possible career as a pilot

S

staffpro

New Member
Hi i'm in my last year of highschool and i have a few questions.

I've always been fascinated with travelling and flying for that matter. I've been lurking around this forum for quite a while and i do see quite a few ppl complaining about salaries or how hard it was to get hired, its been those things that make me want to look for something else, BUT i have also see succesful stories. Oh and i'm in Canada.

So.. questions are How long does the whole process take, i am planning to go to university to get a degree in something lol so would it be like i get my 4 year degree and at the same time do flight school? my understaning is that flightschool will be around 50k? once i finish flight school what oppurtunities are there? what do people do to build time, << is that what you need to go to the next step or am i missing something? once you get hired by a regional is pay really that bad?, when i think about it i could probably live with it if it's in my early twenties as my rents would probably help me out. When you get picked up by a major airline starting pay is about 50k? So how long from starting flight school to getting hired by a regional? then by major?

I think i'd be happy in life with around 80+K year how lon to reach that goal as a pilot ( counting time from beginning of fligth school). I consider my self lucky as my rents have set up one of those education savings things for me so paying for all this shouldn't be a problem but i want to be able to repay them, at least a little.

That said if anyone is from canada here, could you possibly answer THIS question. Could i go to military as a pilot get trained AND get a degree (i noe u can do those two at the same time) ANND do flight school at the same time?? do the military hours count? how long do i have to serve?

i think the advatages of that approach would be free education and flight time if it counts...

GUUUUUUUSSSSHH SO MANY CHOICES lol

advice?,
thanks, Patrick
 
First of all welcome to the forum, greatest place to learn and also teach.

The timeline that you are basing everything on is completely in your hands, meaning how dedicated you are and the most challenging one, the financial source of the training.
The glory days of pilots making +250K is over but it is still somehat a good and classy job to have.
After flight school, most become flight instructors to build time and get picked up by a regional airline or a corporate flight department.
Do search on the forumjs for different questions you have, you'll find a lot of good info on this career.
Last but not least, never be afraid to ask a question. That is why we are all here for.
 
Last I heard Canadian regionals still had pretty high minimums. I'm sure they're going down like everyone else's though. First things first, get a 4 year degree. You can combine flying and college-ing at the same time. If you move in a timely manner you should be able to get an airline job right out of college. You'll start out around 18-23 thousand your first year. Second year is anywhere from 20-30 thousand. If you're lucky enough to get on with a carrier that will upgrade you to capt your second year you're looking at around 40-45 thousand. The pay moves sequentially up from there. You'll probably be pretty hard pressed to make 80 at a regional. So after about 4-???? years you'll move on to the majors. Depending on the major you can make 80,000+ your second year there (again your mileage will vary).

The days of $250,000+ pilots are not over, they're just pretty rare. If you can get on with UPS or FED EX it's very possible. My Dad is making well over that at Southwest, but he includes profit sharing in his yearly pay, and he fly's way over his line.

Good luck, it's a long tough road but it can be very rewarding. Try not to think about the money. Think about being able to come to work and not have to see your boss most days. Only working about 4 days out of the week, and having to ability for you and your family to travel for free or severely reduced rates. This is what I have to do when I hear about "another" one of my friends making 12,000 dollars a year more than me for a completely silly job :D.
 
"how long do i have to serve?"

Any servicemen want to answer that one?

Read the perspectives articles on the main page for an idea on time lines. I personally started training about a year and a half ago and will graduate college next May with ~ 800 hours. I worked my butt off in school early so these last few years I could really dedicate to flying and what I hoped would be another national championship season, but alas, Colt McCoy is no Vince Young.

I've loved every minute of college and have very few regrets. One that stands out is not doing AFROTC or enlisting in a guard unit. I'll give an arm to serve in the military when I finish school, and I'll give 1 of something else (reader infer what) to get a pilot slot.
 
staffpro said:
I think i'd be happy in life with around 80+K year
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One other thing I'd like to add to the mix here--don't get fixated on a number when it comes to salary. The reason I say this is that cost of living varies a LOT based upon where you live (at least here in the States). For instance, what seems like a great salary for me (living in semi-rural Georgia) wouldn't cover Doug's house note living in Arizona! You can figure this out one of two ways--pick the job you want, find out what it pays, then move somewhere where that salary will be sufficient for you, OR pick a place to live, then find a job that will pay that.

Too often people get hung up on "Wow! I found a job that pays $100k!" Then they find out that they have to live in downtown DC or Boston or some other high-cost area--that $100k doesn't go quite so far then.

The BEST thing you can do is to find a job you REALLY like--and then live on its salary, no matter what that is. I took a bit of a pay cut to move to an airline flying job, but since I really enjoy the job, I haven't minded it a bit! My wife will vouch for the fact that having a happy husband is even better than having a well paid husband! (though I'm hoping to eventually be both happy AND well-paid!:))

Welcome to the boards--it's a great place to hang out, chat, and pick the brains of folks in the industry, as well as those who fly for fun.
 
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