Also, when you say to start flying charters. Is there some specific place to look for charter or corporate jobs? One of my flight instructors told me you just need to be in the right place at the right time.
David,
While it's true of most jobs in aviation, in fact most jobs you'll work in your career that it's about being in the right place at the right time, there are things you can do to put yourself in the right place at the right time.
First, you need to be qualified for the job. For a charter job, you'll need Part 135 minimums (500 hours for VFR, 1200 for IFR). You'll also need to meet the minimums for the company to whom you're applying. That means that if the company tells you or advertises that they want 1,500 hours minimum, that's the bare essential to apply.
You'll also need to meet competitive minimums. These numbers aren't published; they're what you'll need to compete with everyone else applying for the same job. If the job advertises 1,500 hours minimum, but everyone else applying for the job has the same qualifications as you and 3,000 hours flying time, you will need at least that much to compete. These are the competitive minimums.
There are many online places that cite pilot jobs. You can subscribe to number of sources, some of which are free, some of which require a monthly or yearly fee. I've found work on a number of those sites and places, from Trade A Plane to Air Jobs Digest. I got my first jet job, in fact, from an ad in Trade A Plane. I've been hired off Ag Air Update when looking for ag or fire jobs. I've been hired off professional sites for charter, aeromedical, fractional, or other such jobs. I've attended job fairs and been hired; that was what got me in the door at an international operation.
One of the best sources for the burgeoning flight instructor, one of the best books on the subject in my opinion, is called The Savvy Flight Instructor, by Greg Brown. It's been out for some time now. I spoke with the author years ago, and found him helpful and informative; I'd recommend his book to anyone considering instructing for a living. It's not just about instructing, but more of a manual jam-packed with good counsel for someone looking to expand their career, find students, become a better instructor, meet others, expand their horizons, plan for the next step, or even to plan to stay with instructing. I don't know the author and have nothing to do with the book, but I heartily recommend it to everyone who instructs.
You're not likely to simply wander out there and find a corporate job. Corporate jobs are generally not entry level jobs. Smaller airlines and airlines flying smaller equipment tend to hire inexperienced pilots; these are entry-level jobs. Corporations tend to put their most valued employees, and their personnel with the greatest net worth (as well as clients) in their corporate aircraft. One client in a corporate aircraft may have a greater net worth than an entire airliner full of passengers. Corporations tend to be a lot more selective in who they hire and the qualifications that belong that that new hire.
Charter jobs are a little easier, in general. You might try a company like Flight Express for a first charter job; they fly Barons and Cessna 210's doing a lot of freight, often at night, often in bad weather. You'd start out in the 210 and move to the Baron eventually. Long hours, longs of standby and waiting, poor wages, but good training, demanding work, and you'd get a lot of flight experience in a short time. Such jobs are found all over the USA.
Many times an in-person visit to drop off your resume is a good way to be remembered. Not a fax or email; not even in an envelope, but a good cover letter with a professional resume, hand delivered, means more to many employers (especially in charter and utility flying) than an impersonal one with a stamp or an electronic address.
I've been hired before simply because I was the guy standing in front of the Chief Pilot's desk when he needed someone.
The squeaky wheel does often get the grease.
Get to know people. Get a reputation for reliability, professionalism, sincerity. Get to be known as someone who takes the job seriously, who doesn't engage in wild behavior, who is trustworthy. Make sure you don't get speeding tickets, don't drive drunk, don't act like a kid. Be there, be dedicated, show up, and work hard. These aren't simply truisms. They work.
Civil Air Patrol is a way to meet other pilots and to get some flying experience, to interact with others and to become known. EAA is another. Sites like this might be such a way.
I've never had a job because someone else got it for me, or because I knew someone else. I don't work like that. I don't network, and I got where I've been not because I dropped a name. That said, many in the business do network, and some will tell you that it's not what you know, but whom. I don't agree entirely, but there's a lot to be said for getting to know others in the circles in which you hope to travel.
I've been working with a young man recently who took a little different path to start his flying. I just worked to get him checked out in an Air Tractor 802. He's very low-time: badly 1,500 hours. His background is nearly all conventional gear (tailwheel). He was a glider instructor and performed international glider aerobatics and competition. He's quite humble. He holds an advanced degree in aeronautical engineering, and is a mechanic and inspector. He's willing to get dirty and work hard. He's sincere. The owner of the airplane was willing to take a big chance on the young man because of the impression the young man made. It's very unusual to have someone like that in that airplane; it's a big step, but he's capable, and he's available, and the path he chose, while not the one more travelled, has put him in the position to do this.
His isn't a corporate path; he has a utility flying background, and is proceeding in the right vein to continue doing that. He's getting some excellent experience and qualification presently, and in my view, is doing it right, and doing it well. Being inexperienced doesn't necessarily mean confined to only flight instructing. There are many avenues to where you might want to be; there are different paths depending on what you intend to do. Mine very early on was utility agricultural, much like this young man; it's what I did right out of high school, and it's a presence I'e maintained or continued throughout my life, regardless of what other flying or jobs I've done. It's also kept me employed at times when other jobs weren't available.
Don't neglect openings that are off the beaten track. You might find your first job flying pipeline patrol or dropping jumpers at the local drop zone, or flying banners or doing traffic watch for the local radio or television station. It might be flight instructing, or spotting fish, or flying fire patrol for the state. There are many different avenues. Gain as much qualification as you can, and get as broad a background of experience as you can.
I've always encouraged burgeoning pilots to get a maintenance background; some do, not many. I did, and don't regret it a bit. It's served me well, and has been the ticket to a number of different employers. It's also kept me alive.
Concentrate for now on learning everything you can, and on your studies. Pick up Greg Brown's book and read it with some thought to how you can apply it to your choices. Talk to instructors, working pilots. Visit a control tower, and tal with the controllers. Visit maintenance shops, and speak with the mechanics. Interview a Director of Maintenance or two; get a feel for what's out there. See if you can ride along on a freight charter somewhere; find out what's involved. You're doing the right thing to be asking a lot of questions now; don't stop asking, and don't stop examining all the avenues that may be open to you.
If you feel that the military is your door, then don't just talk to the recruiters. They'll lie to you without any remorse. Talk to those on the job. Speak with military aviators. Talk to aviators in different branches. Talk to helicopter pilots in the army and coast guard, talk to transport pilots in the military airlift command in the air force. Talk to naval aviators and coast guard pilots. Find out what they like, dislike and their advice and recommendations for each of the different avenues to where you'd like to be (academies, OCS, WOFT, etc).
Keep plugging away. You'll find what you're after.
