Trying to decide.

J

JohnM

New Member
To give everyone a quick background on me...

Im 15 and thinking heavy about a career choice.
My choices are ether working with animals such as a Marine Animal Trainer or a Vet. I have great interest in Aviation such as being a Pilot or ATC.
I will be attending Job Corp is Gainesville,FL sometime this year after there I will be going to community college, and really this is where my issues start.

The college Santa Fe Community College, has a Aviation program that after completing I can transfer to ERAU DB. This College also has a Zoo tech course so that would help me with Animals. As of right now I was thinking about taking a 2+2 AA to BA degree in Psychology, I would be getting my BA degree from UF.

I am really having issues on what Class to take and what Career path to choose, pay for Animal Training such as Seaworld Orlando starting pay about $12.00 an hour, salary to be a Vet possibly upwards into $50,000+ if you are lucky. Pilot well you all know that, and at my airport final pay $80,000+.
It really is not about the money but good pay would be nice in this economy.
All have Pro's and Con's.

I thank you all for any and all support/advice.


John M
 
JohnM said:
To give everyone a quick background on me...

Im 15 and thinking heavy about a career choice.
My choices are ether working with animals such as a Marine Animal Trainer or a Vet. I have great interest in Aviation such as being a Pilot or ATC.
I will be attending Job Corp is Gainesville,FL sometime this year after there I will be going to community college, and really this is where my issues start.

The college Santa Fe Community College, has a Aviation program that after completing I can transfer to ERAU DB. This College also has a Zoo tech course so that would help me with Animals. As of right now I was thinking about taking a 2+2 AA to BA degree in Psychology, I would be getting my BA degree from UF.

I am really having issues on what Class to take and what Career path to choose, pay for Animal Training such as Seaworld Orlando starting pay about $12.00 an hour, salary to be a Vet possibly upwards into $50,000+ if you are lucky. Pilot well you all know that, and at my airport final pay $80,000+.
It really is not about the money but good pay would be nice in this economy.
All have Pro's and Con's.

I thank you all for any and all support/advice.


John M
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What ever you do, don't do it strictly for the money. I was your age when I started flying, and in a lot of ways I haven't looked back. Its fun, it pays the bills, but work is work. Do something you enjoy.
 
I honestly have yet to fly in a plane, due to my parents not wanting me to be a Pilot. They refuse to let me go for a single flight, I do however love to be a passenger ( :laff: ) I love to work with people and love to work with Animals.
 
It is very competitive to be admitted to veterinary schools (more so than medical schools) because there aren't that many of them.
 
JohnM said:
It really is not about the money but good pay would be nice in this economy.
All have Pro's and Con's.

John M
Click to expand...


First of all your only 15, by the time you graduate college "this economy" should be fixed. Second you need to go on at least a discovery flight before you decide to pursue aviation as a career. At but not least you need to follow the path that you are passionate about.
 
JohnM said:
I honestly have yet to fly in a plane, due to my parents not wanting me to be a Pilot. They refuse to let me go for a single flight, I do however love to be a passenger ( :laff: ) I love to work with people and love to work with Animals.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend you at least do a discovery flight before you enter into any aviation program, and if you can I'd get your private pilots license before you commit to flying for a living. Most pilots on here will tell you that flying airplanes is easy and that anybody can do it, but that's a mindset we get in when we're just around pilots all the time. To us, this seems like a really, really, really easy gig. But once you get away from a bunch of people that fly for a living, you start to realize how specialized this job really is. It takes a heck of a lot of study to do it correctly and there are some people that can do it, and some folks that can.

More importantly, there are some people that are apt to do it, and those that are not. You want to make sure you're passionate about digging deep into aerodynamics, weather, aircraft system, federal aviation regulations, etc. etc. This career is not for the faint of heart if only from the standpoint of the depth of knowledge that you need to have to do it. Again, a lot of people here will tell you that anybody can hack this, but it simply isn't the case. I'd recommend you try to get your private pilots license before deciding you really want to do this for a living.
 
Hey John

I graduated from UF in 2007 and during my time there I did some flight training on the side. If you go to the Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) they have an FBO there that has a flight school. Its called University Air Center and it would be cheaper to get all your ratings there rather than ERAU. It would still be expensive but nowhere near the price for Embry Riddle. Also, UF has a Zoology degree program (as well as a Vet school) so you could major in that and then fly when you don't have class.www.zoo.ufl.edu/undergraduate . Hope this helps and good luck!
 
ufgators said:
Hey John

I graduated from UF in 2007 and during my time there I did some flight training on the side. If you go to the Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) they have an FBO there that has a flight school. Its called University Air Center and it would be cheaper to get all your ratings there rather than ERAU. It would still be expensive but nowhere near the price for Embry Riddle. Also, UF has a Zoology degree program (as well as a Vet school) so you could major in that and then fly when you don't have class.www.zoo.ufl.edu/undergraduate . Hope this helps and good luck!
Click to expand...

This is not bad advice. Go to an FBO's flight school and get your ratings while going to college for your other passion. You don't need an aviation degree to be successful in aviation, so don't force that into the equation.
 
That's kinda funny. I thought about doing the Santa Fe animal program when I was living in Gainesville. I wound up moving to Orlando and working in theme parks instead.

If I were in your shoes, I'd keep all my options open. Do the discovery flight like everyone else is suggesting to at least see if you LIKE it. On the side, either get a job or volunteer at a vet clinic to build up experience for potentially going to vet school. Volunteer work and experience with animals is something they look at as criteria to get in. Get the zoology degree, too. I wouldn't be in a rush to hit the aviation job market, and the zoology degree puts you in a position to act on something else if things don't work out (something else being vet school). UF's got a good vet school from what I hear. It's one of the reasons I moved to Gainesville back in 96. Plan didn't work out for me, though.
 
Thank you all for your advice, I have been trying to get a discovery flight, I currently dont have enough money but I almost have enough. I had the money and asked my mom and she rejected, my mom and dad both wont let me take a discovery flight. Im in Orlando and was looking at Avion Air Academy for at least the Discovery.

I have asked several vets and shelters around my area and they dont accept volunteers due to insurance.....


I am really thinking about the Psychology course at UF and maybe depending on money at the time later maybe I would take another course at the Community.



Thanks again,
John M
 
JohnM said:
Thank you all for your advice, I have been trying to get a discovery flight, I currently dont have enough money but I almost have enough. I had the money and asked my mom and she rejected, my mom and dad both wont let me take a discovery flight. Im in Orlando and was looking at Avion Air Academy for at least the Discovery.

I have asked several vets and shelters around my area and they dont accept volunteers due to insurance.....


I am really thinking about the Psychology course at UF and maybe depending on money at the time later maybe I would take another course at the Community.



Thanks again,
John M
Click to expand...

Maybe have your parents go up on the discovery flight first and then see what they have to say.
 
JohnM said:
Thank you all for your advice, I have been trying to get a discovery flight, I currently dont have enough money but I almost have enough. I had the money and asked my mom and she rejected, my mom and dad both wont let me take a discovery flight. Im in Orlando and was looking at Avion Air Academy for at least the Discovery.

I have asked several vets and shelters around my area and they dont accept volunteers due to insurance.....


I am really thinking about the Psychology course at UF and maybe depending on money at the time later maybe I would take another course at the Community.



Thanks again,
John M
Click to expand...

Check Tampa. I have a friend that's a vet there, and she was able to get TONS of volunteer time over that way when she was in high school. Granted, this was the early 90s, so things may be different now. Thanks, lawyers.

There are TONS of places in Orlando to do the discovery flight. If I remember correctly, Avion is out of Sanford, right? There's a couple of places in Kissimmee and Air Orlando at Orlando Executive has top notch equipment (or at least did when I flew out of there).
 
Parents would not bring me to tampa would have to be in the Orlando metro area, but I will continue asking places...

About the Discovery flight, I have asked my mom about it and she still says no, she feels like its not a good career choice, I have tried to get someone from Avion to talk to her about it and she rejected to talk to him.

I just really wish I convince her that its what i want and to at least let me try.
I think its cause the danger but not sure, the reason I get is, its cause I said no....
 
Well If you work and pay for the private rating yourself, I don't think they would really have much of a say about it. I just think that they may think it is too dangerous. Unless you parents have experience with the aviation career field, I bet the danger aspect is what is getting them.

If anything you would have a new hobby to work at and eventually get your CFI and CFI part-time while being a vet during the week if you just payed for it yourself. I know of a bunch of people that did something similar to that and then retired. Now they work as part-time CFIs.
 
JohnM said:
About the Discovery flight, I have asked my mom about it and she still says no, she feels like its not a good career choice, I have tried to get someone from Avion to talk to her about it and she rejected to talk to him.
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Honestly, I don't think getting someone from Avion to talk to them is gonna change anything. They'd have to be open to the reception of the message, and from the sound of it, it doesn't sound like your parents would even be listening to what they said.

I just really wish I convince her that its what i want and to at least let me try.
I think its cause the danger but not sure, the reason I get is, its cause I said no....
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got that from my parents, too. Not on my career choices, but on other stuff. Always ticked me off, and it's one thing I swore to myself I'd never do to me kid. If I say "no" to him, there's gonna be a reason behind it. If he asks, he gets the reason, not the "B/c I said so" answer.

Best thing to do is try to talk to them yourself about why. Don't accept the "because I said so" answer. IMO, it's a cop out. There has to be a bigger reason behind it. You just have to find out what that reason is. If it's the danger aspect (and considering the US Airways and Colgan episodes happening relatively close together, I can't fault them for that), then find articles in magazines or newspapers highlighting the safety aspects of the job. If it's a fear of "those little airplanes," save up some money for an AOPA membership, and start showing them the safety articles from the AOPA Pilot magazine. You just need to dig and find out the real reason why they're saying "no" and work on that.
 
Try to turn 18 as soon as possible. :D

But seriously, your mom and dad are just trying to protect you from what they perceive to be an unsafe or "uncompensating" career. And they may be correct in some cases. The best thing you can do is try to educate them and yourself about a career in aviation.

Getting a degree in another subject while getting your ratings is not a bad idea.
 
kellwolf said:
Best thing to do is try to talk to them yourself about why. Don't accept the "because I said so" answer. IMO, it's a cop out. There has to be a bigger reason behind it. You just have to find out what that reason is. If it's the danger aspect (and considering the US Airways and Colgan episodes happening relatively close together, I can't fault them for that), then find articles in magazines or newspapers highlighting the safety aspects of the job. If it's a fear of "those little airplanes," save up some money for an AOPA membership, and start showing them the safety articles from the AOPA Pilot magazine. You just need to dig and find out the real reason why they're saying "no" and work on that.
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With my mom I ask why no cause i said no, then she will just ignore me.
With the Cirrus that crashed yesterday nearby it hurts my chances even more:(
 
Two examples:

One:
My neighbors mom said no to him (with respect to learning to fly) and he didn't pursue it until after he had an established engineering job. Now he flies when he wants to in a club and would never consider making it a career because he makes a ton more money.

Two:
Buddy from college days folks said no to him as well. He had a bunch of money saved up, did the flying, and last I heard he was working at Republic.

Lesson I'd like you to take: If your folks say no, do it yourself later. Down side is that it will take longer and be a lot harder than it was for some of us.
 
Your parents may have some say in it, now, because you are young, and they would be the ones to pay for your training, and bring you to the lessons. However, in the end, it is your life, and your decision. It will be your career. When you can pay for the lessons for yourself, and bring yourself to the lessons .. in other words, when you are of age to pursue these things, without your parents, then by all means do it, if you still want to. Don't let anybody keep you from pursuing your dreams.

As per safety ... considering recent events, USAir in the Hudson, Colgan; it may not be the best time to talk about flying being safe, but even Sully himself says that the majority of pilots spend their careers, without even one emergency landing. As for compensation, it takes time, and you have to work your way up, but for all you, or anybody else knows, you may make far more being a pilot, than being a Vet., or any other career. Income potential is still pretty decent, and will hopefully get better.
 
JohnM the intro flight will not necessarily determine if flying would be for you, you have to at least solo or finish the private. I remember I was very disappointed when I first took an airplane under my controls in 2004. The dirty airplane, my guy giving the intro flight seemed very intent on finishing the flight as if it was a waste of his time. We took off went out of the pattern about 5 miles out and returned for a landing! That's it, like less than half an hour. The whole thing seemed very unappealing, not to mention very expensive. Even with that I knew flying was for me. I put it off because I had no money and support anyways. A year later I was ready, took another intro flight with an instructor, he was amazing and made each day fun. If it's for you, you will know. If you can't pay for training and don't have rich parents like most of us, you need to come up with some kind of agreement with them in which you'll have to give up something in return for their support. Getting a job helps in that regard, if they still don't support you, then do it on your own. Your parents have the right to be concered though flying for a living is not what it used to be and no one tells you but it doesn't pay you untill you have years seniority. Most of the people I know are living in bunks on reserve or back home with their parents. You can't do much with 1500 dollars.
 
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