Anyone who follows this blog knows that I left accounting to attempt a career as a professional pilot just about 3 years ago. I had decent luck at it, had a great time with it (by and large) and don’t regret the journey for a second. However, despite my innate doubt about whether I wanted to continue along that path or go back to a home city based job and work on another dream of running my own business in accounting someday, I was forced out of the position with a massive round of furloughs. Logistics dictated that it was in my best interest to resign from the airline instead of wait for the furlough (there is more on this in previous posts) so that I could hit the timing of the spring 2009 semester at my old college to begin CPA studies. I knew that the job market, especially with aviation, was going to be rocky so I needed to choose something that would not only benefit me down the road, but also something that was entirely under my control and not dependent on any stroke of luck (i.e. finding a good job in a down market doing something I cared about).
Fast forward 13 months now, and I am VERY close to finishing up this CPA cycle. The last year has been a good one for me because despite my professional development, raising of my income potential, etc, I was living a rooted life at home (not having to commute!!!), enjoying the freedom that comes with being outside the rat race, etc. My wife and I are very smart with our money and were smart enough to spend less than we made for many years and save during the time when we were both working. At the time of my layoff, assuming her unchanging income, we could have coasted for about 3 years without worrying too much about money – but that certainly wasn’t the plan, of course.
However, this CPA road was always finite in length and now that I have reached the end of the road, I am brainstorming on exactly where to go from here. In all honesty, the thought of going back to public accounting doesn’t sit well with me. I do seem to have a knack for it and am good at it, but my real love lies in aviation. Part of me feels that if I were to go back to accounting that I would be doing myself a disservice. On the other hand, lots of pilots talk about having a “backup plan” – this is undoubtedly my backup plan. So, perhaps finding a position as an accountant, even if just as a parking orbit type position, while I figure out my next professional step is in order.
I’ve considered applying to the FAA to be a safety inspector or something similar. I’ll certainly put in my application and see what happens. I wouldn’t even mind going into airplane sales or something similar. And honestly, I wouldn’t mind going back to the airlines if the right opportunity came. I’d even be a career CFI, but just cannot top more than about 25 to 30k doing it – just not enough!
What would I be doing if I didn’t have to do anything? I’d be flying something – either full scale or R/C airplanes. So the question is, considering the weight of the future, potential kids on the horizon, wife quitting work to stay home with them, etc, is it better to jump from aviation gig to aviation gig and ride the volatile waves that are a big part of the, frankly, over saturated aviation industry? Or is it better to cash in on this CPA and go crunch numbers behind a desk for a while – potentially long enough for me to learn enough of the ropes to eventually own my own business and be my own boss at it. Certainly that is a lot of work, but will closely mirror the feelings of this year – BUSY with accounting work, but outside the corporate rat race, and FOR ME! And I’ve honestly been happy over the last year working on this CPA – that does say something.
One road leads to me doing aviation-related stuff for a living, but ALWAYS on someone else’s terms in the capacity of an employee (most likely) and the other entails about 5 years of mind numbing boredom prepping tax returns on someone else’s term as an employee, until such time as I can quit, and start my own practice to build up. Its not so much the work of accounting that scares me, its the stereotypical “corporate America” 8-5 desk job, “soft music while you work”, fluorescent lights overhead while its a beautiful sunny day outside kind of stuff that I am afraid of.
Some people thrive in that environment. I’ve been a pilot for 12 years, and an aviation lover my whole life. I’ve flight instructed for 3 years, I’ve flown for an airline for almost 2, and have nearly 2,000 hours of flight time at the fairly young age of 28. The old phrase “some birds aren’t meant to be caged” comes to mind. But then again, I don’t want to be a sissy either and run away from anything resembling hard work.
Its a tough decision. In the end, life is a game. If I get too serious about how to handle logistics and take a less desirable road out, I might just find myself at 80 years old wishing it had all gone differently.
Both roads are noble in their own right. In this market, the accounting path certainly would be easier to get aboard. And, the aviation industry will always be a tough path full of ups and downs, mergers and acquisitions, airline politics, etc.
The question of flying isn’t a question. I’ll always fly, as much as I can as a CFI and with as much money as I can afford. But can I sit at a desk doing accounting for most of my time and only fly on the off times? The answer is yes, if I can strike a chord to where my efforts benefit ME and not the firm partners at my expense.
The light at the end of this CPA tunnel is right here at my finger tips now. I really need to expand my thought processes and work to come up with a long term professional plan. I’ve got some cool qualifications that can lead me into two separate noble career paths – one is fairly smooth, but BORING, and the other is rough and full of potholes, but “potentially” more fulfilling – even that I am not 100% sure of really (flying airliners is BORING too!).
Life gets pretty interesting sometimes. But, I’ll figure it out.