Second career

Markymarc

New Member
Hello to everyone on the forum!

Obviously I’m a new member but I’m not a troll as I just usually don’t have any need to post anything to this board, or others like it, but now that I do I would greatly appreciate any opinions that could be offered.

The post is kind of long and want you first start reading it you’re probably going to say, oh, not this again… But I have gone through the forums and I’ve seen those post as well but my situation is a little bit different from any that I’ve read so I would definitely appreciate any advice you would have concerning my specific situation.

I am 43 years old and in five years I can retire from my career. I’ve been working in my job since my early 20s and at 25 years in, age 48, I can retire with full pension although I certainly can’t collect on the pension when I’m 48, I definitely will have that waiting for me at retirement age along with my 401(k), Social Security benefits (if they’re still around) and my investments as well as my wife’s retirement benefits so I am not worried about retirement per se in the slightest.

I have about 65 hours of flight time under my belt and I was just about ready to take my PPL test when life got in the way in year or so ago and now that things are taken care of and I want to get my license again, I was thinking about maybe doing flying as a second career.

I was thinking about taking a pilot training program at my local college which when all is said and done would give me my PPL, ME rating, instrument rating, and my flight instructor rating and would probably take less than two years to do which would still give me about three years before retirement age where I was thinking I could work some hours as an instructor while still working in my current job; and yes, I do know that there are hours requirements and the hours I work at my job are somewhat flexible so that wouldn’t be a problem getting hours under my belt until I retired from my current career.

I know that I’ll never be the captain of a 787 flying to Europe or Asia or anything like that and I’m perfectly satisfied with that but what I would love to do is maybe fly for regional airline and as I live right in between ORD and MKE, I think I have a pretty good shot at a few different regional airlines that are based out of this area. I also know that the hours will be crazy and there will be periods away from home and my wife and I have already talked about this and we’re perfectly okay with that as there are no kids in the picture anymore as they are adults now.

So if you made it this far, I really appreciate it and here’s the real meat and potatoes of what I’m asking… Given your knowledge of the aviation industry and the current staffing levels and needs as well as the staffing needs five, 10, 15 years down the road, would it behoove someone my age to start down this path with the knowledge that I don’t need to work a specific amount of time to accrue any sort of pension credits or anything like that; this would strictly be a second career that would be done more as fulfilling a lifelong dream rather than something as a necessity.

Please do not misunderstand, I wouldn’t take being a professional pilot lightly either, it’s just different when you are doing it as a second career as opposed to trying to build your life around when you’re young. If by any chance I haven’t covered all of my bases and you would need some other information to offer any opinions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks for any and all advice you can offer.
Mark
 
Go for it.

At 48 you'll still have 17 years left before mandatory airline retirement. While there are less than zero guarantees in aviation, nothing ventured, nothing gained and all signs point towards pretty robust hiring for the next decade or two.
 
There is a very real possibility that the mandatory retirement age will be extended to 67 or even 70 by the time you are ready to retire. Go for it.
 
Thanks for the replies! A lot of the posts I’ve seen on starting an aviation second career in your 40’s seem to dissuade the poster from persuing such a change because of the pension thing and the climbing the ladder of seniority so it’s nice to see that there are those that think it is possible.
 
It’s your life, live it the way you want to. You might not make beaucoup bucks, but if it’s fulfilling a lifelong dream you’re after then go for it.
 
Go for it! I had a handful of guys who were older than you who were starting at their first airline when I went through training (Jan 2017). I also have a good friend of mine who is 46, retired from the military and just got hired by Envoy. Even if you decide the airline life isn't for you, there are plenty of other flying jobs out there. Go find one and enjoy!
 
You've got a good frame of mind. There's plenty of rewarding careers in this profession that don't necessarily involve the left seat of a widebody flying international. The days of paying regional pilots $20k/yr are mostly behind us so you can still live a fairly comfortable lifestyle if you don't make it to a major(or don't want to).
 
That is awesome and encouraging! I am 40 now, been saving for the Commercial rating that I will be able to do this summer. Who knows there might be hope yet to take it to the next level by the time I am 50!
 
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