The Big Plan - 36 year old career changer

V

vonfonk

Well-Known Member
Hello all,

I am a 36 year old information technology professional contemplating a career change into the aviation field. With over 10 years experience in the computer industry I feel my ability to understand complex issues, react quickly to changing situations, and constant exposure to new technologies would would aide in this transition. I have saved up $60,000 to fund my career change and I really want to figure out how best to allocate it for my education/training. My dream has always been to become a pilot but I am also interested in aviation operations. As a result I am currently working toward my Private Pilots License (8 hours) as well as pursuing an online Masters degree in Aviation Operations with Embry Riddle. In addition to complementing each other I thought that by going after a masters and private pilots license ,simultaneously, I would increase my options if one path didn't work out. Maybe even giving me an advantage over other pilots. Or if I couldn't find work as a pilot I could find a job in aviation operations. I was hoping someone could give me some feedback regarding my plan. The masters program at Embry will cost roughly $15k leaving me $45k to spend on my flight training. With so many options and schools out there I'm really not sure where to start. My goal would be to work as a corporate pilot or maybe a regional airline. I would also love to eventually be able to fly VLJs. Do you recommend spending $90k on CAPT training or something like ATP’s Airline Career Pilot 90 day Program for $50k? A more reasonable program like the link below? Or something completely different? What certs are most important?



http://www.professionalpilottraining.com/programcost.htm



Sorry for such a long winded question. I really can't afford to waste any of my saving on unnecessary expenses. Any advice anyone can give would be greatly appreciated. Especially if you think my goals are realistic.



Thanks,



Steve
 
From a fellow 36 year old whom made the leap over a year ago, here goes my two cents.....

Everything depends on what you want to do in aviation.... If you want to follow an Aviation Management path, than stay management and let the job hunt begin....

If you want to go the professional pilot route, than start the pilot route (which you have already done). Honestly though, in aviation, it does not matter where you go and get your ratings..... Uncle Bob's flight school, or We Promise You Flight Academy. A license is a license is a license..... Now having said that, just make sure that you go to a school where you will actually learn how to fly........ and not just push buttons.... If you want to be a pilot, then experience everthing in aviation and don't get short sighted by SJS......... Personaly, go the FBO route, just find a good one whom will actually teach you and who's instructors have been there more than a few months and will be leaving soon.....(time builders).....

As some others on this site can attest to, the coorperate route can take years to get to..... But that is ok.... It will be worth it in the end.....

You will need to get Private, Instrument, Commercial (Single-Engine), Commercial Multiengine, CFI, CFII, and MEI..... Then teach for several years, make contacts and jump on up from there.......

Unless you want to go into management of some type, the Masters Degree doesn't matter... Do it if you want, but it is not necessary for the pilot route, and Embry Riddle is only a name and most companies could care less where you got it from...... A piece of paper, is a piece of paper..... And a once a week masters is a once a week masters with online classes and every single college is doing it......(usually the same company running it, they just change the ink for the diploma).....

Hope this helps.....
 
I'd just blow it in an FBO with a good equipment to get all the ratings, it should be more than enough.
 
Shop around, read and participate on this site, and make sure you have some savings put away for the first couple years on the line.

The licenses and ratings you get are the same no matter where you train and no matter what you paid. Go to the school that fits your needs as a student. Talk to the students and instructors and get a good feel for things before shelling out all that cash.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

Does anyone think a masters in aviation science at Embry would look more attractive to potential employers? Maybe help give a little bump in salary?
 
Hello from a fellow career changer! You can read my progress and stories in this section.

I cannot stress enough to read and participate here at JC. The knowledge I have gained in the year and a half I have been here is INVALUABLE! The people here, for the most part, truly want to help you and pay it forward. Other sites, **cough*** APC ***Cough***, are not quite as inviting to newbie career changers.

As far as the degree, well it certainly cannot hurt. It does not seem that it will help you an awful lot unless you plan on getting to the majors someday, but even then, a 4-year degree will suffice.

The next part: Where to go. As many have said, it does not matter where to go. You may want to ask yourself, “How fast do I want to get there?”

If you are in a hurry, schools like ATP will get you zero to hero in no time at all. From what I hear and see, people are headed for a regional within 6 months of starting the 90 day ACPP course. You would also have the opportunity to instruct in almost exclusively multi engine planes. You’ll blow your whole $60k at ATP though. I looked at some other big academies and I just do not think all that more money is worth it. FlyingNinja is a CAPT grad and will tell you horror stories.

However, the cheaper route will be to go through a smaller FBO type school. You can be done with all your ratings for around $35-40k.
It will generally take longer, but some (People with WAY more experience than I) will argue the quality of your education will be better. That being said, DesertDog, the guy posting above me, went from middle-aged truck driver to Saab 340 pilot in the same amount of time I have been on this site. He pushed through training quite quickly at a small school in Okiehomie, instructed, flew people around the canyon, and made it to a regional in a short time.

As others have said, it takes a bit more time to get to a corporate gig, and I have noticed it has A LOT to do with who you know. Give consideration to going to a regional to build up turbine time quickly while looking for a corporate gig if that is the route you want to take. By the way, I will get crucified here for saying “go to a regional to build time”, but oh well. You will learn the taboo topics of the site soon enough.

Welcome aboard again!
 
Bro, I just turned 35 last month and I worked in IT as well, for Sprint. Basically, UNIX Admin and Cisco router/switch stuff. I got the crazy notion to do the same thing back in March of this year. I took a buyout from Sprint (layoffs and they were offering a buyout for me of nearly 6 months pay and benefits) and started training. I went from 0 hours starting in April and will be finished by the end of this month (Sept) with the CMEL/CSEL. I am at 160TT and 23ME now. I went the FBO routes, so that I could use my GI Bill benefits, but if I didn't have that, I would have went to ATP to get in and get to where I was going quickly.

I would have never made the decision to do any of this without finding this web forum. There is so much great information on this website. Actually, when you hear someone explain how they got addicted to meth or heroin, I can understand now....this forum is pretty damn close to an addiction for me. Although, I really like to lurk more than I like to post....but, I still post a bit. :D

If you have any questions, send me a PM. And, by the way, be willing to offer up your services with IT to trade off for flying time or instruction time. You just never know some of the messes that pilots can get computers into.
 
Welcome to the early mid-life! But really - I'm 35 - and two months into exactly what you are talking about. Take advantage of all the amazing info on this site, and the great people who peruse it and offer advice. :bandit: Okay - that wasn't referring to me - I meant everyone else:D.

But really - if your heart is into flying, you will know once you get further into your PPL that you cannot do anything else. It is a great bug to catch.

So, read, ask questions, ask some more questions, and you'll feel good later about all the research you did... once you dive in. And no matter what you choose - listen to what your heart tells you.
 
IMHO, it really doesn't matter in the end.
ATP(like) - big $$$, but you get big ME PIC, and usually a quicker pace.
FBO - a LOT cheaper, but usually takes more time, hit/miss on SE/ME time.

Haven't heard ONE good thing about CAPT, and honestly, do you want to spend 90K on your commercial, when you'll have the same little green card as the guy that paid 35K for?

If it applies, the only thing to watch out for is "AIDS." :p

WELCOME!!! We're all great people 'round here, (well, the rest are, not so much me) and all willing to help out like brotha's.
 
Chewie von Nubbins said:
If you have any questions, send me a PM. And, by the way, be willing to offer up your services with IT to trade off for flying time or instruction time. You just never know some of the messes that pilots can get computers into.
Click to expand...

Hehe...I just got a great part-time gig with a local FBO doing line work and helping them out with IT issues. I hope to get some experience on the operations side while helping to fund my flying habit. :)
 
Welcome aboard and best of luck on this journey. As far as the flying side, do it as cheaply as possible. Ratings and times is what counts - where you get those from does not matter. Personally, I would never spend 90k on any of those programs. Join a flying club, partner with someone on an aircraft, instruct etc etc.

As far as a Masters degree, that would definately be an advantage I would think if your looking at going into management. I don't think it will make any difference on the flying side, and will not result in a higher wage on the flying side as that is all based on seniority.

Best of luck whichever way you choose. I fly a large cabin corp jet after spending many years in Part 121 - feel free to PM me if I can be of any help.



Max
 
vonfunk:

If flying is what you want to do, then I say go for it. If you want to do airport ops, then do so. I would recommend focusing your energies and resources in one direction. "Procrastination is the theif of time." I not trying to insinuate that you are procrastinating just that "a house divided against itself will not stand."

At 45, I looking to start my training in November @ ATP in Daytona. It has been a difficult road to hoe. My plans are to do "fast track" in both the Private Pilot and Airline Career Pilot Program. Remember, it's great to get advice and direction, however you & only you will experience the actual accolades of success or disappointment of failure/rejection.

My advice is to do the research, make a decision, then ask God for direction.

Blue skies....always!!!


atp
 
I wish you the best in your endeavor. One thing you have going for you is the amount of cash you have saved up. I can't tell you how many FO's I've known who qualify for food stamps or are in serious debt.

I'm exactly the opposite of you. I left flying for a career in IT. In my case, I simply wished to stop living out of my suitcase. I really like being home at 4-5 every night. In my case, it has worked out very well. I have finally broken the 6 figure mark after a few years. I know this sounds strange, but the 6 figure mark was my personal way of convincing myself that I made the right decision (the right one for me that is). I won't lie, every time I hear an airplane, I still look up.

I left the regionals with about 4800 hours and 2 type ratings.

If I might add one piece of advice, I would consider the benefits of possibly getting your masters in something other than flying. The world of commercial aviation has it's extreme ups and downs and many pilots will tell you that you aren't a real pilot until you have been furloughed a few times.

If you ever want to discuss, feel free to send an IM.
 
atpwannabe said:
vonfunk:

If flying is what you want to do, then I say go for it. If you want to do airport ops, then do so. I would recommend focusing your energies and resources in one direction. "Procrastination is the theif of time." I not trying to insinuate that you are procrastinating just that "a house divided against itself will not stand."

At 45, I looking to start my training in November @ ATP in Daytona. It has been a difficult road to hoe. My plans are to do "fast track" in both the Private Pilot and Airline Career Pilot Program. Remember, it's great to get advice and direction, however you & only you will experience the actual accolades of success or disappointment of failure/rejection.

My advice is to do the research, make a decision, then ask God for direction.

Blue skies....always!!!


atp
Click to expand...

:rolleyes: Hope it helps!

The research and sound decision making should suffice.......


You can do it.....I'm a career changer. Was 32 when I started flying. Now 36 and have never looked back to my 'past life.' Happy flying!
 
propsync said:
I wish you the best in your endeavor. One thing you have going for you is the amount of cash you have saved up. I can't tell you how many FO's I've known who qualify for food stamps or are in serious debt.

I'm exactly the opposite of you. I left flying for a career in IT. In my case, I simply wished to stop living out of my suitcase. I really like being home at 4-5 every night. In my case, it has worked out very well. I have finally broken the 6 figure mark after a few years. I know this sounds strange, but the 6 figure mark was my personal way of convincing myself that I made the right decision (the right one for me that is). I won't lie, every time I hear an airplane, I still look up.

I left the regionals with about 4800 hours and 2 type ratings.

If I might add one piece of advice, I would consider the benefits of possibly getting your masters in something other than flying. The world of commercial aviation has it's extreme ups and downs and many pilots will tell you that you aren't a real pilot until you have been furloughed a few times.

If you ever want to discuss, feel free to send an IM.
Click to expand...

I have also been thinking about leaving the aviation industry to pursue a career in IT. I love to fly, I'll always love it, but I'm not sure that I want to be living out of a suitcase, working all sorts of crazy hours, and making starvation wages the rest of my life.

I work for a part 135 operator right now, and I am getting ready to make the leap to a regional. One thing I plan to do though is get an online degree in IT. If nothing else it will be a good backup. And it will serve me well if and when I decide to leave the aviation industry.
 
Leaving flying is a very personal decision, one that most pilots will not understand. In my case, I was fortunate to have a backup skill set. I too did the distance learning, back then it wasn't online, Embry Riddle did proctered exams and your materials were mailed to you. My advice is to get your degree in something other than aviation. Even though you may never leave flying, that extra safety net can be helpful, if nothing more than being self employeed during your days off.

For example, I did a lot of IT consulting during my days off, and even during my working day while at the hotel, etc..

Again, this is all one persons opinion, you have to find the path that is right for you.
 
Actually, I can completely understand the decision to leave one career for another. And you are right that it is a very personal decision. Some of us left careers that alot of people want and think is the end all be all. This one included. But as with mine, it was just time to go. I still enjoyed alot of the old job, but I just knew I was looking for something else....

Good luck to you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top