Hi

[FracCapt]

I think if the movie "fantasic voyage" comes true...

I think I know which one you're talking about......isn't that the old movie about a bunch of doctors that are miniaturized and injected into a person? Wow...it's been many years since I saw that one..

 

[Gatorman]

Hey Colby....

Hey kid, come here, listen up.

You are coming up to the point in your life soon where you can decide which direction you would like your life (career) to go. Though this decision is yours to make, you need to know that the direction you go is not always going to be a straight path.
You never know when someone will fly a an airliner into a skyscraper and alter your direction.

I think that I can speak for just about everyone on this board when I say "I was set in my job and working for a retirement".

I never would have thought that 3 days later, my job that I had for over ten years was gone. I loved that job.

Fortunately I had skills as a mechanic. You see, I am not even a pilot. I had worked my up the ladder from being a mechanic at a corporate repair station and ended up as a planner/scheduler. My position was eliminated.

I have a wife and two kids that depend on me for an income and I had to find another job. There were no aviation jobs in my area, so I fell back on what basic skills I learned in high school - diesel mechanic.
At less that half the pay that I was living on, I took a job at a construction company, driving a truck to the jobsites and changing oil on heavy equipment.

I am not looking for pity from no one...I have made it back into aviation and working hard to get back to finding the place in my career that I love.

I do not have a degree, I have an A&P and a mechanic's certificate to work on heavy equipment. I did not go to college I joined the Marine Corps, that is where I learned I loved working on/around aircraft.

I say all of that to say this: Be who you want to be and do what you want to do but, be prepared to have that all taken away and do what you have to do to survive. If you want to be a pilot as a career, get a degree in something other than aviation, something you can fall back on if you have to.

Good luck Colby

 

[DaveJ]

Who's to say flying and college are mutally exclusive?

Besides, you can combine the two. Most colleges have flying clubs. About one half of my CFI time came about when I was attending Ga. Tech and instructing in the Yellow Jackey Flying Club. Some of the best students I ever had. Bright, easy to teach and quick learners. Several of the ROTC types went on to careers as pilots in the Air Force.

Get an education and build time!

 

[Colby]

Please don't call me a kid. As I've said before. Guys, I'm becoming a pilot. I've started flying and I'm continuing that path. I don't know if I'll go all the way and get my ATP. But I'm still deciding whether I should work for an air ambulance (Air Evac Lifeteam) or work for Southwest. Both sound great but I'll choose one of them I'm sure. Thank you for your comments.

Colby

 

[Lead Sled]

Please don't call me a kid. As I've said before. Guys, I'm becoming a pilot. I've started flying and I'm continuing that path. I don't know if I'll go all the way and get my ATP. But I'm still deciding whether I should work for an air ambulance (Air Evac Lifeteam) or work for Southwest. Both sound great but I'll choose one of them I'm sure. Thank you for your comments.

Colby, don't take it personally - we're all kids (or at least act like them) around here.

I've flown air ambulance, I flew for a major airline, I did my stint as a 135 pilot, and I am currently a corporate pilot so you can kind'a say I've been there and done that if you know what I mean. With out a doubt, the most personally satisfying flying that I ever did was the 3 years I spend as an air ambulance pilot. The problem is, 3 years is about all most guys can take. It gets to be a bit much. As far as airline flying went, for me, once the novelty of flying "big airplanes" wore off I found it to be pretty boring. Personally, I found my niche in the corporate world - I like the variety and the "hands on" aspects of corporate flying. But to each his own.

The paths to most, if not all, aviation career positions - airline, corporate, charter, etc. - are very simular and they really don't diverge much until the very end. Sure, it helps to have a goal, but the main thing it's going to take is an almost fanatical desire to live, eat, and breath anything aeronautical. It's a tough career path and only those who are willing to pay their dues will be sucessful. Good luck to you.

Lead Sled

 

[RSRVWINDSURFR]

Hey Colby,


Don't let all these idiots get to you. Also, don't worry about who you are going to work for. By the time you get all of your ratings, you will understand what type of flying you enjoy, and if college will help you get to where you want to be. Maybe it will, and maybe it wont. One thing is for sure, all these goof-balls on here telling you what you have to do won't help you decide anything!

Just have fun flying and getting your ratings--everything else will just seem to fall into place.

 

[mrvmo]

Colby, Drill all the girls you possibly can, hot or not. It is your duty. Don't let anybody on this board tell you otherwise. Don't listen to the rest of these idiots. Sound advice from a not so sound idiot.

 

[Bad-Andy]

Colby,

Disregard everything that MrVMO says. He's crazy. In fact, I'm pretty sure that he caught something drilling ugly girls that will make it fall off...

(Geeze, I can't believe how far this thread has drifted... But, at least no one mentioned PFT yet... )

 

[AA717driver]

Colby--Whatever you do, don't pay for training!

Ok, Andy, I filled THAT square. TC

P.S.--Go ugly immediately--it takes a while for it to fall off...