Plan A Vs. Plan B

1. A Comparison of
Career Options
Airline Pilot
vs.
Business Owner
Braydn S. Allred
Utah Valley University

2. Plan A vs. Plan B
 The two careers chosen were: A) commercial pilot and
B) personal business owner.
 Although my top priority is to become a commercial
pilot one day, I believe I would also enjoy and be
successful as a personal business owner.
 This presentation will summarize both of these career
options in detail, as well as summarize two related
entry-level positions that would help prepare me for my
desired career position.
 It is anticipated that this effort will help me find the
career that is best suited for me.

3. Plan A: Commercial Pilot
Title and Description
 A commercial pilot fly’s and navigates airplanes that
transport people and cargo from one place to another.
They transport for money, whether it be on large
commercial jets, or small tour planes.

4. Commercial Pilot:
Education and Requirements
 To become a pilot, one must complete pilot training. This
training takes place in simulators, as well as in airplanes.
 Usually, before earning your commercial pilot certificate, you
would earn your private pilot certificate. This is usually done
in a small four-seater airplane.
 The requirements to become a commercial pilot include: 1)
being 18-years-old or older; being able to understand, read,
speak, and write English; and 3) hold a private pilot
certificate. Pilot school also requires many hours of flight
experience and written exams (Houston, 2017).

5. Commercial Pilot: Salary
 According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of
Labor Statistics, in the year 2016, the average
commercial pilot in the United States had a median
annual wage of $77,200.
 Commercial pilots typically begin at $20,000 and as they
accumulate experience and seniority, becoming a
Captain, they earned an average salary of $55,000 per
year. If they earned Captain of a major airline, they
made $135,000 per year.
 Commercial pilots also earn per diem, or expense
allowances when away from home on flights.

6. Commercial Pilot:
Schedule and Domicile
 Commercial pilots fly an average of 75 hours per month, and
spend 150 hours doing other duties, such as preparation for
flights and checking weather conditions.
 The Federal Aviation Administration (2010) has regulations in
place that require rest periods and limited flight time. Pilots
are limited to eight hours of flight time during a 24-hour
period and must receive eight hours of rest time in a 24-hour
period
 Pilots spend a lot of time away from home on flight
assignments. When away from home overnight, they stay in
hotels. The airlines pick up the cost of accommodations,
transportation, and meals (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018).

7. Commercial Pilot: Benefits
 There are several benefits that come with being a
commercial pilot:
 One of the greatest perks is big discounts on personal air
travel, hotel rooms, and car rentals. This often extends for
life and includes family members
 Flexible schedule with extended periods of time off
 Comprehensive medical coverage
 Free enrollment in 401k savings plans
 Get to experience the world (Roennevig, 2018).

8. Commercial Pilot: Quality of Life
 The quality of life for a commercial pilot is sometimes
difficult due to the commuting, time away from home and
family, and often they will only have a few hours’ notice
before they have to fly, until they increase in seniority (Upper
Limit Aviation, 2016). It is my opinion that the advantages
outweigh the disadvantages

9. Commercial Pilot:
Progression
 Pilots often begin as a flight instructor until they have acquired
flight hours.
 From there they may become a regional airline pilot, flying to
communities without the demand to attract large airline
carriers.
 From there they may wish to move up to a large airline carrier
transporting passengers and cargo.
 They begin work as First Officers before they work their way up
to Captain. Advances often are based on seniority, or date of
hire.
 Pilots must retire at age 65. Airlines offer their pilots healthy
retirement plans that stream for the remainder of their lives
(Templeton, 2018).

10. Entry Level Position
 As mentioned earlier, pilots often begin their careers as flight instructors
to aid in building up flight hours required to progress on to First Officer
and then Captain.
 After searching available flight instructor positions, I found many
available across the country, and even in Utah. Most every position
viewed required the flight instructor to be certified.
 Utah Valley University has a part-time flight instructor position
available. This would be an excellent entry level position that I would
be interested in. The duties include conducting ground and flight
instruction, evaluating student performance and progress, and
recommend students for FAA testing. Applicants are also required to
maintain knowledge, proficiency, and currency with standardization
requirements (Utah Valley University, 2018).
 What is so nice about this job is that it can be filled by an Aviation
student while still completing classes and training towards a career as a
pilot.

11. Personal Input
 The one fact that surprised me the most was just how
little money beginning commercial pilots earn. It is nice
to know that with experience, time, and perseverance,
they can progress to a higher level of pay.
 It has always been my opinion that the key to happiness
is job satisfaction, not a high salary. A commercial pilot
is my dream job and I will work as hard as necessary to
pursue a career as a commercial pilot.

12. Plan B: Personal Business Owner
 My second choice of career is to own my own business.
Currently, I am co-owner of an inflatable business. I
have been running this by myself for five years.

13. Personal Business Owner:
Responsibilities and Education
 Because I have been running this business for five years now, I
am aware of the many responsibilities that surround it. Some
of these include: scheduling, maintenance, purchasing,
invoicing, payroll, and taxes, to name a few.
 Although an education is not mandatory to run an inflatable
business, such as it is to be a pilot, it would come in handy. I
believe that if I had a degree in business, finance, marketing,
or even a Master of Business Administration, that I would be
much more knowledgeable in the financial and marketing
aspects of running the business. I have taken some classes
within these fields, but have not pursued a career in them. I
have learned a lot from my dad who has a Master of Business
Administration. I feel like I have had a lot of good training
which has helped me in this field.

14. Personal Business Owner: Salary
 Compensation for this type of business is not steady and
changes day to day, month to month, and year to year. Last
year the business grossed approximately $250,000. After
taxes and overhead costs, the business earned around
$50,000.
 A career as personal business owner does not have set salaries
and can vary from very little to very large amounts earned.
My plans are to participate less in this job as I progress
towards becoming a pilot.
 If for some reason I had to fall back on this second choice
career as owner of a personal business, I would continue with
the inflatable company, but expand to include other
recreational items as rentals, such as ATV, side-by-sides, rocks
wall, and a boat. It is my belief that with the addition of
these extra items, it would help the business to grow and
increase significantly in profit.

15. Personal Business Owner:
Benefits and Perks
 A career as a business owner has many benefits and
perks. Some of the benefits are: 1) choosing your own
schedule, 2) working out of your home, 3) no one can
fire you, 4) you get to make all of the decisions, 5) you
can enjoy the rentals with your family for free, and 6)
this can act as a side job, allowing the pursuit of
another career.

16. Personal Business Owner:
Quality of Life
 The quality of life with regards to a business owner
depends on the type of work.
 With the inflatable business, I do have to do heavy
lifting with each order, both in delivery and pick-up.
Several of the inflatables weigh over 1000 pounds.
Often my back aches after a long day’s work.
Sometimes I also miss meals and end up working late
into the night.
 With that said, I still prefer this over an 8:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. job.

17. Personal Business Owner:
Promotions
 With business ownership there is the possibility of
upward mobility within the company.
 Although I already hold the title of co-owner, there is
always the possibility of sole-owner.

18. Personal Business Owner:
Negatives
 There are some negatives with relation to owning your
own business:
 Inconsistency in income
 Doing your own bookkeeping and taxes
 Liability
 No matching when it comes to retirement planning
 There was a large financial investment in the initial
business set up.

19. Entry Level Position
 I was able to find a position open for Owner of an Inflatable
Rental Business posted by Inflatable 2000. This is a company
that aids in starting up Inflatable Rental Businesses. They sell
bounce houses and other amusements.
 They state in the post that “There is no limit to how much
your business can grow and the amount of money you can
earn.”
 The add is a bit deceiving as it does not give prices of their
products, but it shows an entire page of how wonderful this
investment could be, bringing with it a handsome profit.
 It states that the start-up costs are minimal, lower than most
businesses; that you must have a truck; and that there is
limited amount of time required to generate as much income
as you are making at your current job.

20. Personal Input
 Although a commercial pilot is still my number one
career choice, I have chosen personal business owner as
a backup career because it is something that I enjoy and
could be happy doing if something were to change my
course from aviation.
 I love the flexibility that comes with business
ownership. I was very lucky to have come into this
business with family members who were financially
stable enough to purchase the products and had the
necessary knowledge to set up and run the business.

21. References
 Bureau of Labor Statistids. (2018). Airline and commercial pilots: Pay. Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/airline-and-commercial-
pilots.htm#tab-5
 Federal Aviation Administration. (2010). Fact sheet: Pilot flight time, rest, and fatigue. Retrieved from
https://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=6762
 Houston, S. (2017). How to become a commercial pilot. The Balance. Retrieved from
https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-become-a-commercial-pilot-282898
 Roennevig, M. (2018). Benefits for airline pilots. Retrieved from http://work.chron.com/benefits-
airplane-pilots-7084.html
 Roth, J. (2016). Exploring a commercial airline pilot’s quality of life. Upper Limit Aviation. Retrieved
from http://upperlimitaviation.edu/quality-life-commercial-airline-pilot/
 Sokanu. (2018). How much does a commercial pilot make in the United States? Commercial Pilot Salary.
Retrieved from https://www.sokanu.com/careers/commercial-pilot/salary/
 Templeton, P. (2018). The benefits of becoming an airline pilot. Retrieved from
https://pilotjobs.atpflightschool.com/2014/12/22/the-benefits-of-becoming-an-airline-pilot-2/
 Utah Valley University. (2018). Certified flight instructor I: Aviation (part-time variable hours).
Retrieved from https://www.indeed.com/q-Flight-Instructor-l-Utah-jobs.html?vjk=0cb00b72207f79f3