emergency med doc trying to become a pilot... help!

It's funny you put these two together. I have not been a fan of Texas food in general in the 3 months I've lived there, but then they do have this: I give you...the Tandoori Taco. I ate there 5 nights one week.

Well that looks really good. Next time your in tell them to open up a shop in Phoenix.
 
I think Jtrain made a pretty good point about the OPs education time line falling way short of a realistic time line. I believe the OP saw that he was busted and got the hell out of Dodge.

Wait... You can't finish med school and residency in 2-3 years?!?!

My brother-in-law (plastic surgeon) was a resident for 7 years PLUS a 2 year fellowship. Add the 4 years of med school and that's a whopping 13 years AFTER college before he began to work in his own right. Jesus, I could never do that!

So to the OP, maybe JTrain is incorrect, but if he is, please explain how. We be curious.
 
I will give you free lessons if you promise to give me free checkups, bloodwork, and scripts for life... before you say it, no I'm not just looking for the drugs.
 
Then what are you doing here?

And do you think other industries are all roses? 29% of the class I was supposed to graduate with from law school in the spring of 2012 has found full time employment, and they all have $150,000 in debt.

As much as I may grouch about some aspects of my job, it is pretty easy. Frequently a pilot-like schedule (home half the month), and the pay is way better starting out.

You can easily make six figures your second or third year out of school with a CS/EE degree. Six figures your first year in petroleum engineering. Most of the Physics guys I went to school with have great gigs (working for The Man on Wall Street), though it took them a few years to end up there.

It is the nature of humans to bitch about their jobs whatever they do, but there really are some very attractive other industries out there.

Hell, I would probably enjoy law, so long as it didn't involve law school, law firm politics or hating life :)
 
Wait... You can't finish med school and residency in 2-3 years?!?!

I bet Doogie Howser could!

3387759-7355170166-doogi.jpg
 
I now think the OP is full of baloney.

However, the root discussion brought up is a good one. Leaving a reasonably good-paying, stable thing to run off and join the airlines? Or not...

That's why I've left the thread open, as I think it's actually a pretty good discussion overall.
 
I now think the OP is full of baloney.

However, the root discussion brought up is a good one. Leaving a reasonably good-paying, stable thing to run off and join the airlines? Or not...

That's why I've left the thread open, as I think it's actually a pretty good discussion overall.

Even a well paying job isn't worth it if you hate it. I left a very good job in 2003 to be a pilot. I looked over my shoulder a few times during the early years, but it's clear now that I made the right choice. I was 26 when I left my old career for aviation, 28 when I got hired at ASA, and 35 at JetBlue.

Some would be bitter about the money lost. Even on second year instructor pay I'm nowhere near my old salary, but I'm happy. I'm not bitter at all, and I love aviation. I will never make up the difference in career earnings. Ever. Compound interest and the lost years are just too big to overcome.

I see bitter people a lot though. The people who are bitter are those who do not love aviation in the same way, or felt that aviation isn't what they thought it was.

So I guess you have to make a very careful decision, and really really want it, because the road is not easy or short.
 
The OP is obviously a troll, but as Amber said, the topic is still important.

My advice: if you aren't already an airline pilot, then you shouldn't get in. The career outlook for you is not rosy. The people who are going to have amazing careers are already in the left seat at the regionals and are going to be on the front end of the hiring wave as the retirements spool up. The guys in the right seat at the regionals will also have pretty good careers, but they'll have greater risk of furlough when another downturn hits, etc.

Anyone who isn't already in a seat at the regionals is looking at a very long road to the "big bucks," though. There are so many regional pilots, expats who are waiting to come back, and military guys, that those retirement slots at the legacies are going to be easily filled by them. Your best case scenario is getting hired at a legacy at the trailing end of the hiring boom and being junior for a very long time. Worst case scenario is choosing the wrong regional and spending a decade in the right seat making under $50k.

Don't do it. It ain't worth it. It's just a job, people.
 
The OP is obviously a troll, but as Amber said, the topic is still important.

My advice: if you aren't already an airline pilot, then you shouldn't get in. The career outlook for you is not rosy. The people who are going to have amazing careers are already in the left seat at the regionals and are going to be on the front end of the hiring wave as the retirements spool up. The guys in the right seat at the regionals will also have pretty good careers, but they'll have greater risk of furlough when another downturn hits, etc.

Anyone who isn't already in a seat at the regionals is looking at a very long road to the "big bucks," though. There are so many regional pilots, expats who are waiting to come back, and military guys, that those retirement slots at the legacies are going to be easily filled by them. Your best case scenario is getting hired at a legacy at the trailing end of the hiring boom and being junior for a very long time. Worst case scenario is choosing the wrong regional and spending a decade in the right seat making under $50k.

Don't do it. It ain't worth it. It's just a job, people.


I disagree. If you have an absolute passion, it may be worth it. If you're getting in for "big bucks," that's not the right reason.
 
The OP is obviously a troll, but as Amber said, the topic is still important.

My advice: if you aren't already an airline pilot, then you shouldn't get in. The career outlook for you is not rosy. The people who are going to have amazing careers are already in the left seat at the regionals and are going to be on the front end of the hiring wave as the retirements spool up. The guys in the right seat at the regionals will also have pretty good careers, but they'll have greater risk of furlough when another downturn hits, etc.

Anyone who isn't already in a seat at the regionals is looking at a very long road to the "big bucks," though. There are so many regional pilots, expats who are waiting to come back, and military guys, that those retirement slots at the legacies are going to be easily filled by them. Your best case scenario is getting hired at a legacy at the trailing end of the hiring boom and being junior for a very long time. Worst case scenario is choosing the wrong regional and spending a decade in the right seat making under $50k.

Don't do it. It ain't worth it. It's just a job, people.
Well, I'm one of United's most recent applicants... No 121 time, but a decent amount of experience considering. Here's to hoping they'll give me a shot to interview some day
:)
 
I'm a firm believer in not being trapped in a job you hate, trapped by money, debt & income.

I do think that before someone leaves a current job, a lot must be considered. For example, debt, family (young kids at home to support & take care of), etc.

When I was a senior in high school, my dad made the decision to close down his personal-owned small business that he'd run for 20 years. He didn't like how the industry was going all digital, didn't want to make the massive investment in changing from film to digital and had lost his "passion" for studio portrait photography. My mom asked him if he could do anything he wanted in the whole world, money not a factor, what would he do... and he said he wanted to work on airplanes again like had in the air force. To their credit, they didn't just instantly sell the business and drop their income! I had one year of school to finish and then I'd be out of high school and off to fend for myself. The house was paid off. They had no debt, no car payments, no credit card debt. They were in a financial situation where, once I was out of school, they could take two years of no income so dad could go get his A&P. I am grateful for them for waiting that extra year til I was out of high school before making that huge life change. That was 20 years ago. He's had a very successful career in aviation maintenance, and it's still going strong! He has no regrets of leaving the "known" and taking a chance on something he really wanted to do.

So, chasing income can lead to a very frustrating situation, or you can live smart and within your means and making a career change can be a very feasible thing. Just do the research, gather information, and be smart about it.


In the case of wanting to leave a steady job to be a pilot, like has been suggested earlier in this thread, go get a 1st class medical and a PPL. Start there. Those can be done while continuing to work another job, and don't require quitting or major life changes. With those two things you'll find if you're able to hold the medical, and if you really even like flying *that* much. Maybe you'll want to continue, maybe not. But you can do those things without having to quit your other job.
 
Jobs are about making a living. People who get into aviation for a "passion" are almost all disappointed. Granted, there are exceptions, and you may be one of them. But it's rare.

Maybe... Most of the people I know who got into aviation because they are passionate about aviation love their jobs. Most I know who got into it thinking it was about prestige and money hate their jobs and are bitter.

Not surprisingly, you and I differ on the philosophy of life in general, so we naturally differ on what a "job" is all about. They shouldn't JUST be about earning a paycheck. Just like education isn't JUST about getting a job. Some people are not fortunate enough to have the luxury of choosing a job that fulfills them, I get that. But most on here are or have been that fortunate. It is sad if you only work to get a paycheck. I wouldn't quit being a pilot if I won the lottery. I might drop many of my trips, but I wouldn't quit altogether because I love what I do.

Every job has limitations and challenges. I'll be the last to say that aviation is perfect, but I love it. I guess I'm a flying nerd at heart.

BTW - When asked about if it is worth it to go into aviation, I always ask, "Only become a pilot if it's the only thing you could imagine yourself doing."
 
Jobs are about making a living. People who get into aviation for a "passion" are almost all disappointed. Granted, there are exceptions, and you may be one of them. But it's rare.

Well according to Kiyosaki, any job, ie trading time for money, is a waste.
 
Jobs are about making a living. People who get into aviation for a "passion" are almost all disappointed. Granted, there are exceptions, and you may be one of them. But it's rare.

I've found quite the opposite to be true. People who got into this to make money are the ones who are disappointed because they aren't...at least at my level. People who got into this because they like flying airplanes are still flying airplanes.
 
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