How long does it take to get all the prerequisites to a professional pilot career?

[inspiringpilot96]

I appreciate all you guys' good responses.

I'm sorry if I am getting wishy washy but if I did reconsider to go the guard route, how difficult would it be to juggle a flying career in the guard or reserve while pursuing an aerospace engineering career. I read that fighter units fly a lot less than c17 and kc135 units, which will make both more doable. Another thing I read was to have a civilian job before you go to UPT because it will be about 2+ years long and that's a long time away from your civilian job. I also read that despite being obliged to USERRA, employers do not always follow and will discriminate against you and you still lose your career and that would be horrible if I don't have many friends or anyone else to support me until I find another job. I feel I would risk everything to fly military fighters but I don't want to risk losing a civilian career and going into poverty.

 

[Roger Roger]

About tree fiddy.

Ill do it for a buck-oh-five

 

[inspiringpilot96]

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

Thanks a lot. I will PM you.

 

[tcco94]

With that said, don't go in to debt to get to the airlines.

I don't even see how this is possible with today's costs of flying, even with mom and pop programs. Certainly you can save up over the years I suppose and hope life never hits you along the way.

I wouldn't argue going into some enormous amount of debt but it seems like a huge % of pilots I knew going though training were not walking out with 0 debt.

 

[AA34]

I don't even see how this is possible with today's costs of flying, even with mom and pop programs. Certainly you can save up over the years I suppose and hope life never hits you along the way.

You end up not completing your commercial until you’re 30... ask me how I know.

Feels great not having debt, but horrible at the same time seeing lost seniority. Plus like you said life starts to get in the way and your day job seems “unquitable”.

It’s hard to tell what the right decision should have been and of course the grass is always greener.

 

[JDean3204]

You end up not completing your commercial until you’re 30... ask me how I know.

Feels great not having debt, but horrible at the same time seeing lost seniority. Plus like you said life starts to get in the way and your day job seems “unquitable”.

It’s hard to tell what the right decision should have been and of course the grass is always greener.

This is the greatest example of the opportunity cost time vs money. Sucks it had to be this way but so true.