OT - Lost Job

[RB211]

I was a pilot flying mail for Chase Bank out of Oakland. Had a part 135 recurrent checkride, and for what ever reason I flew like absolute crap. I was not happy with myself, the check airmen certainly was not. End of story... Director of operations called me the next day, said we are parting ways and wished me good luck.

Aviation has a sour taste in my mouth right now. There are a lot of good things going on for me at the moment and I don't want to leave the bay area until I complete certain tasks.
For one, I have a girlfriend that I love, been going to the gym every day, losing lots of weight, and building muscle. The third one is that I am in the process of joining the free masons.
I've been building web pages on the side, which will not do much more than pay rent. I have an interview to become an Oakland Athletics fan photographer, which will give me free parking and free access to all the home games. Pay is crappy but seams like fun.

I've also been thinking... If I can't afford to move my tools here, why not find a machinist job in Oakland? Or Information Technology for that matter...
Now I am stuck with a problem... I have no experience with CNC tools, just manual home shop stuff.. All the jobs in craigs list want CNC experience...

I am a quick learner, and think it would be fun to try it out. Can anyone point me in the right direction to such a place hiring someone like me in the Bay Area of California?

[PixMan]

Sucks about the flying thing. There are good pilots and dead pilots. There are no bad pilots. Don't beat yourself up about it. Either re-test or walk away with your head high.

You could do some reading about CNC operations, and perhaps with the kindness of a member here get in front of a machine for a bit. Then you'd be as good with CNC as most any other applicant looking for work on Craigslist.

[Your Old Dog]

You've already crossed your first hurdle when you can admit that you had a bad day and flew like crap. Blaming the check rider for something you thought was your fault would only be avoiding the truth.

Sounds like you have lofty goals in mind. That's good but keep in mind any thing worth having is worth a little sweat to get. Don't assume that a lack of scoring a job is a lack of your abilitiy. The economy is extremely tight right now and much of scoring a job depends on being in the right place at the right time.

One last bit of advice. Don't let your resume tell your entire story. The purpose of a resume is to get you an interview. The guy who gets to sit infront of personel manager and answer questions that were not clear enough in his resume will get the job over your perfect resume.

Good luck and remember these things always work out somehow.

[Carld]

Personally I would look for another flying job and start taking a course in CNC if that's the way you want to go. Work the other projects in as time permits. You need a full time job to do the other stuff and your experience is in flying, not machining.

What part of the flight was bad? Certainly not the whole flight. Rent a plane and work on the bad spots. I'm thinking it was the take off and landing.

[garagemark]

I'm kinda with Carld. Find another flying job. Hell of a lot easier to train and find a new career when you can afford to do so. It'll take longer, but you won't starve in the meantime. Your girlfriend will probably like that too. She needs your money. And I understand the Mason thing too. A lot of work if you do it all and do it right.

Good luck,
Mark

[saltmine]

Changing careers can be a daunting task. Not only financially, but emotionally.

I spent 45 years as a mechanic, and wanted to be a pilot...and then a machinist. Both careers were way too expensive to get into from my own profession.

Yes, I do have a pilots' license, and yes, I am fairly proficient with machine tools. But, now I'm retired...so it don't make any difference anyway.

In your situation, I'd stick with flying.

[sansbury]

If you know any of the A&Ps in your area I'd ask them if they know any shop owners. I'd go around and try to meet people, bring the proverbial coffee & donuts and tell the owner you'd like to ask a few questions about getting into the business. Find times when they're not busy to drop by. Some guys won't give you the time of day but others will and you can ask them who else to talk to.

With your flying experience, obviously you can handle complex machinery. You might be able to talk your way into a low-paying assistant-type job to get some practical experience. I would just have a good answer ready for why you're thinking about getting out of flying. Some people might not know how miserable a business it can be especially down in the ditches.

[Alistair Hosie]

Look whatevers on your mind at the moment is the actual problem somethings eating you, and you need to address that first .That's probably why you had a bad day there's always a reason we all have them no need to through the baby out with the bathwater.I.E your (pilots job) . Get your life problems listed see them as a challenge as opposed to a problem deal with them and move on very best regards and good wishes to you I hope things improve sounds as though things are hurting at the moment and God Bless Alistair

[JoeFin]

My advice - worth a Grain of Salt

If you started in Aviation and that is your calling then stick with aviation. Better off adding an A&P license or Instrument Certs or what ever to increase your skill set rather then heading off in an entirely new direction.

I know it is dangerous as Hell, but have you ever thought of gaining a few hundred hours up in Alaska? I hear the pilot gig is pretty good up there, and oil exploration is on the move up there right now. If that Girl is true she'll be there at home in a couple of months when you get back with your bank roll.

[saltmine]

Sounds like a bad idea, Joe.

In Alaska, there's really good pilots, and dead ones.

A marginal pilot usually won't last a month.