually go in one day a weekend (sometimes both). My wife and I figured we usually got one weekend home each month. Plus the thing was, although some of the work was interesting, most was pretty boring.

A couple of years ago the opportunity came up for me to return to flying. Although it's been a pay cut, I'm way happier. Not saying everyone should follow my lead, just commenting on my experience.
---------- ADS -----------
 
Heliian
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1976
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:14 pm

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by Heliian »

I was just considering that again today!

After being berated and constantly shit on by anyone with more "seniority" than me, being labeled "not a team player", working ridiculous hours at the last minute and then being told that after finishing at 0330 that I was lucky to get the following day off and should expect to work more on the weekend because of such, I certainly felt like getting out of this ridiculous business.

We should all be so lucky to be working for our respective employers as without them we would just be another idiot on welfare with no prospects :roll:

Licensed now for 15 years and fully fed up.

The only thing that keeps me doing this is the requirement to support my family but at some point the scales will tip and lifestyle will come before finances. I'm also stuck in a dead end job, unless there is a mass exodus of people with more seniority, I will never be allowed to fill any of the higher functioning roles.

I have a "dream job", but it's not my dream, somebody else's with less imagination.

But hey, the struggle will be the same no matter what industry right?

REALLY, the only way to find out if the grass is greener is to hop the fence and check it out.

Best of luck in all of your endeavors!
---------- ADS -----------
 
xsbank
Top Poster
Top Poster
Posts: 5655
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 4:00 pm
Location: "The Coast"

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by xsbank »

The ground worker had had a long day, dragging fuel hoses around, emptying cargo and baggage, filling up more airplanes, sliding on the wings trying to deice them, carrying barrels of oil and spilling hydraulic fluid on his jeans. The old captain, watching the young guy work his butt off, finally witnessed the hose popping off the sewage drain in the tail of an airplane, blue water and shit falling all over our hero. The captain couldn't help himself, he handed the guy a towel to wipe off his head and says "how much are you making doing this job? Can't be very much? Why don't you quit and find a real job?" The ground guy just stares at the Captain and says "what? Leave aviation?!"
---------- ADS -----------
 
"What's it doing now?"
"Fly low and slow and throttle back in the turns."
User avatar
Deaner172
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 8:36 am

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by Deaner172 »

I always wanted to be a pilot.

When i was young i worked my but off on the oil rigs. I had my fill of being young and foolish. I was also tired of the ups and downs of the oil industry. My first year i was sad to see all that money i was loosing out by going to school. The second year the price of oil was cut in half. Most of my friends working on the oil rigs were out of work. Aviation has taken off in Canada.

Short answer try something else before you invest in aviation. You will appreciate flying more.
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Pat Richard
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 896
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:36 pm
Location: all over

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by Pat Richard »

Heliian wrote:I was just considering that again today!

After being berated and constantly shit on by anyone with more "seniority" than me, being labeled "not a team player", working ridiculous hours at the last minute and then being told that after finishing at 0330 that I was lucky to get the following day off and should expect to work more on the weekend because of such, I certainly felt like getting out of this ridiculous business.

We should all be so lucky to be working for our respective employers as without them we would just be another idiot on welfare with no prospects :roll:

Licensed now for 15 years and fully fed up.

The only thing that keeps me doing this is the requirement to support my family but at some point the scales will tip and lifestyle will come before finances. I'm also stuck in a dead end job, unless there is a mass exodus of people with more seniority, I will never be allowed to fill any of the higher functioning roles.

I have a "dream job", but it's not my dream, somebody else's with less imagination.

But hey, the struggle will be the same no matter what industry right?

REALLY, the only way to find out if the grass is greener is to hop the fence and check it out.

Best of luck in all of your endeavors!
WOW, sounds like somebody has come full circle. Wasn't too long ago a much different talking Helian was promoting aviation.
Heliian wrote:HA, don't be discouraged mon ami! Look outside the box and at the bigger picture of aviation itself. Just because air canada sucks doesn't meant that AME's are going the way of the dodo, there are many other sectors to work in like GA, military, helicopters and a hundred other small airlines. Hard work and attention to detail will set you apart from the rest and yes, you'll have to work in the salt mines to start but as you progress with your career things will get better. If you don't mind working up north, you can make upwards of a 100k after a few years, find yourself a nice local girl, settle down and retire to the bahamas early, only to go back to work a year and a half later because life is too good and you have nothing to complain about anymore. Good luck to you on your journey.

P.S. An E license can go a long way these days, but start with the M1 and don't waste your time/money on the EASA B.S. from bcit unless you plan on going to europe tomorrow. Most guys i meet over there want to come work in canada, the grass is greener I guess.
Heliian wrote: Yes, it will take a few years of hard work. my first apprentice gig was 25G's a year, first licenced 40g's, worked in the south for pretty much that. When I went to work up north, I was living there full time so technically I was always home, only a few tours a year into the bush and I met a really nice girl who had moved there too. I almost broke the sunshine club a couple of times but it required 14hr days, only 2 weeks off a year and busting my a$$. I grew sick of it after a couple of years and went back down south where I can expect to make about 75K a year. This is all in the helicopter industry but my buddies whom I went to school with who are now in fixed wing started off better but plateaued pretty quick, a couple of lucky guys got DOM and PRM jobs which pay a little better but it's more work. If you are big into aviation, go for it, it's rewarding and job satisfaction is high, you can travel the world and meet all types of interesting people along the way. As much reasearch you do and comments you read won't replace the real world experience, dive in head first, tough it out. Being an AME is much cooler than an auto mechanic or a desk/computer jockey or workin at McD's or the oil patch(yuck).

Good luck to you and if it doesn't work out, I'll have the royale with cheese! :)

Welcome to reality and the dark side.
---------- ADS -----------
 
Last edited by Pat Richard on Mon Oct 24, 2016 4:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
fish4life
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2405
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2010 6:32 am

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by fish4life »

I find it ironic you joined aviation for stability.
---------- ADS -----------
 
Heliian
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1976
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:14 pm

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by Heliian »

Yes pat, the struggle is real.

I had a rough day because I hate working for other people. It doesn't matter what industry.

My one bad day this week does not reflect on a lifetime of enjoyment.

Thanks for reminding me of my positive self though.

:P
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Troubleshot
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1291
Joined: Sat May 27, 2006 12:00 pm

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by Troubleshot »

Left aviation 5 years ago. I was an AME making $33/HR with 12 years experience and several large aircraft endorsements. I now work in renewables (Wind/Solar) and make a lot more money with better benefits...no night shifts, see the fam everyday, etc...

Don't get me wrong, I love airplanes...but I think I enjoy them more as hobby now than I ever did actually working in the industry. Some people don't like the 9-5 but I do, I started playing in a hockey league again, got back in touch with friends that I never used to see, home for my kids activities...man I could go on and on.

I guess it would have been a harder choice if I was taking a pay cut but when you luck out and make better money to boot...it was really a no brainer for me.

The transition was not really hard except for being really scary. I was scared because I was basically giving up everything I was good at and experienced with...not to mention I had a family to support. Anyway, that is my 2 cents.
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Pat Richard
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 896
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:36 pm
Location: all over

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by Pat Richard »

Yeah, was a little shocked to read it. You most definitely wouldnt be the first one.

As for the topic at hand, from a mech's perspective, bail ASAP from this industry. I just had two fellow long time AME friends bail with more than 20 years each in experience.
I think the drivers tend hang on longer because potentially they can do well for themselves and they love flying/being a pilot.
i don't see that with very many mechs. Most after 10 plus years are happy when nothing is broken and just DI's are needed on a grave yard shift.
---------- ADS -----------
 
Meatservo
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2565
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2005 11:07 pm
Location: Negative sequencial vortex

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by Meatservo »

I would say you're right. It's probably harder to give up when you're a pilot because you can remember when being in the air was so thrilling, you'd have almost literally done anything to be given a chance to do it. The lucky ones are the people who still feel that way about it, for some reason. But they are the ones who are the most easily taken advantage of. Same with the guys who love fixing stuff- I know a few engineers who felt the same way but it's rarer. Ususally the ones who hang on the longest are the ones who are in charge of some old crate that is on the verge of being retired, needs a bit of ingenuity and understanding to keep it going, and the engineers and pilots are all pals, hanging on for love of the machine itself. I've seen it happen.

Anyway, troubleshot, if you don't mind a bit of a segue, how did you get into the solar/wind racket? sounds fascinating. I have a friend who gave up teaching school in order to get into that line of work, but he's always been a bit enigmatic about how he got into it in the first place.
---------- ADS -----------
 
If I'd known I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself
User avatar
Troubleshot
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1291
Joined: Sat May 27, 2006 12:00 pm

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by Troubleshot »

I got into renewables basically by trying to figure out how my current skills/education could be easily transferred to a new industry. wind, solar, etc. is a fairly new industry and there isn't any real trade certification (yet) so I knew I wouldn't have to overcome that hurtle. The funny thing is my company is full of ex-aviation people, hell my CEO was evolved various VP roles at Beech, Bombardier, and Lockheed. Also, my boss was an A&P for years so he knew I could do it when he seen my resume come across his desk....he loves aviation people. The position I was hired for was Operations and Maintenance Manager and 5 years later I have been given two promotions, I am now the Regional Director for Canada, sounds fancy but basically I oversee all our assets in Canada and report to our office in the states.

The industry is interesting and it is neat to be apart of an advancing technology. I have personally been involved in the development of new turbine designs, which is very cool. I don't take credit for anything, I just offer up my suggestions to help increase reliability. The funny thing is you get noticed for exceeding expectations and rewarded. I was never (I repeat, never) even told "good job" in aviation....but there were plenty of times I deserved an "atta boy". Some people feel they don't need any "pats on the back" and I was one of them until I started to receive them, I was really surprised how much it made me want to push harder and really do my best...crazy I know.

I have no idea what renewables will look like in 20 years from now, but I am glad I am here. The advances in technology year over year is mind blowing.
---------- ADS -----------
 
Meatservo
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2565
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2005 11:07 pm
Location: Negative sequencial vortex

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by Meatservo »

That sounds awesome. Congratulations- I know what you mean about getting positive feedback once in a while.
---------- ADS -----------
 
If I'd known I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself
User avatar
bizjet_mania
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 982
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2005 9:37 am

Re: Leaving aviation

Post by bizjet_mania »

.
---------- ADS -----------
 
Last edited by bizjet_mania on Sat Nov 12, 2016 8:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Post Reply

Return to “General Comments”