Need to be pointed in the right direction..

There are plenty of different options out there to make money flying for a living. Most people who aren't aviation enthusiasts only think of airline pilots because that's all they see. There is also cargo, agriculture, corporate charters, air ambulance, aerial firefighting, flight instructing, and the military. Those are some of the other options available to you. If you go through with your flight training, you may find that you may want to take a different direction than you originally thought. I've seen it happen plenty of times. Maybe you will find that helicopters really fascinate you, or aerobatics is a lot of fun. Basically, you say you want to be an airline pilot, but you may find your interests in a different area. Either way, go to your local airport and ask about flight training. Most places will offer you a "discovery flight" for cheap to get you hooked.
 
Cencal you may have point but you're essentially trying to evaluate whether the entire career is worthwhile after a few years as a regional FO (correct me if I'm wrong.) It's like trying to judge an entire movie after the opening act.

JWages the best thing you can do is simply go to the airport, and take an intro flight. The instructor will have plenty of info on how to go about it. It takes a lot of time and $ to learn, think of it like graduate school.
 
There are plenty of different options out there to make money flying for a living. Most people who aren't aviation enthusiasts only think of airline pilots because that's all they see. There is also cargo, agriculture, corporate charters, air ambulance, aerial firefighting, flight instructing, and the military. Those are some of the other options available to you. If you go through with your flight training, you may find that you may want to take a different direction than you originally thought. I've seen it happen plenty of times. Maybe you will find that helicopters really fascinate you, or aerobatics is a lot of fun. Basically, you say you want to be an airline pilot, but you may find your interests in a different area. Either way, go to your local airport and ask about flight training. Most places will offer you a "discovery flight" for cheap to get you hooked.


Exactly, flying for an Airline is my ultimate goal, but like you said, I may want to do something different. I've also considered cargo (FedEx, UPS, I'm sure you know). I just want to get started flying.
 
I would be fine struggling through the regional years. Eventually, you'll get to move up.



Well, that used to be the case, although now, its looking more and more like somoene could go through an entire career at a regional.

Should be noted, i fly freight, and dont make a lot of money at it, but im relatively happy. We have our BS just like any other company, but the work load is easy( 2 45 minute legs a day), pay is better than being a regional FO, and i dont have to put up with all the shenanigans that comes with hauling people.

So in short, not ALL of aviation is terribad, and airlines arent the only thing out there. Theres tons of ways to make it in the aviation world, just keep an open mind.

And yes, i would prolly change careers before i went to a regional. just my .02
 
Slightly off topic, but be SURE you do thorough reserch on whatever flight school or FBO you go to-BBB, google, etc.
I'm looking at your location not sure if it's Canton, OH, and hoping that you've read through recent threads....as a corollary- don't take out loans for flight training- take your time and pay as you go.
 
I would be fine struggling through the regional years. Eventually, you'll get to move up.

You can just as easily move backwards and start from the beginning, something that as far as I can tell is unique to aviation.

If your company goes out of business or you are furloughed and move to a new airline, you start at the bottom. You could go from Major Captain making 100k+ to Regional FO making 25K-.

I am not a commercial pilot yet, so others on here may be able to give real world examples. However, this is something that has been mentioned to me by a number of pilots I have talked to when discussing aviation as a career.
 
Slightly off topic, but be SURE you do thorough reserch on whatever flight school or FBO you go to-BBB, google, etc.
I'm looking at your location not sure if it's Canton, OH, and hoping that you've read through recent threads....as a corollary- don't take out loans for flight training- take your time and pay as you go.

Canton, IL
You can just as easily move backwards and start from the beginning, something that as far as I can tell is unique to aviation.

If your company goes out of business or you are furloughed and move to a new airline, you start at the bottom. You could go from Major Captain making 100k+ to Regional FO making 25K-.

I am not a commercial pilot yet, so others on here may be able to give re world examples. However, this is something that has been mentioned to me by a number of pilots I have talked to when discussing aviation as a career.

Yeah, I understand things can happen, but regardless, I'll always try to see the positive side of things. Yeah, its probably hard to go from 100k+ to 25k, but maybe it helps another part of my life out. Maybe you get what I'm saying, maybe you don't. :p
 
:yeahthat:

Start by just starting. Go to your local airport and take a discovery flight. Find a good instructor and see if it is something you truly want to dedicate time to, let alone your entire life. But continue your education, avoid taking out a loan to fly, and continue to read through the forums and ask for advice....oh, and enjoy the ride.


:yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat:


Be smart, be careful. don't puke on your CFI, and weigh carefully.

b

Double emphasis on "find a good instructor" there are a lot of incompetent instructors out there.
 
It would be smart to stay on the business side right now....I'm kind of kicking myself for that...I have an associates in business and I decided to go ahead and change my major to aviation to get my bachelors...then I got on this board and read everybody's posts about going to college for aviation. It would have been the smart way to just finish college in business and then get your aviation ratings on the side. I'm close enough to having a bachelors in business I might just take an extra semester to finish it out. Hopefully this helps you.
 
Oh yeah, another question for those military pilots. I don't know if you guys know, but is the eyesight requirements for the Air National Guard not as strict if you have a co-pilot? I read that somewhere, but can't remember where at the moment.
 
Do something that you can support yourself and one day a family on (i.e. non-aviation), IMO.

Get your private and instrument ratings and fly for fun. Or, get your CFI ratings and teach on weekends.
 
Get your private and instrument ratings and fly for fun. Or, get your CFI ratings and teach on weekends.

:yeahthat:

The aviation industry is not going back to the days where pilots had fat pensions and could anticipate retiring after a few years at $250K to $300K a year. Those days are long gone.

I'll bet you that many people in the industry now will never make it out of a regional. And you know, the top of the payscale there is a pretty good living. But it does not compare to the top of the payscale back in the glory days.
 
Remember one thing: Minimize your debt. If you want to jump headfirst into this pool, good luck, but you don't want to sink under student loans.
 
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