Jordan93
Well-Known Member
Yea with hiring climate the way it is, I’d say get to a regional ASAP if you’re end goal is a major/legacy. If money wasn’t an issue, I probably would have done ATP.
How long does it take to get all the prerequisites to a professional pilot career?
- Thread starter inspiringpilot96
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inspiringpilot96
Well-Known Member
I would do this route but is there any grants or scholarships that could help me?
Not for ATP, and honestly their training leaves a lot to be desired. If you want grant/scholarship money you need to do a college program.
JDean3204
Well-Known Member
I would argue that the grants and scholarships you will receive while enrolled in a college program will not mitigate the overprice of that program. Even just two year programs are around 80k now so loans will be a must. The upside is that the OP will be able to qualify for subsidized loans and the payments down the road should be more bearable.
Pilot Hopeful
Well-Known Member
I know people who have gone this route and are still waiting for a call from the majors after more than 10 years at the regionals. The professional school can prepare you well for an airline career, but it is neither inexpensive nor a guaranteed major airline job. One acquaintance was in the industry 15 years (7 regional + 8 major) before the training loans were paid off. So ... do your due diligence before pursuing this route. Yes, it works well for some, but not for all. Those who paid the game and are still waiting on a call are generally miserable, bitter, and frustrated. No one seems to know the magic formula for a major airline to call, but it is most certainly more than "I went to such and such professional pilot training academy."
Pilot Hopeful
Well-Known Member
Check out the web for potential leads. AOPA just opened their scholarship application for the spring: https://www.aopa.org/training-and-s...ining-initiative/flight-training-scholarships . I would bet there are others out there too!
The 2 year community college program I did was nowhere neat that. It also makes government loans available which are at waaaay better interest rates than anything you can get in the private loan sector. I was around 55k for all of my ratings and the associates degree. I was able to get almost 10k in grant money by writing for a ton of grants. It was way worth it in my opinion.
JDean3204
Well-Known Member
I agree that the loan situation is better in those programs. However, in just the last few years these programs have really steepened the cost. Not sure where you went but I am willing to bet it is 10 to 20k more now vs when you went through. I went to Portland Community College.. In 2012 the program was 65k. It is now 85k..
Cessnaflyer
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Does the college or state own the aircraft or do they contract it out?
JDean3204
Well-Known Member
They contract it out to Hillsboro Aero Academy. Probably the reason for the overpriced program, as HAA has a large international program as well.
Cessnaflyer
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Where I went to school the state owned the airplanes and I was about to get out at $28000 in flight fees. Another $8000 for the tuition for both years.
JDean3204
Well-Known Member
That sounds like a way better deal! Where was that location? Was that a while ago? Have you checked the rates for 2018?@word302 where did you attend as well? Maybe these could be viable options for the OP. 40-50k sounds way better than 80k when considering you still have to find a way to finance a four year degree on top of that. I am now finding out that is another 20-25k even with the transferable credits.
Cessnaflyer
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Big Bend Community College. This was in 2008
Ouch. PCC for me too. Around 55k in 2009.
JDean3204
Well-Known Member
Just looked on the site, I stand corrected. It is now 98,000 for the degree if you weight less than 207lbs. If you weigh more it is now 103,000.... :/ How they even get students with those rates completely baffles me.
https://www.pcc.edu/programs/aviation-science/207lbs-or-less.html
JDean3204
Well-Known Member
I was trying to find an updated cost on their flight program, not much info on the flight training. It says 2016 in state resident rate for an academic year was 12,000 though.. So if the flight costs have risen proportionately I am betting the program is now 70k plus
Even since 2012 when I started looking at schools the price tag for college has gone up dramatically. It really is getting out of hand, and makes it very hard to consciously tell people getting into this kind of debt is worth it. Sure regionals are raising pay here and there, but not to the same scale as the cost of education/training to get to the regionals. The bonuses don’t count either as all that can go away in a heartbeat.
@inspiringpilot96 if you let me know what location roughly you are looking to get into training I will try and help you find some options. You can PM me if you don’t want everyone to know where you live or plan on living. I have a longer overnight in the big city of Redmond tomorrow so I could get some research done for ya
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OMApilot31
Well-Known Member
I have been considering this route. I just started working on my Commercial and I have a good flying buddy that has his Commercial already. We were considering buying a plane together and knocking out some time. I know there are good and bad points to that as well. Seems like the cost of 150's and 172's have really gone up lately too.
Obviously there's some risk involved. I would definitely try and befriend a mechanic to try and mitigate some of that risk.
mastermags
Well-Known Member *giggity*
About tree fiddy.
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