Tactical Contract/Mercenary pilot jobs

Unless you're in debt to some very bad people or otherwise unemployable in the U.S., none of their pay is worth the risks.

I know a decent amount of folks who have done this, with varying degrees of satisfaction. Some places are better/treat their folks better than others. I will say that they have a large pool of former military folks with current clearances who use these jobs as a stepping stone towards more traditional 121 jobs. Guys who have either been out of the cockpit too long on that last non-flying set of orders to make a 20 year active retirement, or folks who did things like fly helicopters or lack a competitive amount of multiengine PIC time for whatever reason. Better pay than the alternative of going to fly regional 121 for a year or two to get healthy. All in the perspective of the pilot. As you might imagine, it would be a pretty cold blow for some to go from making $130-150k in the military to first year regional pay, even after hiring bonuses are spoken for. To some, being away from home for 6 months and making a ton more money would be worth it.
 
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