clavionics

Hi, I am new to this website and aspiring to become pilot of some sort.
I have been stalking this forum for a quiet while (past 6 months or so) and been searching about how to become a pilot etc and I think I have some grasp what I need to do and what it takes. Dilemma I have is if my decision will bite me in the ass later in my career when I look back. It essentially boils down to if I choose my passion or stay on current course.

I am currently occupying engineering/science position at GS12-step5 for DOD-navy. I served 4 years in the army so my total gov service time is going on 9 years. It also allows non-competitive promotion to GS13 but it stops there (unless pursues supervisory or solves $1m problem). I am 31 years old and while I enjoy my job, sometimes desk job gives me second thoughts, especially after having an introductory flight at nearby flight school. I hate my job when I am sitting in my desk but I am more enjoying it when I am in a lab doing hands-on testing or troubleshooting things which involves avionics (And which pilots frequently do at some level).

I get that it will take me 2 years just to land a job that will pay 30k or so for 3-4 years, and another 3-4 years before getting a chance for a major airline. That's 10 years of little or no income disposable for anything. But my reasoning is that I will enjoy this job, more so than my current one and everyday will be like a vacation.

I do believe in myself that I can do this in 10 years, I just am not sure if I will not regret it.

If anybody had a financially stable job with 6 figure salary already and left for flying, I'd like to get some insights about what really boils down to, if I am missing any caveats or circumstances that made one regret.

yelkhettar

Starting salary is more around 50 to 60k right now. Should me a little bit more by the time you finish your training.


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Excargodog

Get your PPL while continuing to work and see how you feel then. It’s a relatively cheap investment to help you gain confidence that flying is what you want to do.

PerfInit

Recommend give careful consideration to the benefits and QOL you would be walking away from.

Phoenix21

If you’re a 12 step 5 you should reach pay parity when you make Captain at a regional (around year 3 at the AA Wholly Owned regionals).

You have a couple options that don’t require you to walk away from the GS pension: Get your ratings and then get a GS flying job or get the min time in to defer your GS pension and leave for the airlines after you get your ratings/ hours.

It will take you longer but you can definitely Get your ratings and CFI/Safety pilot etc. your way to ATP minimums without leaving the security blanket of your GS job.

The pay cut is rough to go from anywhere making decent money to regional FO. It’s better than it was 10 years or even 5 years ago as regional FO pay has practically doubled to the $45-50k range without bonuses and you can expect $16k-25k first year signing bonuses. The second year when the NH bonuses are gone will be the most thin before you upgrade at the end of the second or beginning of the third year.

If you have a surplus of cash now, beyond paying for flight training put some aside in account to augment your regional FO pay to bridge the gap. The airlines will be hiring for the foreseeable future so you have time to get your ducks in a row and make the move smartly.

TheWeatherman

Have you used up your GI Bill yet, or have any portion left? That can help pay for your ratings. Regardless, you should get your Private first before you leave this job to make sure this is something you really want to do.

viper548

You could do all of your ratings while keeping your job and work as a CFI after your day job. It would take longer to get to 1500 hours, but you don't have to quit your good job. It will also give you more time to decide if you want to pursue being a pilot full time or not.

ESQ702

^^^ This...

I’m in the middle of a career change and taking this route. You can instruct around your day job. So far so good for me. Good luck on your journey! Don’t borrow for your flying!! It’ll make things that much harder.

rickair7777

Yes. Irrelevant to consider nuances of GS career progression and pay. Assuming airline career progression to a major, airlines will beat it by a large or even vast margin. GS promotions (even to SES) will not change the pay calculus significantly.

What you have to consider is dues paying (ie bridging the pay valley), risk, and how long you'll have to reap the benefits as a major CA (ie how old you are).

clavionics

I am in LA locality so the pay is close to 100k. Max out currently is a lil over 130k and I expect this to be highest I will earn given QOL, type of work etc, qualfication. I don't spend munch money unless I go on vacation overseas, so I can manage to skip travel for a while if I needed. so I do have surplus of money saved up for full training. I think moneywise, I am prepared to make transition but I am worried as my favorite quote of Rumsfeld, "There are known unknowns, and unknown unknowns".

This is the route I wanted to go but nearby schools are all fully booked for a year and I have to drive 200 miles round trip. Which means weekends only, I am definitely thinking PL first before making any decision such as quitting my gov job.

I have used all of them because I was pursuing masters (although I didn't finish it).

I am thinking the same thing but the problem is how soon should I get PL INST CMRCL CFI route. If I keep my job while also doing flight training, the weekend only thing will take forever to get me all the ratings, so I'd have to take some break from work, which I think my supervisor will have no problem approving, assuming my current project finishes soon..

I don't even have expectation of making captain for 20 years which puts me in age of 50. I am not sure if I will make such transition with financial benefits in mind only, because I can just run side-business and make decent money (but not as good as capt in maj), while maintaining security net of gov job. But I do hope to retain current financial stability or come close to it at the end of career. (e.g I was told the fed pension is worth 1-2m assuming 30 years of service with life expectancy of 80).

Passion or not, I know money is probably the most important thing. I did some calculation and if I do get to major and make captain for 10 years, I come ahead, but if I don't, I will be a bit behind, which doesn't bother me much. But I am mindful and worried about risk residing outside of government safety net with volatile environment of private sector in general, and as I am told especially in airline industry. Selection of flight school and its vicinity is also a problem for me since I am out of nowhere and flight schools "nearby" are all full, and I would have to travel 200 miles round trip every weekend. I am thinking of taking 5 month 29 days unpaid leave to get most of my ratings.

Thank you all for replies.

P.S I know this is not related to career question, but if anyone know any good flight school in Los Angeles vicinity, I'd love to know, I am in a city of Ridgecrest, CA (where earthquake happened) I am currently considering riverside area or van nuys.