Looking for some advice

a300 thank you for your response. All of you have got me thinking into possibly going somewhere else and also not going as fast in my training. I know that an airline job is not all sunshine and rainbows and it is a lot different than many people think. I have talked to airline pilots, read blogs that airline pilots author and it really opened my eyes to actual business. Honestly, as long as I am doing so sort of flying (airlines, corporate, bush) for a living I'll be a happy guy. I'm going to give this more thought and also visit some more schools. Thank you all for your responses.
 
@Will3506

Congrat's on getting the degree and thoughtfully exploring the many opportunities which are ahead.

IMHO .... I second the advice that was given by several earlier in keeping your debt low and starting out at a local flight school with a great instructor.

I had my sights squarely upon the 121 world and did everything through the commercial rating over the course of a year and a half...along the way I became friends with a colleague who is a professor at a local university that teaches his regular schedule of classes and has built quite a successful second career as a flight instructor...

Fast forward three and a half years I am now (fingers crossed) a few months shy of defending my doctoral dissertation and shortly thereafter the CFI checkride ...

Be as passionate about the journey as you are about the destination and enjoy the opportunities that they both present!!
 
Will3506 said:
I think I do just need to pull the trigger and get this going.
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Will3506 said:
I'm a 23 year old college graduate (Criminal Justice degree) living in Denver Co, and flying has always been a passion of mine. Being an airline pilot has been a lifelong dream of mine, I enjoy everything about planes. I can and have sat airports watching for hours as GA and airliners land. Airshows I will walk around and stare at planes for hours, I love everything about aviation.
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I'm concerned that you are approaching this with an impulsive attitude. Your words about how much you love flying sound to me a bit desperate, like you're going overkill trying to prove to everyone (and yourself) how going 0-60 as fast as possible is the right path. I would be much more impressed if you at least already had your private, and some real-world experience to hang your enthusiasm on. Do you have a job right now? Have you been successful in your endeavors up to this point?

I don't know you, and I apologize if I'm underestimating your maturity. But I have to be honest - your words raise a lot of red flags for me. I'd hate to see you get burned by a flight training industry that will be more than happy to take your money.

My recs:

1) Translate all that enthusiasm into getting a private pilot license. Don't go to ATP. Do it somewhere local where you can meet an interesting variety of people and get to know flying culture. Give yourself time and don't be in a rush. Don't go into debt - as a single, young guy, you can work a job and still fly once a day. Work hard, study after each flight, come prepared, and impress your instructors with your ACTIONS, not your words.

2) Once you get your ticket, post back here. With all your new experience under your belt, you will be much better positioned to decide how to take the next step.

Good luck!
 
Do you have any flight time currently? If not I would at least try to take some flight lessons at a local FBO. Then you can see if you have the aptitude and desire to make this a career. ATP is great for getting done quickly but you need to network along the way and even after graduating there is no guarantee that you'll find work as a pilot. About half of the classmates I started with ended up either bailing on the program or got too frustrated looking for work after graduation and now don't fly at all. If you really want it then go for it :)


Will3506 said:
I'm a 23 year old college graduate (Criminal Justice degree) living in Denver Co, and flying has always been a passion of mine. Being an airline pilot has been a lifelong dream of mine, I enjoy everything about planes. I can and have sat airports watching for hours as GA and airliners land. Airshows I will walk around and stare at planes for hours, I love everything about aviation.I have been doing my research trying to figure out what flight school and program works best for me. Right now my mind is pretty much set on going to ATP and doing the fast track program from no time. I know the debt load will be terrible, but this is the only place I have found that where I could get my ratings in a short amount of time. I have been lurking around as this is my first post and I see people telling student pilots to take their time and enjoy the process, but I feel like I need to get this going as soon as possible because seniority is everything at the airlines. What I want to know from the other pilots on here is, would you do the same route in my situation? If not, what would you do?
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Come on guys, when I was the OPs age (almost a decade ago) I got the shiny packet from ATP with the words "seniority is everything" printed all over it. I thought that ATP was the place to go, and I was motivated. I wanted to be a pilot since I was a kid. Well guess what... Guys on this forum talked me out of it and I went to a mom and pop shop for a fraction of the cost, and I am thankful. I know exactly what this guy is thinking. Throw him a bone, we've already persuaded him away from ATP and he is exploring better options.
 
Zondaracer said:
Come on guys, when I was the OPs age (almost a decade ago) I got the shiny packet from ATP with the words "seniority is everything" printed all over it. I thought that ATP was the place to go, and I was motivated. I wanted to be a pilot since I was a kid. Well guess what... Guys on this forum talked me out of it and I went to a mom and pop shop for a fraction of the cost, and I am thankful. I know exactly what this guy is thinking. Throw him a bone, we've already persuaded him away from ATP and he is exploring better options.
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Thank you all for turning me away from ATP. I am now looking into other options. I will keep you all updated with what I choose and I'll be sure to ask any more questions.
 
Glad we can help! Good luck finding a cheap alternative and make sure to take your folks out on a joy ride or two as a thanks for their support!
 
This thread has made me nostalgic as I consider we are now looking at one of, if not THE last generations of Airline Pilots as we know it. The kids that follow will take a very different path to a very different job IMO...

I guess it's better to become a relic than to have never been significant in the first place...
 
Will3506 said:
Thank you all for turning me away from ATP. I am now looking into other options. I will keep you all updated with what I choose and I'll be sure to ask any more questions.
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The pro being, sometimes 141 programs to get a ME add on on or your CFI/II quickly are not a bad deal. Just network to set up your plays so you have reasonable asurance you'll be using the rating when you see the other side.

Congrats on your first flight, have fun and be safe.
 
I see guys like you having way more opportunities now than even a year ago. To go from zero time to a flying job such as an airline pilot is so hard now with the 1500 hour requirement and soon to be ATP ground school requirement. We rent a Twin Comanche out of Great Lakes Air Ventures that has a lot of people come in to get the twin hour requirements. It gets a good gambit of people that are excited like you coming from another industry in and people who have all there eggs in one basket. My recommendation is to go for it, worst case scenario you see the world, learn a lot and go back to the back up plan later.
 
It's a little late now, but I have done kind of a different route and I just thought I would share.

I started out in 2007 and got my PPL at a small FBO in Palmer Alaska. Absolutely great experience that I would not trade for the world. That fall I started college in Idaho for something completely different than aviation, and was completely miserable there. So after the year there I went to UAA to study aviation. The classes were amazing, as were the teachers. I learned so much there, however the flight department sucked. I was only flying twice a week if I was lucky. Even with the simulator flying I just wasnt staying proficient. I realized it would be cheaper to go down south and finish up everything at ATP.

ATP and those types of schools arent for everybody. However in my situation it fit perfectly. I could fly just about every day, the airplanes were rarely broken, there was housing, and the cross country portion of the flying taught me a lot about flying I would never get to experience in Alaska. I got comfortable in busy LA airspace, picking up clearances, and actually navigating cross country IFR. Luckily for me I had the two best instructors I could ever imagine. They taught me a lot, and fit my learning style perfectly.

Another thing that helped my decision is I had access to Alaska jobs when I graduated The pay was quite good, and would allow me to make the monthly payments. So in my position ATP worked out very well for me. That being said I highly recommend doing all your training locally and saving some money. Just thought I would share my experience.
 
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