Cost of tuition to have a career as a pilot question

[bernie19]

Hello, My name is Eric and I'm new to the board. I am a 31 year old engineer and I want to change career paths in life. I am very interested in becoming a pilot. I have taken an introductory flight and I loved it. I have been looking into flight schools in the Cleveland that take financial aid. I am filling out the Sallie Mae loan papers and I need to know how much of a loan I need to take out. My wife's friend is a pilot and flies a cargo plan and he says it cost him about $19000 to $20000 to get to where he is. But when I spoke to someone at www.pilotcareer.org they said I need to take out around $60000 to work for an airline. Why so much of a difference? As of right now I don't care if I fly for an airline, charter, or flight instructor. I would just like to have a career as a pilot. Does anyone know how much I will need to get a job as a pilot (it doesn't have to be with a major airline)? Thank you for any info.

 

[gear_guy]

You want to leave a good job as an engineer to be a pilot? That takes some big cahones. I recommend that you don't due anything too drastic like quit your job. Hang around here and get a good perspective of what you'll be dealing with. Taking out a loan for 60k to hopefully get a job as a cfi for 12k/yr or work for an airline for 18k/yr can be a tough road. Those flight schools will tell you anything to get your $. Do the math. Just be careful and make an informed decision. If you just want to be a pilot. Keep your job as an engineer and pay as you go. Your income potential is much highter in your chosen profession. Then just rent a plane whenever you want to fly. I am not trying to discourage you from following your dreams, just trying to give you some perspective. I'm not the most experienced person, by far, but I would be glad to answer any specific questions. Just PM me.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

well said.

my advice...go get your private and instrument...that will take a while, you will meet lots of CFIs, pilots, etc...get a feel for the business - and worse thing that happens if you say "FU*K THIS!!" (oh you may) is you keep your job and fly for fun.

and whatever you do...walk quickly away from ANY school that has some "pro-pilot prgram" where you give them 25K up front...pay as you go or dont pay - many horror stories out there.

 

[philo beddoe]

1 - If you enjoy engineering, stay with it. You'll make a lot more money.

2 - Don't EVER, EVER go to any school that makes you pay up front. Many have lost thier life savings this way.

3 - Get your private certificate and talk to as many CFI's, cargo pilots, and airline guys as you can.

4 - Read this forum every day until you have a very clear idea of what the job is really like. There is little money for quite a while. There is little glory, ever. And, while I love to fly, it gets less 'fun' every year, and simply becomes an enjoyable job.

If you hate being an engineer, then hey! Go for it, and see you at the interview.

 

[Jedi_Cheese]

I would second the private lisence before you commit to anything too drastic.

At your age, you will be 40 at the youngest before you get your commercial and ~45 before you start looking at airlines. You retire at 60, so you will have about 15 years of flying airline time.

If you seriously don't care about earning money, you could become a CFI and do flying on the side. You would be able to fly and still be a professional pilot. If you work hard, you could probibly have it by the time you are ~40. Plus you would never have to retire (unlike the airlines).

 

[JB74]

At your age, you will be 40 at the youngest before you get your commercial and ~45 before you start looking at airlines. You retire at 60, so you will have about 15 years of flying airline time.

Jedi, why would it take him 9 years to get his commercial and 14 years to land an airline interview?

 

[Jedi_Cheese]

*I thought he said 38*

It's not my day for numbers. Sorry!

 

[ShyFlyGuy]

*I thought he said 38*

It's not my day for numbers. Sorry!

This from a pilot. Those pesky numbers.

Pay as you go.

 

[350DRIVER]

Hello, My name is Eric and I'm new to the board. I am a 31 year old engineer and I want to change career paths in life.

Sometimes what you "want" isn't always the smartest thing to do... I don't think I would even contemplate leaving a well paying engineer job to make peanuts at the lower levels in this industry that you will be stuck at while working up the ranks.. Just not a very smart move in my opinion. The title "pilot" does not hold the same pride, glamour, prestige, etc, that it once did.. If I had to do it all over again I surely wouldn't have went into this profession as a career, much better to fly "for fun" versus having to do it to put food on the table. You have an airline industry that is on life support with a funeral director on stby, pay is horrible, 10,000 + ALPA furloughed pilots on the streets, etc, think wisely before you jump ship.... Take a look at this industry and you will see what you will be facing.

Before all ya'll young ones start pming me to hell and back this is merely MY personal and professional opinion and preference, don't be a follower, instead be a leader and do what is going to make you happy.

different strokes for different folks.

fly for fun versus for a job.....

Mr. American Airlines aka "Draginass" where are you?!?!!

3 5 0


ps>>> If you do in fact decide to do this and want the best possible route to the airlines in the shortest possible amount of time then I would seriously consider going to the Mesa Airlines Pilot Development Program (MAPD) in Farmington New Mexico if I were you. This is a very intensive 19 month program and upon completion you will be going right into the right seat of the ERJ, CRJ, Dash, or 1900. . . You will earn everything through hard work but by far one of the best programs in my opinion.

 

[bernie19]

Thank you everyone for your help. I don't know what I want to do. I'd like to change career paths but it is very scary. The impression I get from here is that it is difficult to make a good living from flying. I'm not looking to to be a millionare I just want to be able to pay the bills. I'd be extremely happy if I could have a career flying and not be in bankruptcy court. I have been looking into NAIA North American Institute of Avaition .http://www.naiasc.com/ Has anyone had any experience with it? It is a 6 month intense course but you can get all your ratings in order to be a airline pilot. The course with housing is about $36000. I don't know if I should attend that or stay close to home and take lesson here but it will take longer. I'd be happy flying anything right now it doesn't have to be for an airline. Thanks again!

 

[Av8trxx]

I'm not looking to to be a millionare I just want to be able to pay the bills. I'd be extremely happy if I could have a career flying and not be in bankruptcy court.

As a new hire pilot you will be lucky to do that in this day & age.

Take the advice about getting your ratings first and then make career decisions. Do not quit your day job & jump into the deep end of flying without getting your feet wet first!!! You just may drown...in bills if you don't starve to death first!

A friend of mine was a sucessful business owner who left her job, sold her $800K house and went to a regional as a midlife career changer. Three years later she left and went into day trading to 'earn a good living again'. Living the dream is often not quite the same as living in the reality of the daily grind, especially at the pay you get. There is no doubt some aspects of this job are really great but do not get starry eyed over the career type ads you see the magazines. They can't illustrate the kind of sacrifices personally & financially you will have to make and endure for years to get to a descent paying position these days. That is if you can. Life at a regional will be the new reality for many post 9/11. Consider that possibility too. Good Luck

 

[Draginass]

"I'd be extremely happy if I could have a career flying and not be in bankruptcy court."

No you won't. Trust me. You have a completely false impression of what it's like to fly for a living.

 

[pilotyip]

fly because you like it

Talk to as any many people in the profession as you can, start with your PVT, fly a while, don't quit your engineeering job until you are sure. A high school drop out can make a living flying an airplane and have a skill level equal to anyone out there driving airplanes, in fact I know one at a major. Anyone with a certain level of skill and some desire can become a pilot. I love flying, do it as much as I can, and I enjoy flying anything with wings, and that is reason I came back to aviation. But I think sometimes pilots have a misplaced why they fly, if you go into because you like flying, you will not be disappointed. If you are in for the money, you may be disappointed. If you want money stay as a engineer.

 

[Caveman]

Keep your day job and earnestly begin to get your private, instrument, and commercial certificates. You can do this in a year at your local FBO if you fly 3 times a week. When that's done decide whether or not you want to make the change in careers. If so, go to DCI Academy and enroll in their program that will get your CFI, CFII and MEI and an interview with a DCI carrier after 800 hours of dual given. The CFI ratings at DCI will be extremely expensive but the opportunity to interview at a decent regional will be well worth it. The alternative is to quit your day job now and do all of your training at DCI. The cheaper route would be do it as I described above. That way you would pay for your primary training at the local FBO and only spend the big bucks for your instructor ratings. Plus, until you got your commercial certificate you could still sit on the fence before fully committing to be a pro pilot.

I did the midlife career change to be a pilot and I have only one regret: I should have done it sooner. Yeah the pay stinks for a couple of years but only for 3 or 4 years. Don't listen to the naysayers. Most of them are pretty jaded and most of them have never done the 9-5 gig either. I love being a pro pilot even though I only make 'crappy regional pay' (about $70K this year).

Good luck.

 

[Flyingtoohigh]

This may start sounding like a broken record, but...

Keep your day job and get your private pilot's license and instrument rating on the weekends, days off, mornings, etc. I'm willing to bet that there is a flight school located within a 30-minute drive of your house if you live in a city of 15,000 people or more in the United States. Forget housing costs and stay at home with your family and earn your basic certificates. The licenses and ratings that the FAA issues are no different at a big dollar "professional pilot program" than the ones issued at your local airport. Do not pay up front, too many people have lost incredible sums of money that way.

If you think that earning enough to pay the bills and fly at the same time is easy or fun I'd like to offer you a little perspective. Pilots only get paid when they fly. You are not paid for your time sitting around the airport between flight students, looking at weather and filing flight plans, and sitting on the ground when the weather is bad. The entry rung of the industry is flight instruction where 10-12 hour days are the norm, six days per week. You will not get paid for 12 hours a day and may only get paid for a couple of those hours depending on your student load.

Don't get too discouraged. If flying is your passion by all means pursue it. We urge you to stick a cautious toe in the water first by earning your private pilot's license from home before you up-root your life, family, and financial stability for a job that leaves little room for any of those factors.

 

[bernie19]

Thanks to everyone for all the great info. I really appreciate it. I know I want to fly but I'm not sure how a career flying will be. I'm 31 years old and just got married. I have the usual bills, home, car, credit cards, studen loans, but I have no kids. So I'm not sure after reading some of these posts if it's agood idea to pursue a career as a pilot. If I did follow that career path I'd wouldn't be in it for the money, I'd be in it because I want to fly. If the money comes gret but I don't want to be making $8.00 an hour in 5 years from now when I'm 36 years old. I'm also assuming it would be a big lifestyle change from the mon-fri 9-5 routine? Is it all long hours and on the holidays and weekends? I can handle that now but who knows when I'm 40, 45. Thanks again...

 

[philo beddoe]

You could be committing financial suicide if you already have a lot of bills.

Are you ready to make less than $30k per year, for possibly many years? And maybe less than $20k for a while?

Are you ready to weather an airline furlough or shutdown?

Are you ready to spend many holidays and weekends away from your family, then finally get some seniority and a better schedule, only to upgrade to captain and start all over again being gone for days on end.

You're new. You think flying will be thrilling forever. It won't be.

When I first got my driver's license, I looked for any reason to get to drive. You could wake me up at 4am to drive 90 miles for a can of cat food and I was thrilled.

That lasted for a few months. When was the last time driving to work thrilled you? That is what line flying is like.

I drove pizzas, I flew the line. After a long enough period of time, it is amazing that the thrill level was darn near the same.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy flying for a living. But it is not thrilling.

As far as prestige, forget it. Everyone's a pilot these days.