Career dilemma- need opinions

[weekendwarrior]

Sounds like you are talking yourself out of it. I don't think you need people here to do that for you. Think about this, we we always need dentists, but won't necessarily need pilots (not all of them anyway).

You can go work anywhere, make darn good money, and then buy a pretty freaking nice airplane(s) and fly for pleasure.

I say go cut your teeth in the dental industry. For me, I'm just an aviation nut that really has no desire to do anything else. It's not like I have alot of other ideas on what I could do! Heck, I'd pay for my job if I had the cash! (no flames, please, it's just a joke)

Seriously, you could make much more money and fly for pleasure and not get burned out.

 

[bjsanders]

Truth is, I'm not sure I even want to be dentist. However, I have researched the career and talked to many dentists and it appears to be an intellectually and monetarily rewarding career. I am beginning to realize that I may be a control freak. I want to have control of my destiny as much as possible and that is what satisfies me to a large degree. Maybe I would be better suited to some other entrepreneurial enterprise, sh*t if I know. Indecision is a curse and a virtue.

 

[daysleeper2621]

bjsanders,

I'm in the same position as you man. I'm 21 and in about 3 weeks will have completed my commercial rating and as of a few weeks ago was still questioning if this was what I wanted to do with my life. I don't know how far you are in your training but I fly 4-6 days a week doing the same exact manuevars, landings, and takeoffs day in and day out while also working a full time job. At the same time, I've always thought the people in the flight department at my airport were always out to show their egos everyday in anyway possible. Whether it was throwing me BS questions during stage checks, giving us the craziest quiz questions every day in ground school, or just acting like they were the king of the airport. But the point is, we are all equal and the people that you're fed up with now in your flight department are never going to make it anywhere because they're egos are going to piss everyone else off along the way or they'll always be disgruntled no matter what position they ever hold. Some people are just too good for this world apparently. BUT, don't let anyone or anything help you decide what you want to do in life. Listen to other's opinions, but everyone's experience is going to be different from yours. Being a pilot has its high and lows just like being a dentist has its highs and lows. Think if you were a professional athlete. They make millions of dollars every years, yet you always read or hear in the news how they were arrested for drugs, sexual assault, etc. Even they aren't happy all they time and they only work for part of the year! I do believe that if you want to be a pilot, dentist, or whatever then you need to sit down by yourself and write down what you think are the benefits and disadvantages to the careers you are considering. And don't let instability in this job market decide what you truly love to do. Life would be too boring if there weren't ever any obstacles in the way or questions that couldn't be answered. And one last thing, remember that no matter how bad you think life is right now while training, it's only going to get better because we all start out at the bottom and we can only go up the ladder.

 

[vetteracer]

Flying is one of those careers that is best started early in life. The time energy and money can be just outrageous. I am 28 years old and have been working on my aviation career since I was 15. I had my first paying job when I was 22 and have a fairly stable flying job now. I fly for a 135 air ambulance operation. I am home every night, unless I get called out. My time away from home is about 700 hours a year. I make around 50K a year.

My job will never pay me 150K a year, but I will not starve and can live a family life. I started this career out with the airlines in mind and I will not be content in life until I reach that goal. I may be shooting myself in the foot, but passions are passions. I can never recall every wanting to do anything other then fly.

I have thought about medicine as well, even being a dentist. I just could not stand going to the same office every day, doing the same thing day in and day out. Also, the thought of cubicle life would just kill my spirit.

When I punch through the tops in the morning and see the sun that the rest of the world is shaded from I remember why I wanted to become a pilot.

You’re young. Go to dental school and chisel away at flying latter on. You can do both. Be a Dentist for 20 years and then fly for an airline. Your kids will be grown and you can have a second child hood.

Mark

 

[Canucit]

actually it would probably be best to get out while you can because this profession will knock you down again and again and again.... and you have to to have a really hard head to make a go at flying for a living it is a tough field and you have to have a real passion or you'll regret it

Good luck

 

[Vladimir Lenin]

pull teeth, dude, pull the teeth
while I think that dentistry is a whole lotta of vodoo, compared to other fields of medicine, the malpractice premiums are going sky high...so being a doctor may not pay so well in the near future

take it from a corporate slave turned CFI, med school should be a breeze compared to instructing

 

[bobbysamd]

Flying v. dentistry

I think I could still nurture my love of flight by flying for fun. Even if I just fly an ultralight. I think I would enjoy flying for a living, but I would be very bitter if I missed too many holidays and then my company folded when I was making good money in my 40's . . . .

The more I read from you, the more you sound like you want to be a dentist. As an airline pilot, you will have to work on plenty of holidays until you've built up enough seniority to hold good lines. For that matter, broadcasters work on holidays. I don't know of too many dentists who work on holidays; I don't know of too many dentists who even work Saturdays, although some come in for emergencies. Once more, the grass is always greener . . . . .

I believe others touched on this point above, but don't forget about malpractice insurance. All professions have to pay it, and it is expensive. Astute flight instructors should purchase it as well, in the form of professional liability insurance.

Once more, good luck with whatever you decide. It's sure nice to have choices . . . .

 

[Birdstrike]

One other point to consider, even though you're probably single now, you most likely won't be down the line. How important is having a stable marriage, kids who know you, and the ability to pay your bills on time?

You can't live out of the back seat of a car when you've got a family to support. And even if you're willing to do it that way, it's not fair to them to live just above poverty.

So I would pursue civilian flying as a vocation only if family life is of little importance to you now. If you'd rather build a family then choose a more stable profession and fly on the side as a hobby.

You could also consider military aviation as a possible compromise. The USAF for example, more than any other service, offers a reasonable degree of family stability, job security, and flying. Go to the military side of this board and check out the stories there of folks who found a home in the Air Guard or Reserve or who went active. Just another road to consider.

 

[TRLpilot]

if money is your main motivator then maybe you should consider law school.

imho, do what you enjoy. i say that after living the office life for nearly 10 years and not being fulfilled. my journey down the aviation path has barely begun so i can't comment on the down-and-out times, yet. but i'm moving forward with aviation knowing there may not be a pot of gold at the end, and it will likely be the journey that is more rewading than the end.

maybe i missed it in your statements somewhere but do you have a bachelor's degree yet? no matter what you do (fly or pull teeth) you will need one. after a year or two of bio chemistry and elementary med classes you will know if dentistry is the path for you.

 

[flint4xx]

Southwest is planning to hire 8000+ pilots between now and 2012.

Go to dental school and buy a forktail doctor killer of your own.