steste1122

My situation: work as a computer tech making roughly $40k a year, travel every day except for weekends, and really tired of the drive 10-15 hours then work all night routine. Always wanted to fly but never had the money for flight school till now. In december I plan on quitting my job to focus fully on getting through flight school. I am 31 years old, single, no kids, and have a bit in savings to get me through the period of not having a job, but will have to take a loan to pay for training which is ok. Ending up at a major airline is not the path I want to take. I would rather get time doing things like jumpers at first, and working towards what I would call my dream job of island hopping---for instance the Maldivian Air Taxi (http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/fo...t-drivers.html) would be an example of where I want to end up.

I guess my question is, what would be the best route to get there? I have been looking at various pilot schools but most seem overly expensive, and Im not sure what all qualifications I would need. Im not afraid to spend money but would prefer to get the most benefit from it.

prwest

Keep your day job, and do not get loans for training.

SkyHigh

It is a long and painful road. There are no guarantees of anything. It takes thousands of hours to get some of the cooler jobs. Most of it is just luck. I know a guy who flew in Maldivia and it is not as romantic as it sounds. I think there is some kind of civil war or uprising going on there right now.

Most of those picturesque romantic looking jobs are unlivable hell holes. In two weeks you are ready to go home. Low wages, few benefits, dangerous and a hard daily life. You go home to a bug infested hut or cot in the corner of the hangar at the end of the day.

If a company has to advertise to such an extreme as Maldivian Air Taxi seems to then there is something else going on. The coolest and better jobs do not need to look for applicants.

You sound like you are already established in a career. Try to find a better situation for yourself, build a life and fly on the side.

Skyhigh

steste1122

I have a job, but it is not a career. Ive been doing this over 2 years with no promotion or raise, no benefits, and the only reason I make the money I do is by working large amounts of overtime. It is a temp job, as a contractor. I can continue doing this indefinitely but nothing is going to change about it. Staying with the job is not an option. I might make less and go into debt to become a pilot, but I would rather be poor and do something I love than lower middle income doing something I dont like. And as far as sleeping on a cot goes, well, I sleep better on those than most beds. But I was only using the Maldive Air Taxi as an example of the type of flying I would like to do, not necessarily saying that is the exact place I want to be. Alaska is also an option.

love2av8

Call me a romantic fool, but follow your heart or you will forever regret it. Of course you haven't even started training yet so you may decide its not what you thought.
Also realize you have a long road in front of you. With the new ATP rule coming, it's gonna take quite a bit of flight time to get there.
If you decide flying is in you, consider buying an older 152 or 172 to get your ratings and build your flight time. You could lease it back to a school or you could just go through a local flight school to bang out your ratings, it will be cheaper that way.

GoMountaineers

I agree. Perfect advice.

chritz1179

That's the best way. As an instructor owning an older 172 or 152 will get u through cheaper and quicker, usually u can find an instructor who will trade instruction for letting them use your plane. But if u do go that route make sure u know what u r buying. Good luck. Feel free to message me if you have questions I finished flight school about 3yrs ago.

BenS

There are so many nay-sayers of aviation on this website, sometimes I have to wonder how anyone affords to have a career in aviation...

Oh well, I do want to be honest on some points that perhaps you should know about before starting training. From the sound of things, you seem like working overtime is something that bugs you. In aviation, 16 hour days are very very common. And overtime pay... unheard of. Money does seem to be something on your mind. You don't seem upset about making the $40k that you claim now, but it seems like you feel the uncertainty of future income worries you. Well, in aviation you will probably make half of 40k (or less) and have your loans to pay back. This situation will last several years after you start your training, I'm 5 years into aviation and only made more than 25k once, while a flight instructor. This year I'm looking at 15k income. So the money will be significantly less. And wether you work for a mom and pop shop or a regional or even a major, lets be honest, job security isn't much better in aviation than it sounds like it is for you right now.

If I'm wrong on these things. If making half of what you make now and paying some loans and working at least 12 hours a day 6 days a week is something you are okay with, then I'd say persue it. If you want less loans and can work while doing primary training, keep doing contract work and pay as you go with minimum loans. If you just want to get everything done ASAP, join something like ATP bust out your certs and raitings and do instruction as an in-the-meantime until you get a job that you want. It is a huge plus that you aren't tied down to anyone (single) and can go where you need to go to get the training done. All I can say is if you do fastrack your training, stick to the books and study above and beyond what they expect of you. Nothing, in my opinion, makes a worse pilot than one who goes through training like they are learning to drive a car and have no clue or desire to learn or understand what aviation is and how it really works.

BenS

Skyhigh,

You really warrant a whole 'nother post. I don't mean to sound angry or anything, because I'm really not. But stuff like this just strikes me as... odd. You frequent these posts and your answer to when people have any type or sort of question about getting into aviation is simply that you advise them out of it. Now I've said aviation isn't for everyone, and perhaps there are people who really shouldn't persue it. But why do you have a desire to talk everyone out of aviation? Why are you so bitter and angry about this career field that either you must feel stuck in a miserable trap or you left aviation and since it wasn't for you then you conclude aviation isn't for anyone. Which is it?

And so I must ask, in your opinion, who is aviation for? What position in life must one be in before you feel that it would be worth it for them to begin a career in aviation? I'm trying to provoke thought with you here because I just can't figure it out. Is nobody meant to be a pilot? Was man not made to fly? Is having a dream, pursuing it successfully, and retireing after decades of hard work in aviation the worse thing one can do in life? Not so much just this one post, but every single little one I stumble upon has just left me wondering these things, so I simply had to ask.

SkyHigh

Most people here are from middle class american families. They might not know it now but most will want to recreate a similar situation their parents had for themselves in the future.

As such aviation increasingly is not able to produce that life. I can understand a passionate young heart wanting to reach out for something different but most will find that life to be unsuited for their dispositions and desires as adults.

People who do not hold any desire for home, family or a need for financial security should by all means pursue aviation. When they get old they can fill their empty rented apartment with pictures of their aviation conquests that no one else cares about.

Skyhigh

Family, friends, financial security then flying.