Really starting to doubt
- Thread starter middies10
- Start date
:yeahthat:
There are other ways to do this. I went to a community college with an aviation program, held a part time job and took out only government student loans to pay for flight training (lower interest rate). After I finished there I transferred to ERAU worldwide where I'm set to be done end of this month. There were times when I had to take a break from flight training because I didn't have any cash (and it sucked). But I'm going to have a Riddle degree and all my ratings through CFII and I'll owe somewhere around $25k, and not $125k like most in my shoes. It's taken me several years to get here but I feel extremely fortunate and blessed to be in this position.
Like many others have said here...what you owe when you get done can have the greatest effect on your QOL. Just learn to be patient, look for others options if need be, and don't rush into a huge loan that could come back to bite you. Getting out of school with $100k plus in debt is too much IMHO.
flyeagle111
CFO
To the OP, this is why it's such a personal decision. Some people have no problem taking out 60k in debt and some do. Me, I was raised on paying cash for everything, and I intend on keeping it that way
elmetal
Ain't nobody got time for that
Plenty of people do fine paying as they go. I never got why anybody feels the need to go into massive amounts of debt because they have to have their ratings RIGHT NOW RIGHT AWAY!!11
I am 2k down right now because last week I got super excited and decided to go on a 300 nm trip to my parents house and back and then I just flew a ton during the week.
downside is now I gotta wait another 3 or 4 weeks before I can fly again because I don't like debt
Pay as you go!!
Murdoughnut
Well sized member
You're not taking into account the investment in your own personal awesomeness, however. At a party 10 years from now, do you want to be the guy others point to and say "that guy owns his own plane/flies crippled children/lands in the bahamas every weekend, etc."...
... or do you want to be the guy they point to and say "that's the guy who's 401k earned 8%/who's training for a marathon/who just leased a nice mini-van, etc.
Grab hold of your man parts and talk to them like they were Goose's dog tags - they should lead you in the right direction. :rawk:
granlistillo
Well-Known Member
My two cents is don't do it if you aren't sure. You can always fly for fun on the side, making a decent living in another profession. If you are 30 you got thirty years to get to an airline.
Firebird2XC
Well-Known Member
It's generally believed that nowadays there are no jobs just throwing money at you in the aviation world. You've got to show some hustle. The 1500 rule doesn't lock you out of a job- it just sets things into motion that 121 flying won't be your first stop fresh out of flight school. There are lots of other opportunities out there. Look around a bit and see what you find.
If you think 121 flying=instant success, you might want to do some more research on the issue.
pdeanhardt
Well-Known Member
To the OP, this is why it's such a personal decision. Some people have no problem taking out 60k in debt and some do. Me, I was raised on paying cash for everything, and I intend on keeping it that way
I Couldnt agree more with Murdoughnut....Sounds like you need to get out of aviation and go into banking or personal finance. Contributing to a IRA at 19 isnt a bad idea, i started when i was 18 and still contribute, but its not my main focus, and it shouldnt be anyones main focus at that age. Its great that you are a leg up on most people. The rest of this isnt toward you flyeagle. Getting to my point If you have the drive and passion for flying nothing should come in your way. Not everyone may be willing to sacrafice taking out student loans, or taking out a home equity loan to pay for their ratings. But if you talk to most airline pilots or corporate guys they did just that, took out student loans and busted their butt to get to where they are, and i ask them everytime and they say they would do it the same way again with no regrets. Point being do what you want to do, so what if it means borrowing some money, Welcome to the world where you cant pay for everything you want to up front. Sometime you have to sacrifice now to reap the benifits in the future!
AirmetTango
Well-Known Member
Nicely sums up the philosphy that precipitated the current economy.
Count me in as one of the corporate guys that would do it different...if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't even have done the 10k loan that I took out. When I was making peanuts as a CFI, the payment toward that "small" of a loan made a noticeable dent in my QOL; I can't imagine what 60k-100k payback would have been like. Never, ever underestimate the diffence debt makes on your long term financial stability. If nothing else, the payment on that loan could go towards the retirement savings that some folks here seem to think is such a low priority.
I guess I'm not a man, or maybe it's just that at 39 I'm turning into an old fart, but I look at it a different way...at a party 30 years from now, do you want to be the guy people point to and say "that guy lands in Buffalo every weekend (working for someone), but now he can't retire because he suffocated under debt and never saved enough. He'll probably be landing in Buffalo every weekend until he dies or loses his medical..."
...or the guy they point to and say "that guy used to land in Buffalo every weekend flying for a company. He was pretty smart with his money though; now he's retired, owns his own airplane, and now he flies himself and his family to the Bahamas, instead."
Just sayin'
