E356: From SWAT to Corporate Jet Pilot - How Josh Changed Careers and Built a Life in Aviation

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What does it take to walk away from a two-decade law enforcement career — including 13 years on SWAT — and start over as a pilot? Josh Schirard did exactly that, and in this episode he breaks down every step of the journey.

Josh is now a corporate pilot flying Hawker 800s and Lear 60s, a professional skydiver with the REMAX Skydive team, and the author of the upcoming book Burn Your Boats. He's also one of the most thoughtful guests we've had on the show when it comes to the mindset side of aviation.

In this episode we talk about:

• How skydiving pulled him back into aviation after years away
• His ATP flight training experience — the good, the hard, and what he'd do differently
• How SWAT-level decision-making and crew resource management overlap more than you'd think
• Building flight time as a jump pilot and why he skipped the CFI route
• How he landed his first corporate gig through pure networking
• Whether the airlines are in his future — and why he keeps his options open
• His philosophy on personal minimums, comfort zones, and why you need to push the gap between the two

Whether you're thinking about a career change into aviation, grinding through your ratings, or already flying professionally and wondering what's next — this episode is for you.

Happy Flying, Justin