After a commercial rating, what jobs are available besides an airline pilot?

Question

Obviously flying in an airline takes probably several years, if not more than a decade worth of work to achieve, however, if a didn't want to do that, what other options are there.

I'm thinking about just getting a ppl to fly for fun, but if investing a little more in the instrument rating and commercial rating could land a fun job that payed well, then I'd consider it. Suggestions?

Answer 1

Flight instructor, although you need a flight instructor certificate.  Banner towing.  Glider towing.  Flying sky divers.  Sight seeing tours.  Bush pilot in Alaska (this could be a fun one).  Traffic watch for radio stations.  There are probably lots of others I can't think of right now.  When you meet the requirements for single pilot part 135 ops (basically 1200 hours), some more doors open up.  Like flying at one of the fedex feeders or hauling bank checks at night, single pilot.

By the way, none of the above jobs pay well at all, unless you're lucky and land a rare good one.  You could most likely make more money working at Home Depot or Walmart.  People take those jobs to build hours so they can move on to an airline.  There are plenty of people willing to do them for almost nothing (some will do it for free), thus employers won't pay well.  You probably won't get any benefits, like medical, at those places.

Depending on the hiring, you could go from new flight instructor to regional airline pilot in a year or two.

Answer 2

Your chances of getting an Airline position with just a Commercial license are remote. Most, if not all, require at least the ATP written if not a complete ATP license before even consideration.

Not only that, but with the way the Airlines are downsizing I see a lot of Qualified Pilots on the unemployment roles.

Timing is EVERYTHING in the Aviation game and now is just not the time.

Do get your Instrument and if cost isn’t a problem, you’re Commercial

Answer 3

if u want to get a job with some big companies then you need to do a four year degree from a college like embry riddle or some college with a four year course. But if u want to just fly around for fun u can get a private pilot and insstument rating which means to fly in stormy weather or night time. Then get a commercial license which means you can charge people for flying and become an instructor.  

Answer 4

Law enforcement is great because you'll be home every night and the pay is decent.

Answer 5

More job options for pilots could include pipeline patrol, law enforcement, freight, aerial firefighting, crop dusting, aerial surveying, corporate, or even news casting.

Answer 6

Certificated Flight Instructor

Banner tower

Glider tower

Test pilot

Crop Duster

that's all i can think of right now

Answer 7

Instead of listing jobs (there are hundreds), I'm going to give you a little insight instead. The others who answer can list job options for you.

Many of the better paying and "fun" flying jobs have experience prerequisites (either by regulation or insurance requirements) that are as strict as the airlines, and often more so. Each type of flying usually has specific experience requirements that not just any old flying job can give you, so you need to become aware of what those are so you can build appropriate flight time toward a specific flying career.

A good example is aerial firefighting (which I've done). You'd have to really want to do it and spend several years gaining the right kind of other flying experience to get hired. The same amount of time and effort could get you into the airlines, or corporate flying, or crop dusting, or one of the other aviation professions instead. I also spent a number of years in Alaska flying float planes as a "bush pilot". It isn't a an "entry level" job and it took me many years and some good connection to get into that profession; years that I could have spent pursuing an airline career instead.

This is true of most flying jobs, even the lower-paying ones. It's like getting any professional job. First, you need the right kind of training followed by the right kind of work experience before you can go after the jobs that might interest you. For instance, you probably couldn't get hired doing traffic reporting for a radio station in Los Angeles (a fun job I've also held) if all your experience has been flying students around cow pastures in a small rural town where you don't need to talk to ATC.  By the same token, an experienced airline pilot could not easily get a job as a bush pilot in Alaska because the required skill sets just aren't that similar.

So whatever flying jobs are suggested to you, and if you do go for a commercial rating, remember that the type of experience and who you know is just as important as the amount flight time and years of flying experience you have accumulated.