It’s been two Sundays since I last sent you an email right?

Today, I’d like to explain what’s been up, plus a quick announcement: we’ll have a cohort for the 2024 aerial survey hiring season. A single objective of course, get an interview.

More on that below!

If you didn’t know, I’m originally from Madagascar, and I relocated to the US just a month ago. I’ve reached out to a bunch of sub-500-hour jobs since I got here and I’ve actually been invited to check one out this past week.

It was for a pipeline patrol job.

I can’t name drop because they don’t like having their business aired out on the internet, but here’s what I can tell you: management was amazing, maintenance was serious, and the pilot who introduced me to it all was great.

Although we really hit it off (again, great people), we decided we wouldn’t move forward. Long story short, pipeline patrol isn’t what I thought it would be. Hours are hours, sure, but committing 15 months to a job I personally wouldn’t be looking forward to wasn’t a good idea.

I otherwise would’ve gone the CFI route hahaha

The company supported my decision: they want someone who wants to fly for them.

So, I initially went there with the intention of taking the job if offered it. But I’m back on the market, and back to the original plan: to secure an aerial survey seat this summer.

The last weeks have been super busy. Between moving, looking, applying and reaching out to people for a (flying) job, I was getting a little in over my head. But deep dives will be back before you know it: we still have a LOT of companies left.

Until then, here’s what I’ve been planning…

Our next big project: a cohort.

You guys remember the premium database of low time pilot jobs?

It’s still there for those who want to get it. We’re having a pre-sale, just until I roll out the next big updates. Yeah, I haven’t been super active, I’ll allocate more time to it now that my future is a little clearer. (link)

But that’s besides the point.

After getting feedback from early users, the database helps, but there are improvements to be made. So I thought about a more done-with-you approach to the entire job search thing…

If you’ve had a pilot interview before, you already know how the process goes and the database just helps you decide which company is worth the effort, right?

But for those who are completely fresh and new to the job market like I was, a little guidance helps a lot.

That’s what the cohort will focus on.

We’ll try to get former survey pilots from the listed low time companies on a group call, ask them some pointers (exact resume format, phone interview questions) and execute.

We’ll get to ask whatever specific questions we have.

We could also have actual resume and interview prep professionals join us on a call, to get everything set up once and for all.

I’ve done both. It’s definitely not required to get a job. But it’s helpful.

What’s it going to look like?

If you didn’t know, Skylens has announced their hiring window (opens July 22nd).

They’ve been my #1 pick since I started writing this newsletter. 

But let’s be real, we can’t all get hired: we’re over 1,000 members. And there’s probably a few hundred more low time pilots out there. So we might have to put a cap on the number of participants.

For that reason, Skylens will be our first cohort, but we’ll try to have one for every operator that pre-announces their hiring window.

It will not be for everyone, for obvious reasons:

• not for you if you aren’t willing to be on the road for 7-8 months straight

• not for you if you don’t have a CMEL and some multi-time

• not for you if you don’t have at least 350 hours total time

I’ll be setting everything up these next weeks, you can join the waitlist for that cohort here. (link)

If this goes well, we’ll work on something for pilots in different life situations next (didn’t forget about you guys), but for now, that’s all I have for us.

Hope it helps!