Flying career advice for my son

TheFlyingTurkey

TheFlyingTurkey

Fetus Worshiper
Hey everyone. I left my flying career 20 years ago and my 17 year old son has shown an interest in a career in flying. He graduates high school next May and I honestly don't know what advice to give him since I've been out so long. I still have my CFI/CFII/MEI and have taken him up and he seems to really enjoy it. So going forward I was just wondering what would be the most cost effective path to a professional flying career? Air Force ROTC is one option on the table. Wondering more about a civilian path. I did the flight academy route and worked there as a CFI... but the debt was such a burden. I'm seeing posts on the socials about new flight instructors who paid-as-they-went and are having a hard time getting jobs as CFI's. How would you advise your 17 year old son??
 
There is a facebook page for this called "raising aviation teens". You should check it out. There's like 20000 members and this is the most common first post. Anyhow, staying at home and flying at the local flight school is the most cost effective, in my view, for the civilian path. Be sure he can pass a first class flight physical before you spend a dime.
 
So, he has an interest in aviation and he’s flown once with his CFI dad? That doesn’t seem especially interested in aviation.

The most cost effective path might include you instructing and getting him to the PPL level before graduation and before long-term and potentially expensive education choices are made.

Advice to my 17 year old son? I don’t have one but it depends on the kid.

I’m not going to suggest going to a four year college unless he has the interest, drive, and ambition to complete a challenging (ROI) degree program. If that’s what he wants, how to pay for it is the next question. ROTC is an option if he’s open to military service. That military service might include aviation.

Otherwise, I’d probably be pointing my kid in a few concurrent directions. Perhaps joining the Guard and using benefits to fund a two-year trades program like electrician, welder, fire, medical tech (x-ray/ultrasound), or paramedic. In my state, grads get two years of free school applied to an AA or trades cert.

After that, if he’s attracted to military life, maybe Army WO pilot program is an option. Guard service looks good.

My advice to my kid would be avoid Bull•e degrees, learn a recession-proof trade, see if you like flying, consider military service, consider an aviation career.
 
If he’s considering doing anything with the military better hope he’s on board with being part of the next 20 year Middle East quagmire. Thats not a political take, thats just an objective look at reality.

Also, at 17 he’s got 48 years until retirement. If you think 2 human pilots in airliner cockpits will be anything other than a memory by then….
 
Roger Roger said:
If he’s considering doing anything with the military better hope he’s on board with being part of the next 20 year Middle East quagmire. Thats not a political take, thats just an objective look at reality.

Also, at 17 he’s got 48 years until retirement. If you think 2 human pilots in airliner cockpits will be anything other than a memory by then….
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There's always the Coast Guard. It's considered a military branch and highly unlikely to be involved overseas in the ME.
 
arkavgal said:
There's always the Coast Guard. It's considered a military branch and highly unlikely to be involved overseas in the ME.
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That is definitely not true. We had coast guard cutters in the Arabian gulf enforcing the UN blockade on Iraq and the Southern No Fly zone in the 1990s as part of the coalition task force.

The coast guard was very much involved in the Middle East. Doing boardings and cargo manifest inspections of ships coming out of Iraq. In addition to all of their counternarcotics in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.
 
woodreau said:
That is definitely not true. We had coast guard cutters in the Arabian gulf enforcing the UN blockade on Iraq and the Southern No Fly zone in the 1990s as part of the coalition task force.

The coast guard was very much involved in the Middle East. Doing boardings and cargo manifest inspections of ships coming out of Iraq. In addition to all of their counternarcotics in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.
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Thanks. I stand corrected.
 
Pilot Fighter said:
Yeah, but those are the toughest wings to obtain.
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Also certainly not "toughest". Perhaps longest road to a small house, tough. CG aviators are required to first do a tour as a surface warfare (warfare?) officer. So a 2 yr stint and then to pensacola like everyone else. The numbers are smaller, but CG is smaller overall too. The hard part is not flying RW. The FW aviator ranks are pretty small since the fleet is primarily RW.
 
///AMG said:
Also certainly not "toughest". Perhaps longest road to a small house, tough. CG aviators are required to first do a tour as a surface warfare (warfare?) officer. So a 2 yr stint and then to pensacola like everyone else. The numbers are smaller, but CG is smaller overall too. The hard part is not flying RW. The FW aviator ranks are pretty small since the fleet is primarily RW.
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Unless things have changed, there are no pilot contracts. Doesn’t that make it tougher?

Beyond that, the competition is tougher, it’s closer to a pure peer-to-peer competition than what you see with the Navy pilot selection board.

Finally, you are indirectly competing against direct commission and interservice transfers. The Coast Guard doesn’t really need Pensacola.
 
arkavgal said:
Thanks. I stand corrected.
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Also, the SAR operation has been partially pushed to the side in favor of supporting the southern border ops and immigration enforcement in general. Several friends over there who's jobs had absolutely nothing to do with law enforcement have been sent on deployments doing things they really, really didn't want to be doing.
 
BobDDuck said:
Also, the SAR operation has been partially pushed to the side in favor of supporting the southern border ops and immigration enforcement in general. Several friends over there who's jobs had absolutely nothing to do with law enforcement have been sent on deployments doing things they really, really didn't want to be doing.
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Some of the boardings look terrifying.
 
Pilot Fighter said:
Unless things have changed, there are no pilot contracts. Doesn’t that make it tougher?

Beyond that, the competition is tougher, it’s closer to a pure peer-to-peer competition than what you see with the Navy pilot selection board.

Finally, you are indirectly competing against direct commission and interservice transfers. The Coast Guard doesn’t really need Pensacola.
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Becoming a CG officer is probably more difficult in the sense that the numbers are far smaller than USN. Both in aviation and otherwise.

I don't know that DC or IST is a major factor here. How many people actually want to go through that process, to just probably fly a helicopter? You are probably right, they don't need Pensacola, there are so few of them they could fit in a closet :)
 
I'd start by getting a first class medical and some 172/Cherokee time. See if he really enjoys it. Education-wise, I'd steer him towards attending a community college with an established transfer process to a 4-year degree program. He can simultaneously work on his ratings, then build instructor time while going to school. By them time he graduates he'll be old enough and have the flight time for an ATP. If he can live at home and check all of these boxes, even better.
 
///AMG said:
Becoming a CG officer is probably more difficult in the sense that the numbers are far smaller than USN. Both in aviation and otherwise.

I don't know that DC or IST is a major factor here. How many people actually want to go through that process, to just probably fly a helicopter? You are probably right, they don't need Pensacola, there are so few of them they could fit in a closet :)
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Yeah, small ball.

75% are inter-service tx, prior service, or direct commission
 
Much props to the CG. I've seen a number of kids who could have gone down a wrong path go to the CG, and come back with their stuff completely wired and in a sack. Whatever they do, we need more of it.
 
Richman said:
Much props to the CG. I've seen a number of kids who could have gone down a wrong path go to the CG, and come back with their stuff completely wired and in a sack. Whatever they do, we need more of it.
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Yeah, I’ve seen the same thing. I have some ideas but no experience to back them up.

All the officers are line officers and there’s not a lot of dead weight. Maybe it’s because it’s more hands-on from top to bottom. Maybe smaller boats and smaller units have something to do with it, the responsibilities are real and it’s tougher to slack off without being noticed and called-out.

Regardless, I’ve always been impressed by the CG. Have chatted with some of their buoy crews working on the Mississippi. Great kids.
 
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