isotope
New Member
Hello fellow JC'ers!! I'm making my debut this evening in response to wongs' post. This may be a little long, but I feel I can really relate to this post. First off, I'm a career changer at 32. I went to college, got a degree, went to work as a chemist for a government agency, went back to school for the masters, and I'm still miserable as hell
! Anyway, to get to the point, I always wanted to fly, but the time and money never did present itself. I always thought that if I went to college and got a "good" degree, I would make tons of money and be happy ever after. Didn't seem to happen that way!! I decided about 6 months ago, that I would set my goals on something that I would enjoy getting out of bed for everyday, and flying was the ticket. I set out on a mission to research any and everything I could about the flying profession. One of the most invaluable tools that I have found is this website. I've been lurking everyday for quite a while, and have seen the good, bad, and ugly side of being a professional pilot. After the initial shock of realizing this profession is a crapshoot, I decided what the hell, I'm 32, not getting any younger, single, no kids, and I'm going for it!! That being said, my first priority was to start stashing the cash back for my PPL. Everything on this board indicated to me that the market for professional pilots WILL be back, its just a question of when, and for that very reason I have decided that taking out a 40K loan is insane!! I already have a mortgage and truck payment that I'm in debt for around 100K, so why tack on another 40-50K? I'm planning on the market making a comeback in 5-10 years. Thats plenty of time to work on my ratings as I pay for them. I've still got a "good" job here in OKC, so why quit and go to Florida, hand over 40-50K, get my ratings in 8 months, and sit around and hunt for a CFI job?? I've decided that the best route for me is to go to the local FBO (which I've already done my homework on), aquire my ratings, work as a CFI on the side, and hope that the market has returned around that time. If not, its cool, no student loans to pay. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't get in too big of a hurry for something that probably won't be waiting on you. Get your education, then worry about your ratings. Just listen to what these guys have to say, cause they have been there,done that, and bought the t-shirt!! Just sit back, relax, check out JetCareers everyday for your daily fix, and absorb the knowledge that flows on these boards