When I went to work for the railroad almost 3 years ago, I thought I'd retire from there. But in the last year, I've been fired twice (neither time was my fault), they've laid off almost 2 dozen people, and I'm dangerously close to being forced to move to New Orleans. So I got myself a part-time job and enrolled at the local aviation college, but I'm still not sure if I'm doing the right thing.

I would appreciate some opinions on whether I'm doing the right thing or if I'm completely out of my cotton-pickin' mind.

 

Railroading is a tough business but if you can stick it out 30 years or more you get a pretty good retirement out of it. Getting laid off and fired seems to go along with the territory. That's what you pay Union dues for.

Aviation is a tough line of work too depending on what you want to do. If you want to be a pilot, plan on several to many years of low pay to get there.

Most important is what type of work do you want to do and what interests you?

 

I really have only a slight intrest in being a pilot (if they're like cars I'm too tall to be comfortable in them) but flying would be awesome. I'm working on getting my A&P because I have an almost insatiable desire to tear stuff apart to see how it works. The finding a job part won't be that hard because there's about 5 airfields/helicopter plants within 40 miles of my house and they are hiring anyone with even a little training. 2 semesters of school and I go to the top of the high-priority hiring list and then let whoever I work for pay for the rest of school.

 

I've had 6 different jobs since 2000. I work in the telecommunications industry. 3 of the companies I worked for went bankrupt. 2 I bailed out on, one I moved to a different city.

I don't think any of us really have job security any more. Even in the military I was asked numerous times to consider an early retirement, which I didn't take.

If I get axed on this job I will probably quit the industry and find something else. Home Depot or Lowes is usually hiring, or maybe go to school for an ASE certification and get a job at a dealership.

Does anyone have any other job suggestions for an "almost 50" genius?

 

I tell you what Nitramjr. I fly offshore and back(110 miles each way) once each month. We trust our lives to the helicopter pilots each time. After the pilots last strike I was amazed to find out that the pilots only earn around $50,000.00 per year. It is like I imagined though, these men (and a few women) must obviously be flying because they love it. I did solo in a Piper cub and I can understand their desire to fly.

 

That's what put my dream of being a commercial pilot to bed - I couldn't afford the pay cut from my job as an Engineer. Many pilots build hours doing flight instruction ($15-20 per hour for the hours you are flying) or working for the commuter or regional airlines ($20-30k a year to start). If I was young, unmarried and living with the parents I might have given it a go but I couldn't support a family on that. Even the pilots for the big airlines don't make the big bucks they used to.

I still love to fly but doing it for fun only. Now I just need to replace my plane.

 

Sounds good. Always nice to have a skill that is in demand locally but can be taken anywhere if you decide to hit the road. Good luck.

BTW, A&P mechanics can make a few extra bucks hanging around the local airport helping aircraft owners with minor repairs to their small planes.

 

I have been a pilot most of my life. Never worked for an airline just corporate and charter. Building hours, you will work looong hours for little to no pay. The insurance companies will not insure you in turbine powered aircraft until you have about 500 hours of turbine time which can takes years. Just turbine time will not get you far either, better make that multi engine turbine time. Once you have the required time to meet the insurance requirements, for most corporate type aircraft, then you can start to make a reasonable living. I would guess the average person takes about 10 years to accomplish the above. After you are a viable corporate pilot there is no better job. But job security is a big issue due to the high cost of operating a corporate aircraft. Times get tough the airplane finds a new home and you are looking for a new position. Flying is no longer my primary source of income. I now have a real job and my employer is also an x corporate pilot. The many friends I have in the aviation industry and my currant job allow me to fly some real nice corporate airplanes as a fill in pilot when I want to. I have several friends who have worked for the railroad and are nearing retirement, they are better equipped for retirement then I am.

Good luck in your decision, do it for the long haul. You’ll be happier when you are retired.

 

Thanks ya'll. I think I made the right decision but I guess I won't know for a year or two. As far as retirement goes, I'm only 25 so that still seems like a LONG way off. I just couldn't see being 60 years old and still living in hotel 2 out ofd every 3 days.

 

Rednek...funny thing is I've been an A&P for over 30 years, and my dream was to work for the railroads! Go figure.

Anyhow, your pursuit of an A&P license is a noble goal. The thing to always remember is that there are no 'sidings' or breakdown lanes for an aircraft to pull over if in trouble. They gotta land. You have the responsibilty of the lives of crew, pax and those on the ground in your hands, so you do it once and do it right, every time.

It may take a number of years to reach the apex of aviation maintenance; working for an airline. Unless you can get a job at Southwest, look for a job at a major freight hauler like FedEx or UPS. Both freighters pay top of scale and both have solid track records - they are not as subject to the up/down cycles as the airlines, and have never filed for bankruptcy. The major pax airlines have a dismal record in that regard.

So, before you even get your A&P, commit yourself to the following:
- NEVER compromise safety for convenience
- ALWAYS double-check your work
- REMEMBER you have the lives of the crew, passengers, and those on the ground in your hands EVERY TIME you touch that aircraft - NEVER COMPROMISE

If you can swear to those rules, get your A&P. It could be well worth the effort. You may have to pay some dues in a less-than-desirable job to build up your experience before the majors will hire you, but at your age, it's well worth the effort. There will be a huge amount of retirements coming up in the next decade, and the airlines will need to fill the void.

In any event, you are to be commended for wanting to get an A&P. Just swear to yourself that you will abide by the promises above, and it'll be worth it.

Best of luck! -Don

 

RRR,
What RR did you work for? I just put an application in for Norfolk & Southern.

 

Thanks Donsfx4. When I signed up for classes I got the toughest teachers they had because I figured that if I couldn't pass their class then I had absolutly no business working on anything that would be carrying people. I intend to go over all my work with a fine-toothed comb mostly because I want it to be right, although a moderate case of obssesive compulsive disorder and a slight case of paranoia will accept no other option.

Autoglass, I worked for CSX. I took a transfer after Hurricane Katrina to Meridian, MS and got to run on Norfolk Southern track for about 6 months. I really liked it over there, mostly because they believe in running trains. CSX's policy is "hurry up and wait" because somedays we can make the 182 mile trip to Mobile in 5 hours, but most of the time it might take us 12 hours to go 40 miles. By the way, in case no one told you, you can never work more than 12 hours at a time (federal law). Good luck getting on with, if you can deal with the management, it's actually a really fun job to have.