I hear a lot of talk about how it's harder for helo guys to transition to an airline gig, but being an overpaid bus driver doesn't appeal to me. Sure the money's good, but wouldn't it get boring?
I'm just a primary scrub and I go back and forth for selection choices but flying helos sounds like a blast. The only thing I'm worried about is I don't want to be a navy career guy and jobs seem limited for helo pilots outside the navy. My best idea was to join a PD after and get a spot in their air unit with some time. It's so far in the future for me that it's silly, but I want to get all the research I can since it's a huge decision.
BOTTOM LINE: Opportunities as a Helo guy in the civilian world (particular to law enforcement) and what's good/bad about flying helos?
BLUF: Airline guys make substantially more money, helicopters are more fun to fly - and medevac helicopter guys can be home almost every night.
If you are looking at $200K + benefits + free travel, you can put up with a lot of boredom. Who knows how long the hiring boom will go? Could be a long time, or it could suddenly end due to technology or free trade (ask the airline guys here how worried they are about Norwegian Air.) Do not be so quick to discount the airlines. or cargo carriers. You can easily go to a regional and make the jump a few years later to the majors if trends hold.
Non-government helicopter jobs generally depend on the price of oil. Civilian (domestic) oil rig jobs require you live within driving distance of the Gulf of Mexico for 2 weeks on / 2 weeks off schedules. If you can not stomach that, well, that basically leaves medevac, corporate, and contractor. I flew civilian vertrep for a while and absolutely loved it - pure stick and rudder in the Puma, travel all over the world, life on a ship (the quality of life on a USNS ship is soooooo much better than a USN ship that the two really should not be compared.). However the 6 week on / 6 week off schedule of most overseas work is very tough on family life - if you are single it can lead to a lot of opportunities when you have 6 weeks off at a time. Civilian fire-fighting I have heard is the most fun you can have with a helo but I have never flown it.
Government helicopter jobs - federal, state or local vary widely. Some can be great, others not so much. There are a few guys here that can speak about it from personal experience but generally it is much easier if you already can supplement that income with retired military pay.
Unlike the airlines where everything is driven by seniority, helicopter jobs are generally non-union. There is a premium on being qualified in particular types, a logbook full of hours and connections. Connections, unfortunately, are less effective than they used to be due to HR and legal departments spreading their poisonous tentacles over everything within organizations. There are also a multitude of corporate jobs that want you to be the PIC in the helo and the SIC in the corporate jet.
If you go helicopters, I would consider a trip back to Whiting Field as an IP. It is not as career enhancing as the FRS (why, I have absolutely no idea - I don't know what the difference is but for some reason boards consider the FRS more appealing.) At North Whiting, you could go T-6's and grab gobs of fixed wing PIC time to go with your fleet helicopter time. You could also go to South Whiting and likewise grab 1500+ hours of more helo time (by then it will likely be something other than a Bell 206).
If you want to look around the job market, try
www.jsfirm.com
