Hello everyone! My name is Jin Bae and I am a flight instructor from Wisconsin.
I flew into Anchorage a few days ago looking for a job but it is as if I am hitting an invisible wall - I was wondering if any of the experienced pilots could give some helpful tips to guide me.
I transitioned my career into aviation relatively late (30). Before aviation, I used to work for the Pentagon crunching numbers but I found no real happiness there. So I became a high school teacher for a while and then I got hooked with the idea of living in Alaska! So I got into flying and completed my certifications in 2020. As a fresh flight instructor I could not find any jobs in Alaska, so I ended up instructing in Wisconsin for about a year.
So now I have about 700 hrs, and I quit my job in Wisconsin. A lot of people thought this was a dumb move (and rightfully so) since the job market is grim due to the pandemic, but I know what my heart desires and I decided to act on it.
I flew into Alaska this past Sunday and I started to knock on some doors Monday and Tuesday. I think I tried almost all the 135 operators in Anchorage area... but no one wanted to hire an out of state pilot with 0 local connections. One chief pilot of a cargo operation specifically told me that Alaskans will only hire Alaskans and I have no chance.
Now - I don’t expect anything in life to be handed to me. But honestly I was feeling pretty down after today.
I am not about to give up and I’ll go out and try again tomorrow... that’s the only thing I can do - but I wonder if what the chief pilot said is true.
Is there no place for a fresh guy like me in Alaska? I would really like to get into the flying scene up here.. but it seems very hard.
I pretty much did an all-in quitting my job and making moving preparations so I plan to move here regardless of how my job search turns out this week. In the worst case scenario- I’ll be fine doing dock work or filleting salmon... but I was hoping to find some aviation related work.
May I ask the experienced pilots on any helpful tips or any information on where else I can knock?
I would sincerely appreciate it. Maybe I’ll fly out to Bethel and try there?
I plan to stay in Anchorage until next Monday and then I will have to fly back to Wisconsin to pack. And then the long drive!
I’ll leave my phone number here as well (919 609 2200)
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