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.
If my above post about marrying a rich wife doesn't work out...I actually agree with this. ^^^
The advice given here is solid, but most of the posts I've seen assume that you would be a regional airline F/O and wouldn't make squat for the first 5-10 years of your career. While that is possible, it DOES NOT have to be the case. One of the above posts even gave a 10 year outline for your salary and then somebody else said that was the BEST CASE..which I do not agree with at all. I also think that the general attitude shown by the above posts is a very black and white one, where DEBT=BAD and nothing more. And for the most part, they are right.
But in your case, it could also be an investment. You have to look at your future earning potential. If you start a flying career now, and go the airline route, you have 30 years left to fly for a living. IF you worked through your ratings as quickly as possible and started working your way up the airline ladder, you would still have 20 years of making very good money, even IF the first 10 years of your airline career were complete poverty. If you look at the amount of $ you would make as an airline pilot until age 65, vs. the amount of $ you would make painting houses until age 65, I have no doubt that you would make more flying airplanes. Possibly millions more. Obviously this would take some luck, too, because any number of things could set you back in your career or end it early. But it's certainly possible.
Here are some positive things regarding your situation:
1. You already have a degree. Which is key for trying to land a good flying job. Doesn't matter what your major was.
2. You are single and have no kids. You can afford to be broke for a while (I know it sounds weird). If you were a family man I wouldn't be saying any of this.
3. You are ONLY 34, which isn't really that old. As I said above, that's still 30 years before mandatory airline retirement age. When I was a lowly CFI, another instructor I worked with quit her successful career as a veterinarian at age 38, and started a flying career. She then worked at a regional for a few years, and has now been at a major airline for a while. Although this is not typical, it shows that it can happen.
4. Regarding mandatory retirements, there are A TON coming at all the major airlines in the next 10 years. While there will never be a true pilot shortage, pilot hiring is going to be at an all time high for the next several years. It's a good time to be a pilot.
I've rambled enough for tonight. I say go for it. Just try not to lose your shirt. YOLO.
Staledog out.
I chose to train at the local school with equal results and A LOT cheaper.
