Does GA flying suffice for you?

Merit, that daggum jet jockey up there said it all.

There are some people that feel that flying for a living takes away from the fun.

Then, there are some of us that love flying for a living.
 
So merit, is selling medical equipment all about the money? I had a neighbor that sold MRI's and he seemed to be pretty happy and down to earth. It seems like the Cadillac of sales jobs though, money wise.
 
So merit, is selling medical equipment all about the money? I had a neighbor that sold MRI's and he seemed to be pretty happy and down to earth. It seems like the Cadillac of sales jobs though, money wise.
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All about the money? For some. Its a stable, financially rewarding career. I am not sure about MRI equipment. I do vascular devices such as stents, guidewires, and vessel catheters. Most of our reps make $150-300K.

To me? Its still not flying.
 
meritflyer said:
All about the money? For some. Its a stable, financially rewarding career. I am not sure about MRI equipment. I do vascular devices such as stents, guidewires, and vessel catheters. Most of our reps make $150-300K.

To me? Its still not flying.
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For that kind of money...and I have no idea of your financial situation....I would love live very frugal for 5 years or so and save enough to finacially retire....then chase the dream.

BTW...I have a degree in biomedical science and experience recruiting doctors..building relationships with them..etc... , and I can't get a call for an interview for a job such as yours. You are very fortunate..and most likely a type A personality...constant drive.

BTW, is you company hiring:)
 
If the kids are too young to sell them into slavery, then they're a decade or so away from college or more. What I'm trying to say is, figure it out. You can either keep your 'good' paying job, try to save up, and then make the hop as was suggested above, or you can punch out now and hope that you're in a good paying job when the kiddies hit college age.


You can try to sell me a vessel catheter anytime, hunnybun. ;)
 
notawannabee said:
For that kind of money...and I have no idea of your financial situation....I would love live very frugal for 5 years or so and save enough to finacially retire....then chase the dream.

BTW...I have a degree in biomedical science and experience recruiting doctors..building relationships with them..etc... , and I can't get a call for an interview for a job such as yours. You are very fortunate..and most likely a type A personality...constant drive.

BTW, is you company hiring:)
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5 years at 300k gross is going to get you nowhere towards retirement unless you want to live like a Congolese refugee.

300k: puts him in top tax bracket: I don't pay our taxes, but my dad bitches constantly and I'm sure it's around 30%. (I'm assuming you're not a dirty bastid and have all sorts of tax shelters, merit.)

210 left. House(s), cars, something sexy for the wife, etc etc. If you can put away 50k a year to your net worth (not counting equity in houses, etc) you're doing pretty well.

50k x 5 years = 250k = that won't last you very long.

/ff
 
frog_flyer said:
5 years at 300k gross is going to get you nowhere towards retirement unless you want to live like a Congolese refugee.

300k: puts him in top tax bracket: I don't pay our taxes, but my dad bitches constantly and I'm sure it's around 30%. (I'm assuming you're not a dirty bastid and have all sorts of tax shelters, merit.)

210 left. House(s), cars, something sexy for the wife, etc etc. If you can put away 50k a year to your net worth (not counting equity in houses, etc) you're doing pretty well.

50k x 5 years = 250k = that won't last you very long.

/ff
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You're thinking of 300k as five years... he said 150-300k per year. Let's say he lives off of 50k for 5 years, and after taxes banks 150k per year. That's 750k after 5 years. On a 10% return he's getting 75k per year, without his principle ever going down. That would be doable.
 
Ahh yes, but what if you invest that 50k a year? You would be amazed how much you can make. Go take 250k and play around with some investments for fun and see what I mean.
 
Ahh yes, but what if you invest that 50k a year? You would be amazed how much you can make.
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You'd also be surprised at what you can lose.

Rule of thumb: Only invest what you can afford to lose.
 
meritflyer said:
You'd also be surprised at what you can lose.

Rule of thumb: Only invest what you can afford to lose.
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I agree..
you really lose when you can't afford to invest...having options is a luxury.
i think you can secure and expand your options to greater extent all while saving money and giving your family more security....all this with less risk and possible hardship.

I understand your conundrum...I'm going through the same exact process in my decision making. However, I don't make nearly the scratch you do.

FrogFlyer....if I made that kind of money...I would absolutely live like a refugee. I'm serious. I would ( and should be now...working on that ). I would live in someone's basement..a tent..whatever. That's if it was just me, but like meritflyer I have a family and want a comfortable standard of living...but sacrafices now would afford much deserved freedom later on. It's amazing how much cutting back on certain luxuries can make in savings.....even the small things add up. Most of us tend to live to live on a thin line of margin when it comes to standard of living.

I take chinook's optimisim...It's doable.
 
Once again, Matt more or less expressed what a lot of us feel.

I love my job. I might not like some aspects or the politics that go along with it, but as a job I like it....a lot. It challenges me on a daily basis, and it lets me do what I WANT to do. Now, that being said, there are a lot of things I'd LIKE to do that I can't in the RJ within the scope of my job. Aerobatics are a definate no-no. Air racing (assuming Nessa wouldn't kill me herself)? Not a chance. Plus, I like the added challenge of flying taildraggers. Solution: buy a T-6 to fly on the side when I have the cash. That's down the road. Would I quit my job or do something else for income once I have said airplane? Doubtful. There's aspects of the job that wouldn't translate to flying GA, such as non-reving internationally for vacations.
 
ChinookDriver said:
You're thinking of 300k as five years... he said 150-300k per year. Let's say he lives off of 50k for 5 years, and after taxes banks 150k per year. That's 750k after 5 years. On a 10% return he's getting 75k per year, without his principle ever going down. That would be doable.
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read what I said again.


300k a year gross (before taxes): you're doing well if you can tak 50k of that and be able to save it.

However, if you think you could comfortably live on 50k a year after living off of 100k+, then go for it.
 
frog_flyer said:
read what I said again.


300k a year gross (before taxes): you're doing well if you can tak 50k of that and be able to save it.

However, if you think you could comfortably live on 50k a year after living off of 100k+, then go for it.
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Interesting. From what experience do you base your ideas?
 
I guess I am torn between my love for aviation and every aspect that is included and a financial state that my family is in.

If I could make it to a decent paying regional like SKYW or XJT and upgrade within 2-3 years, then I think I'd start to recover. I only need $60K plus benefits to live on. So once there, I think I'd be "over the hump".

The only challenge would be getting through the poor FO phase.
 
meritflyer said:
I guess I am torn between my love for aviation and every aspect that is included and a financial state that my family is in.

If I could make it to a decent paying regional like SKYW or XJT and upgrade within 2-3 years, then I think I'd start to recover. I only need $60K plus benefits to live on. So once there, I think I'd be "over the hump".

The only challenge would be getting through the poor FO phase.
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Merit....I'll keep an eye on your comments and progress. My situation is very very similar to yours. I don't know about you, but i hate my job. As hard as I try to keep my mood in check after a day of work...keep face with the family. They sense my displeasure with my work. This can lead to serious family issues down the road. Me and my wife have been talking about it tonight...this very issue. I told her on one hand I feel selfish for pursuing the tough road of aviation witht it's possible descent financial rewards...but then again...I don't want to come home grumpy. Your passion , if you choose to pursue it...has a positive impact on your family. Your happy they are happy...and vise versa.

A little background..my father in law retired a few years back as Captain....used to be head of a labor union ( in another country )...I'll make sure to includee his rference letter when I apply to regionals ...HAH!!. she knows the life and the passion he had with flying. She knows the lifestyle..so that's one thingg I have going for me.

I hear you on the FO pay.....I would probably start a small landscaping ( or something else...who knows) business with flexibility to supplement my income.
 
I love the thought of flying for the airlines and SOMEDAY getting out of GA. Right now i'm having a blast even though i'm still learning, a 172 is alot of plane for me. If anything i'd like to get real comfortable in flying it before any leap. I give alot of credit to those CFI's who jump straight into RJ's i think it's amazing.

Anyways, my goal is to one day have enough money where i wont have to fly for the airlines and fly my own personal jet. There might be a possibility of this happening if everything goes well with my parents restaurant. Expansion is on the outlook right now, and hopefully within 5-7 years we could do an expansion across the country. If so, i'll be pushing for a flight department and opeate a TP or if costs allow a small jet.

A king air or a Citation would not be bad at all to fly around! Not as much stress either having your parents or family friends as your clients!
 
Bigey said:
A king air or a Citation would not be bad at all to fly around!
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I'll take the King Air.
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