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Best consulting firms without the massive ego?
Tips on developing thick skin?
Anonymous User
Chief
Best resume templates? My old one looks stale...
Does a 40-hour week mean 9-5 or 9-6?
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Both are fun jobs with some crappy days. What does your heart say?
My father is a pilot for one of the big 3 US Airlines. You will have to grind at a regional carrier for potentially 5-7 years. Once you get on with a major carrier the money and lifestyle will be good. (500k potential for captain of a wide body aircraft). Also it's all seniority based, your schedule/trips will be bad for awhile.
One thing I've always envied about my dad and he'll never understand about my career is once he parks the plane he's done. He never wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about a deck or upcoming meeting.
Yeah but he does still deal with delays, mechanical issues etc. So he can get stuck in California for the night - every job has stress.
While I love flying and envy pilots if I were to do it I’d break into private aviation but either way need to pay your dues for a few years at a regional. And private has a lot less flexibility. Have to be ready at the drop of a hat.
Chief
Potential earnings much higher in consulting. Probabilistic earnings/benefits better as a pilot. And you don’t work when you’re not at work. Two very different careers….
Chief
Consulting. I have friends with commercial flying license who struggle with jobs because license are plane model specific. Plus your travel schedules are not as flexible as consulting
Chief
@A&M1: It’s never been easier to get a job as a commercial pilot.
That’s not anywhere even remotely the same as saying there’s never been a better time to be a pilot. Career comp trajectory and quality of life have never been lower for commercial pilots. That’s why there’s a shortage.
What will you be doing as a pilot in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? You’ll be doing the exact. same. thing.
Day in and day out, forever.
Pilots are fancy, well paid bus drivers with better perks.
If that appeals to you then go for it!
Lol case in point my title is a few years old I’ve already been promoted past this level and I’m managing more and doing less
But sure, go off KPMG 1
Do both. Get one of these to make it easier.
Currently an A320 FO with an LCC in Europe. Spent a number of years with BCG. I was always into planes and aviation, so for me it was no comparison, even though the money is much less
So I qualified as an SO and did my progression to FO prior to my MBA. Did some years at BCG after the MBA but got bored brainless. Rejoined the airline, did several recency’s and sim’s and returned as an FO with lower position in the seniority list. Captain will be another 3-4 years for me, given current trajectory.
I often recognise the BCGers and other consultants in the back, and feel sorry for them with their laptops and slides. They may earn more than me, but believe me I have more fun in my life
Chief
I would pick Consulting every day of the week. Some justifications:
-If you eventually get sick of consulting travel, you have immediate exit options with better WLB.
-Flying is very different when you have the lives of others at stake.
-It’s a feast-or-famine industry. Things are booming right now, but it’s not always like that.
-If you’re planning on eventually settling down, being a pilot is much more difficult from a WLB perspective with considerations like days on/off, commuting to base, base locations, etc.
-Sleeping and using the bathroom on a plane nearly every day until retirement is a miserable experience (the consulting million milers on here might share that sentiment)
Chief
I hold a PPL and have friends at regional/legacy carriers and mil.
My point with the “lives at stake” thing is that flying might seem interesting/enjoyable on a personal level, but that doesn’t necessarily carry over to doing it for a living. Things ARE a lot more serious at that level, both from a safety and livelihood perspective.
I used WLB as a catch-all term for living considerations. My point is that it’s generally more complicated than consulting.
In my opinion, the bathroom and sleeping thing suck. Whether it’s using a pee bottle on a Cessna or the lav on a Dreamliner, I think it’s an unpleasant part of aviation. I also wouldn’t trade my bed at home for crew quarters. Just stuff that I don’t need to deal with at home.
Be a pilot. You can always become a consultant later on.
Chief
Famous last words
Consulting and fly for fun
I had the same considerations and went for consulting. Here are my reasons.
Going to business school and flight school are both expensive investments, but just having a PPL for example is much less valuable then just having ab Bachelor degree. So if you reevaluate half way its a different story. Also I just have a BA and I’m SC now.
Exit opportunities are different. If the economy is bad (for example corona) you could do nothing else with your type rating. On the other side there is a bunch of exit opportunities in consulting. So my education investment is safer.
Money is way better in Consulting than in the Aviation industry and in Consulting you rather have the opportunity to become a manager.
You can still do both if you are consultant. If you have a consultant salary (and later Partner salary) it should be no problem to have your own plane. I for example have a really good flight simulator setup at home where I invested 5-10K of my consulting salary (4k VR headset, yoke, AP panel, joystick, rudder, throttle quadrant, high spec PC, etc) and I’m planning to do my PPL next year. So actually being in consulting enables me to do the Flights I want whenever I want them. So I don’t have to fly specific routes Im not interested in.
So Flying is always a fun hobby and I have much faster career progression and don’t have to wait for X years to become an A380 pilot (which always was my dream, which is ironic since this is almost impossible to achieve these days)
It depends though if you would enjoy consulting as well. If you are just in for money and traveling it might not be the best thing. PM me if you have any other questions, as you can see I thought about that for a really long time.
Good like finding the time to get your PPL or instrument rating while in consulting.
Pilot is much more likely to be automated. Full self driving is within reach for planes, and regulations are already considering eliminating the need to have 2 pilots in commercial flights. I think that pilots will command lower salaries in 10 years time.
I’m in the aviation world and can say you’re correct in terms of cargo but absolutely not for commercial, at least not in the United States. Autopilot exists now and pilots still need to hand-fly. All you need is one disaster for the industry to crumble. The risk is not worth the savings. We will not see it. Pilots will also not command lower salaries. The opposite is happening because of the pilot shortage that will take 10 years time to reach a close-gap.
I’m married to a pilot. As a consultant, it’s fun to read these responses. Both are a grind in different ways. U.S. airlines are improving in their pay and QOL. I can’t speak for a carrier based in Asia because I’d assume that’s entirely different. For commercial pilots, it’s nice that they are really off when they aren’t working whereas it’s hard for me to turn off work. It’s rough on parenting and managing the household though.
Flying
Aviation all the way!
Chief
I would be a pilot because I think flying airplanes is much more fun.
Why not both?
I'd fly