Corporate, cargo and charter flying careers

The airlines aren't the only flying career. Several parallel paths offer different lifestyles and pay.

• Corporate / business aviation — flying jets and turboprops for a company or via a management firm; often fractional operators (shared-ownership fleets) or flight departments. Trade-offs: more varied destinations, sometimes more days away or on-call, and strong pay at the top fractional/flagship level. Excellent customer-service and single-pilot/2-crew skills matter.
• Cargo — from single-pilot Part 135 freight runs (great for building real IFR PIC time early) up to the cargo majors flying wide-bodies worldwide, which rival passenger majors in pay with night-heavy schedules.
• Charter (Part 135) — on-demand passenger and cargo flying; a common early-career turbine job and a career in itself, with varied flying and less rigid scheduling than the airlines.

These paths can be destinations or stepping stones. Many pilots build turbine PIC time in charter or cargo, then move to the airlines; others prefer business aviation's variety and stay. Compare pay, schedule predictability, days-away-from-base, equipment, and upgrade prospects — the "best" job depends on what you want your life to look like, not just the hourly rate.

*Reference and training only.*