Last week I was flying with a new hire First Officer and had a senior wide-body captain on the jumpseat.

 After all the nice pleasantries and taking off, our conversation turned to the last year's turmoil - the cost Covid-19 had on the airline industry.

The new First Officer thought he had made it - landed a pilot job with a Legacy Carrier.

 Both myself and the Senior Captain couldn't stress enough the importance of having a secondary source of income - just in case.

 In the airline industry, it's never "just in case." It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when - when the industry takes a nose dive again.

 It seems that aviation is hit with some sort of unpredictable and uncontrollable Category 5 financial hurricane ever eight to 10 years.

 9/11

 The 2008 recession

 Covid-19 lock-downs

 Several airlines didn't survive this round.

 Hundreds of pilots received the dreaded news:

“Due to current unforeseen business circumstances beyond our control, the Company has made the ...

Hundreds of pilots are facing a more certain future than they were last March, but so many have lost pay and even entire jobs.

Taking control of your own finances and adding income outside the cockpit is really the only way to secure your own financial future, to secure your own Success Flight Path.

If you aren't really sure what type of business or investment to start, start with what sparks you! What interests you? What types of skills you have that lend themselves to profitability?

Can you teach something? Sell something? Offer guidance in a particular area?

Below are just a few questions to ask yourself when starting your search:

What do you like to do?

• What you are good at doing? (If you're not sure, ask friends, family and co-workers.)
• What do people ask you for help doing?
• What you can do that others that they can’t or don’t want to do?
• What people are willing to pay for you to do?
• How much would other people pay you to do that, and would that amount be
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