Anyone not regret borrowing?

[BrewMaster]

Either way, LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS! I see students/friends drop out of flight training because they "can't afford it." These are the same people who have brand new vehicles, $1000 Bose headsets, eat fast food for every meal, and drink 4 nights a week. I couldn't afford it either.

I have 60k in loans and don't regret it. Mostly because I thought it through and knew what I was going to be liable for.

 

[T56Maniac]

I DO NOT regret taking out a loan for my flight training. I wouldn't be where I am today without it...sunny Florida.

Little history:
I was in the Air Force for 8 amazing years as a turbo prop/ turbo shaft mechanic working on the C-130, H-60 respectively. My salary was around $50K a year including benefits. I decided to leave to follow my dreams to become a commercial pilot.

The VA (GI Bill) helped with my flight training and I took out the rest ($60,000) in a loan. I started from zero flight time and obtained my CFI, CFII, and MEI all within the past two years. I worked on the side while getting the CFII and MEI.

I'm currently employed by the 141 academy that I received all my certificates and ratings. I work for a contract at the academy and make $50K a year. My loan payments ($350 a month) have dropped significantly since the economy has hit bottom.

So, would I do it again. You bet!! However, you need job security when you complete your training. From my perspective, that is at an approved 141 school with foreign contracts. Our foreign contracts continue to grow and our academy employees 80 instructors to meet the demands.

Better than any regional job out there.....if there are any:laff:

My 2 cents:rawk:

 

[ppragman]

Sometimes your brain can give you better advice, though. $100k+ in loans for a job that will take you years to make an average US salary? Oh, and no one is hiring.

There are plenty of people who followed their heart, and purchased homes they couldn't possibly afford. How are they doing these days?

Well, if you do something you can't afford, then you've got live with the consequences of your actions, however, houses and flight training are apples and oranges, flight training generates money, houses (though values tend to increase in the long term) do not.

Sides' plenty of people are hiring, go and talk with your local mom and pop flight school after you get your CFI. Break 500TT and walk into the local mom and pop charter outfit, tell em' you want to get on board, and you'll work your way in from the bottom up. What you mean by "nobody's hiring," are that the regionals aren't hiring. There's plenty of work to be found.

 

[Douglas]

I don't regret it one bit.
I flew the cheapest airplanes, not the best planes, like some of my students.
I also found the cheapest routes, for me that was my local FBOs.

100K plus for flight training? I started training in '02 and walked away with it all done for 35k.

I worked my butt off since i was 14 and that helped a lot when 18 rolled around.
Loans are necessary for almost all of us.
I would have been in my 30s by the time I saved up to pay for all of flight training out of pocket. I think that would be a poor investment with nearly a decade of "aviation" income lost. Though it is small in the beginning, it will be small when ever you start flying, if you are 24 or 34 it doesn't matter. So that is basically 10 years of lost seniority, if that is your game.

 

[Boris Badenov]

I have a 6 figure 10 year loan from Riddle.

God. No more heroes.

 

[wheelsup]

Keep in mind the Riddle guys such as myself include the 4 year degree in our $$. My actual flight training Private-CFII at riddle was something like $35k. The MEI I did outside around $2k.

I wish I would've gotten a different degree to be honest, or gone to a tech school in HVAC or something (that interests me quite a bit actually) but the flight training was pretty cheap and even the BA degree wasn't so bad($50k I think), even including the ridiculous $10k B1900 course.

That being said there are of course many different ways to skin a cat, back when I went to ERAU the only internet bulletin boards that really existed were "newsgroups", and I really didn't know how to access them, I was more concerned with chicks in HS...

 

[sdfcvoh]

I regret the "F" out of my loans. But I am much happier now than I was 18 months ago. I'd trade my grandmother's soul to be rid of the debt, but that ain't gonna happen. Plus I luv my grammy!

Truth be told the debt sucks. But the new life compared to the old life is a dream. I take for granted flying above the earth (not really) but I do it every day.

If you can find a way around the loan devils, then do it. Don't do the fast track deal. Don't trust people from Utah named Faddis, Wadsworth, or Tripp in Cedar City or who go by the name of National Pilot Academy.

But if you want to fly, then find a way to do it for pay. Its the bomb.

 

[KLB]

I have no regrets about taking out the loans that I did. I started out only about 50 grand in debt which included college and flight training.

The important thing is to always make sure that you are making enough to pay your debt. That may mean that you might have to flight instruct longer than you'd like if that's where the best money is coming from and etc... Or you may have to instruct part time while you do some other job so that you can keep the bills paid.

 

[mikecweb]

But if you want to fly, then find a way to do it for pay. Its the bomb.

For some reason as soon as I started getting paid to fly it went down hill.

 

[TXaviator]

Nope,

I don't regret any of it. I'd do it all over again too. Do what your heart says, don't be a bitter and wealthy.

same here.

but like also said above, i wish i had found a way to borrow differently/not attend UND.

 

[Maurus]

I don't regret taking out the loans so much as I had stalled on some of my training. That I do regret as it cost me a good amount of money as interest.