Considering ATP flight school for pilot training at 34 (no experience)

Please dont do it. I nearly pulled that trigger but found that I could get the same thing at a much cheaper rate at a local flight school and flying club on my own dime. Heck, I even cleaned airplanes at one of the schools I attended in exchange for time. At 34 years old, the odds are you will never get that ATP debt paid off. There's no rush. Slow down, do more research and dont make a haste decision. ATP might be a good option for young rich kids or folks looking to get their CFI.
 
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I couldn't imagine having over 100k in superfluous debt over my head while making 22k at a regional airline. That's borderline indentured servitude. You will most likely be paying that debt off for the rest of your flying career.

Nothing will kill your dream faster than living in a 2 bedroom apartment with 5 other dudes and a majority of your paycheck going to a bank.
 
I disagree with not being able to pay off the debt. Very easy to live cheaply as a pilot. Minimal expenses and yes, you'll have to make sacrifices at first but even $100k in debt can be paid off fairly rapidly if single.
 
wheelsup said:
I disagree with not being able to pay off the debt. Very easy to live cheaply as a pilot. Minimal expenses and yes, you'll have to make sacrifices at first but even $100k in debt can be paid off fairly rapidly if single.
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It's arguable that that kind of debt load would force him to remain single, too.

I still stand by my earlier remarks. I think he oughta dig real deep and determine if it's worth it.
 
my recommendation is to take responsibility for your current debt first. You're apparently in a position where your credit is not great and you have $60k in school debt alone. That's not including any other debt you haven't mentioned. And yet you're looking at ways to spend even more money.

Frankly, you need to be schooled on fiscal responsibility. Until that happens, no matter what career you pursue, you are going to have many uphill battles.
 
wheelsup said:
I disagree with not being able to pay off the debt. Very easy to live cheaply as a pilot. Minimal expenses and yes, you'll have to make sacrifices at first but even $100k in debt can be paid off fairly rapidly if single.
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Well, it depends on which route you take. The guy is 34 and still has 60k worth of unforgivable student loan debt. ATP's current price is likely over 75k, with checkride fees and what not.

From what I can gather, his loan payment on just the ATP debt will be $800-900/month. He will only be taking home about $1700/month, assuming he has no healthcare costs. This doesn't include his outstanding studen loan debt, which is likely around $500/month.
 
bRandom said:
I recently decided to see if ATP flight school (St. Louis, Missouri) can be of any assistance. I already have over $60,000.00 in student loan debt but this will not stop be from becoming a pilot. It will happen, but I feel I cant wait any longer.
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Airplanes are not going to go anywhere, there is absolutely no rush to get there. Having over 100k in debt may very well prevent your dream from happening, because you may find that even with a flying job, you can't afford to do it anyway.

If you want to make it happen, the best way is to pay for ratings as you go. I would suggest that you adjust your lifestyle now to be the way it will be as a CFI or first year regional pilot - living on about 15k per year. Sell your car, move in with a roommate, get around by bicycle. Save everything you can for a few years, and you still should be able to get a CFI/CFI-I in 2 or 3 years for less than 30k. That's about 10k/year. You can make that just about anywhere with a second job.

Best of luck.
 
mojo6911 said:
Well, it depends on which route you take. The guy is 34 and still has 60k worth of unforgivable student loan debt. ATP's current price is likely over 75k, with checkride fees and what not.

From what I can gather, his loan payment on just the ATP debt will be $800-900/month. He will only be taking home about $1700/month, assuming he has no healthcare costs. This doesn't include his outstanding studen loan debt, which is likely around $500/month.
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Yeah his first years as CFI and first year FO will be difficult. The 1500 rule really did hurt the guys coming up combined with the huge increase in training costs. This guy went to college and has spent over a decade working and still has $60k in debt. Certainly not the way a new guy coming up would go about things.
 
wheelsup said:
4.5 years +/-

Guessing longer than you were even at the regionals

(congrats BTW, you certainly had a goal and went for it, people give you crap but you made it happen)
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I was 4.5 too, Oct '07 to Feb '12. I just wanted to say that at RJ FO wages it'd be pretty hard to pay back loans, especially if those loans are nearing the 100k range. I was lucky (fortunate) to start off with a clean $ slate.

Edit: Thanks, it was just luck/cold call.
 
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Thank you everyone for the multitude of sincere responses. I have spent many hours meeting with flight schools/instructors, and had come to the conclusion that I would pay out of pocket and start with my ppl, until I realized each lesson was nearing $300... so I feared taking too much time between lessons and having to backtrack in lessons (causing me to pay more overall). Just feeling like I need to hurry and start building hours. Im pretty much determined to follow through this no matter what, and have been on quite a few introductory rides. Im sure it is for me. And although it may be irrelevant in some ways, I constantly practice on computer flight sims and fly FPV radio controlled airplanes. At least the flight sims have familiarized me with all types of instrument flying and pertinent lessons. I honestly feel I have a lot of knowledge already under my belt, as well as all study materials from staledog (jetcareers pilot member). A good family friend (Chip White) who is a manager for flightsafety also seems to believe it is an excellent time for me to pursue this career due to a current need for pilots... so I will just keep moving forward however I can make it happen! Thanks everyone!
 
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