[Ian J]

Originally Posted by vsf

There is no helicopter pilot shortage. That is absurd.

Silverstate, the company that advertises on the radio, is very aggressive at their marketing. And since a pilot shortage cannot be disproven, they can assert what they want to assert.

I have been a licensed helicopter pilot for 18 years and have flown them professionally in the U.S. and on overseas contracts. Nobody loves choppers more than I do, but the economics of it for the working pilot are never very good. A very season helicopter pilot, thirty years into a career, will often make far less than a fresh college graduate does when taking an entry level "normal" job at the age of 22. That's something to think about.

I bailed out of helicopters in order to work in fixed wing, and there are a LOT more jobs, and far far better pay, in the fixed wing realm. No question about it.

In the meantime, don't lose sight of the fact that the military is cranking out highly experienced chopper pilots who will be flooding the market when the Iraq war ends. Who would YOU hire, a military-trained pilot with gobs of hours of turbine, multi-engine and IFR time, or somebody trained at a rag-tag civilian outfit with Robinson lawnmover time? C'mon, get real.

Of course, pilots being pilots, not all are very clear on the concept of averages and trends, so some bozo will always tell you about his "friend" who got a $120,000 a year job flying an S-76 when he had only six hours of Robinson time...we love urban legends in this industry and we love wishful thinking.

Helicopters are fun. But airplanes are for money.

Hey VSF... welcome to JC! Could use some more experienced helo pilot perspectives around here... I can really only offer the military perspective. Care to share some of your work experiences or give a day in the life of a civilian helo pilot?