Paying as I go

[Dreampilot]

I am starting to think paying as you go is a bad idea. I am trying to finish up my private as I pay as I go but the idea of dipping into my savings so I rent a plane once in a while is not a smart idea. I would like to get all my rating while working as an electrician but I hate being an electrician and want to be in school full-time to pursue this. Did anyone else work crap jobs to get through their ratings? I am just looking for some similar stories or am I nuts to pursue it this way?

 

[pitchandroll]

i bussed tables and worked grocery to pay for flight training. it sucks but when you finish, you forget about all that hard work and spent money and you dont have to cut a check for $800 or more every month to some lender. debt free is the way to be! it opens up options in the future. keep doing what you are doing, its not a race and from what i have seen, the people who pay as they go end up in a better spot in the end and are a lot happier.

 

[pitchandroll]

Also, you should be proud that you know a trade and skill as a electrician! In the future you may get sick of the pilot life and find out its just a job like most others or get furloughed and you will have something to fall back on unlike a lot of guys that have no other experience or knowledge besides aviation and find themselves in a sore spot.

 

[Douglas]

Pilot pay is largely based on longevity - to an extent and on a given route, you could be financially hurting yourself.
There is nothing wrong with taking loans out for school.
There is only something wrong with it if you don't do your home work.
i.e) Going to Riddle then magically being stunned by your first bill and paycheck.

But that's all just my opinion.

 

[Shiftace]

Pilot pay is largely based on longevity - to an extent and on a given route, you could be financially hurting yourself.
There is nothing wrong with taking loans out for school.
There is only something wrong with it if you don't do your home work.
i.e) Going to Riddle then magically being stunned by your first bill and paycheck.

But that's all just my opinion.

+1. Nothing wrong with loans. IMHO - it might be good to take out a loan for the PPL; personally, I feel it is good to get the PPL done quickly, instead of spending too much downtime between lessons. That way you don't spend each lesson relearning what you did the last time.

So, get the PPL - go back to the day job, and fly when you can. That way you get some experience, build time towards the instrument and are comfortable in the plane.

Good luck and do keep us posted on you progress!

 

[GypsyPilot]

I paid as I went, and don't regret it at all. In fact, I'm thankful almost every day that I went that route. Yes, it absolutely SUCKED working a job I didn't like when I knew I could just take out a loan and be doing something I wanted. But by the time I made the switch to professional pilot, I had no flight training debt, no credit card debt, and my car was paid off. I also had a good chunk of savings. This is a VERY rare situation to be in, but will make your life far more pleasant than those that are struggling to make monthly loan payments while living those first few years as an underpaid professional pilot. Even last year as a first year FO, my expenses were so low that I still did fun stuff and paid cash for things like my iPad 2, etc.

It's absolutely AMAZING what you can do when you're debt free. Conversely, being in debt (particularly consumer debt and large student loan debt) is like a prison sentence. After clawing my way out of debt, I will NEVER go back to that life... Barring some catastrophic event of course.

 

[jafra98]

If you can pay as you go. If you don't like the school you just grab your books and go to the one next door.

 

[will_fly_for_bandwith]

Debt is a dream killer.. Look here in the archives you will see a pattern:
"What flight school ? Thinking of ATP... Got all my ratings... I cant believe CFI's make so little.... I cant believe FO's get paid so little.... my wife left me.... I quit. Going back to what I did before."

I'm 36, CFI-A, CFI-I, about to start my ME and then perhaps MEI. But I carry ZERO debt. I am preparing myself to go from about $80K/year (IT) down to $35-40K for the first 5 years of a FO.

If you have savings then don't use debt to pay, that's like carrying credit cards at -20% but having money in a savings account +1% ( I make that a 19% loss).