maybe1day

I just have a quick question. I graduated college with a B.S. in engineering in May and now I am in graduate school pursuing a M.S. in engineering. I am obsessed with flying, though. It is my true passion. Not that I hate engineering, but I love flying. Even after reading all the horror stories on these forums, I still want to give it a try. I know that now I have a degree that is non-aviation to fall back on if things go south with aviation. I know it is one of those things that if I never try I will wish I had. By the way, I have 0 hours. No ppl or anything. I have flown before and loved it. Anyway, my question is I am about 98% sure I'm going to pursue this, but do I need to start now (i.e. quit grad school) or wait until I get my M.S. and then do it? Oh yeah, the M.S. is costing me about $15000 a semester and I have 2 semesters left (a 3 semester program). I am 23 years old and will be 24 when I finish if I stick it out. Thanks in advance!

GoPats

I'll assume the military path is not your choice.
So...
I would finish out the MS and start working in the engineering field. You don't want to lose the academic momentum you have now and it will obviously help you out in your engineering job search (as well as help out in the salary dept).
Then, I would start my flight training at a local flight school. Pick a school with a good rep. and one which can carry you from PVT to COM/CFI. You can pay as you go while flight training and thus keep yourself out of any real debt (can't emphasize this point enough).

Arrange with the school, when you start your training, to become a part-time CFI once that rating is attained. Have at least a gentleman's agreement on it.

Once you start working as a CFI you can build your hours while using your "day job" to pay the bills and maintain a decent lifestyle.

Once you have a few hundred hours under your belt, you can then reeval. your career options.

So:
1) Finish grad school
2) Get a good paying engineering job
3) Begin your flight training locally
4) Pay-as-you-go (no major amount upfront - a lot has happened over the years)
5) Get your CFI and start instructing part-time
6) Once all that smoke clears figure out what you'd rather do once you reach ~1000 hours or so.

Hope this helps...

galaxy flyer

How do you know it's your passion, you haven't tried yet? Get some hours, read about it, find out if you have unknown medical issues, then think real hard about it.

GF

Grumble

Listen to Gopats. Finish school, find a decent paying job, get debt free and use your good engineering job to pay for flight training in your spare time. In a few years when you're in a position to make the move to flying for hire, you'll realize that $24/hour may not enough to fuel that "passion". Quite the opposite you'll probably find yourself with a decent job that allows you to just buy your own airplane.

maybe1day

Thanks for the advice, Go Pats. It is a really tough decision right now. I agree that a Master's is a good thing and will probably end up staying on and getting it. One question though, will an advanced degree make you more desirable to an airline? I know the majority of the weight is placed on hours and ratings, but what about advanced degrees?
Are they that important in the aviation world?


Galaxy Flyer, you are 100% right, I don't know. But I know that I love flying, love being in the airports and watching the planes, and since I was about 7 years old, have dreamed of flying airplanes. Now, I got talked out of being a commercial pilot in high school (economy sucked, no hiring) for basically the same reasons everyone says to stay away now. So, I went and got my B.S. all the while with flying for a career in the back of my mind. Somehow, I let some professors talk me into grad school and here I am now wishing I was flying. Those reasons lead me to think that aviation may be my calling. I definitely have and will put a lot of thought into the decisions facing me.

Also, I know I hear horror stories of F/Os never getting upgraded and being stuck at a regional. I understand that starting pay is awful. But is it really like hitting the jackpot getting an upgrade to the captain's chair? I am just curious and I know that all of you know a lot more about it than me. I am under the impression, and this is just my assumptions, that right now, F/Os are getting upgraded in about 5 to 6 years. Can you shed a little light on what its really like? I am just trying to know exactly what I am getting into before I make any major decisions. Thanks!

GoPats

An M.S. will not get you a major airline job. It certainly won't hurt you during the interview but, as you said, experience, a clean record and a good attitude will be way more important.

rickair7777

Major airlines do ask, and statistically it will improve your odds.

However...the statistics may over-state the benefit. The military is big on advanced education, and even a first-term military pilot will likely have a masters when her gets out and retired officer is almost certain to have one or more...and the airlines like to hire military pilots. But that's because of their military piloting skills, not because of their masters degrees.

I would consider a masters as a tie-breaker between two candidates who are otherwise equally qualified, but it will not replace quality flight experience.

Every single pilot (or person who tried to become a pilot) felt that way at one point. It usually wears off after your first year at a regional.


At a regional? No, it's better pay than a contract janitor but not as good as a union janitor (it slowly gets better over many years...a 15 year regional CA probably makes almost as much a new-hire MS EE).

At a passenger major? No, but it's a living.

At FDX or UPS? Yes.

That's about right, but that number is TOTALLY, ABSOLUTELY, 100% MEANINGLESS to you.

Your time to upgrade will depend on demographics, industry, and economic conditions in the future...and different airlines can have different numbers (I think COMAIR will have junior CA's who were hired around 1992).

Upgrades at regionals has varied between zero (hiring captains off the street) to 10+ years. The historical average is probably 4-6 years but that will be totally irrelevant if YOU happen to get stuck for ten. There's no cure for a bad seniority situation...

maybe1day

First, thanks rickair for the help.




I guess it is like getting a new car or something: when you first get it you drive it all the time, then after the "new" wears off you aren't as interested.

The thing that sucks about flying is that you will never know until you try. And trying is big bucks. And it is something I think about doing all the time. So I imagine in the future I will have to try it and see how it goes. Just don't think I'll ever be completely satisfied with myself if I don't try it out. At least on the ppl level for a while, then see where the path may lead me.....

rickair7777

You can try it...a PPL and an instrument rating are reasonably affordable. Get a rating or two, fly around for fun, and see how you like it. Then you can ponder the career question.

Dpilot

I was a career changer myself. Went from engineering to flying. How did I know? I got my private license and flew lots of $100 hamburger trips. Then after getting stuck somewhere because of fog, I decided to pursue the instrument rating. In my search, a light bulb was lit and I decided to make a career out of it, because I loved it so much.

So go give it a shot! Get your private first and figure out if you love it enough to make it career. Have fun and good luck!