I’ve spent a lot of time on this site, so a lot of questions have been answered for me already.
My situation is: I’m a 47 y/o soon to be retired firefighter. I’m looking at a second career to keep me busy for 10-15 more years. I’m looking at the 7 month program. I’ll have a pension that will support all my expenses at home. I live in the Detroit area and I am hoping to do my CFI for ATP here and get a regional job based here (possibly Endeavor Air). I have no expectations of pursuing a major airline. I would just like to stay regional, build some seniority and get good picks on trips. Money is not important as long as I’m fairly compensated for my time, I’d be happy. Like I said, I’ll be collecting a pension so this will just be extra money.
So, my questions are: I keep hearing there is a pilot shortage. How realistic is it I will get hired after I get my 1500 hours? I would prefer an airline based out of DTW, so that’s where Endeavor comes to mind. They are also offering $120k for sign on and retention bonuses, which I would be counting on to pay for school. How realistic is it to be able to “pick and choose” who for and where you work? I’m concerned going down this road, taking $115k out in loans, and not get a job, or an airline to help pay costs.
Also, what are the chances I can instruct here in Detroit? I know the policy is you go where the jobs are. But that isn’t really an option for me.
Throwing a lot at you right out of the gate, I appreciate your time.
First and foremost is the instructor location question. If you’ve browsed this forum you should have come across this question asked pretty often and the answer is this. There is absolutely no guarantee you’ll get Detroit as a location as an instructor. If there’s an available slot (AND no one senior to you is waiting for it) you’ll get it, if there isn’t you won’t. You can of course seek employment elsewhere at other flight schools in your area but that’s on you so if that’s a deal breaker…
As for the pilot shortage you need only turn on the evening news to see it is in fact for real. Factor in the fact that Envoy (and other Regionals) are offering $100k+ signing bonuses and first year pay has literally trippled and that should be more than enough confirmation. How long will it last? The experts say at least until 2030 but as with anything else in the world things can and do change. If CV-22 shows up and starts the zombie apocalypse, there’s another 9/11, or the world economy completely collapses, etc etc etc all bets are off. If however none of that happens (AND you do well in training) probably for the first time in history if you have the licenses, ratings and time you will get hired and also have your pick of airlines to fly for.
Adam answered your questions well. No one has a crystal ball and can predict how long the shortage will last. If you get going soon, you should be okay but it won’t last forever. There is massive amounts amounts of hiring going on right now but you still need to be a qualified and competent candidate.
If you’re focused on Detroit, SkyWest also has a pilot base as well as endeavor.
Assuming you do well in training and have minimum check rode failures, have a clean criminal record and speak in an interview as well as you write, you should not have any issues getting hired by a regional in the current environment. Now of course the caveat is that things can and do change, but right now we are not expecting any slowdown in hiring for the foreseeable future.
I think you have a very good shot of being picked up by Endeavour or Skywest, both of which have bases in DTW. Keep in mind here that things can change with bases as well. Right now DTW is a strong base for Delta, but there was a time when MEM and CVG were large bases as well.
Thank you for the replies everyone, it is very much appreciated that you take the time out of your day to chat with us.
Has anyone on this board gone through the Endeavor bonus program? How did it work? I have read their MOU agreement, but some parts (industry lingo) were a little over my head lol. I’d be interested to hear about any bonus program experience out there for that matter. Looks like Skywest does $17500 with $12500 up front for tuition and $5000 after Skywest IOE. Endeavor’s $120k sign on and retention bonuses look hard to beat. I’d like to keep all options open, honestly.
I appreciate the honesty on the “crystal ball”. That’s what makes this decision tricky, airline industry is SO tied to the economy and/or geopolitical events. In the fire service we’ve been spoiled with job security, at least where I’m at.
Also, I have a bachelors degree in political science, it’s not aviation, but does a degree help at a regional?
The regionals do not require a degree, so one will not really help you much in that arena. If you do decide to make a run on the majors, it will certainly help you there.
I do not think that we. have any current Endeavour pilots on here. I would strongly encourage you to reach out directly to Endeavour and speak to one of their pilot recruiters, they should be more than happy. to help explain their bonus programs.