CC268

I've posted here before - I might sound a bit like a broken record here. I'm 22 years old - currently an engineer (mechanical engineering degree). I honestly hate it - think I had more fun working at Dairy Queen as a kid. I've come to realize that engineering just isn't for me - I worked my ass off in school, but I certainly wasn't all that smart. I have realized that the technical side of engineering (or any side) is just not something I enjoy. Sometimes I really think I made a mistake getting this degree instead of going to a university and getting a professional pilot degree (I didn't even realize this was a thing until about a month ago) and becoming a pilot.

Anyways enough about that. I am getting my PPL right now - taking my checkride June 11th. It is the most fun I have ever had. I originally thought I would work as an engineer for a few years and pay for my ratings. I do think I will pay for my instrument rating, but I am not sure I could afford to pay for my commercial (let alone trying to do all this while working full time is stretching it). I think I spoke with a guy on here who actually was an engineer for quite a while and paid for all his ratings with his job - quite impressive, but not sure if I have the smarts nor the resources to do it that way. Also not sure I want to just start out my flying career when I am 30+.

I am wondering what the different routes for me might be? Are there any scholarships you can apply for? Anything other than me just taking a loan out? I'm sure I am just dreaming, but I'd rather live my life doing something I enjoy. Even if I made next to nothing for a while. I think its a tough pill for my parents to swallow - hearing their son say he doesn't want to be an engineer (after 4 years of tough work - I did have a scholarship that paid for my school though). Just looking for some guidance here - seeing what you guys did, what the options are, etc.

P.S. Military isn't an option - I have asthma (which I know can be a concern as an airline pilot keeping a medical as well) - maybe I am just screwed all around?

Thanks for any input.

Rama

Make as much as you can and pay for your flying. You do not want to start this career in debt since all the lower tier jobs pay very little.
Fly just once or twice a week if that's all you can afford, just keep at it.
The other way is to save everything you can now, then take time off and fly full time to finish up all your ratings.
A few years will not hurt you, you'll still have more than 30 years in the career.

JamesNoBrakes

It's not a thing that anyone recommends. Pilots recommend having degrees in something other than piloting, because you are betting a lot on having your medical and **** happens in life that is out of your control, so it's good to have something to fall back on. Airlines look for a rounded individual, not one with a "professional pilot" degree.

You are young and there's no need to finance any training. There'll be plenty of jobs left. Anyone trying to convince you that you need to do things REAL FAST and RIGHT NOW are trying to get their hands on your money.

PRS Guitars

Your degree was not a mistake, consider yourself lucky that you didn't choose an aviation degree.

You talked about scholarships, I hope you're not planning to attend an aviation college for a second degree. That would be a colossal waste of money and time.

You're 22, so you have plenty of time. Also you should be able to live cheaply and cash flow your training. Pay cash for a 6 to $9,000 car, get rid of your iPhone and it's data plan, no cable, don't go out to eat much, have roommates (don't move in with Mommy and Daddy long term though). All you need to do is free up $15 to $20k a year. I'm guessing you can do that as a engineer.

Do the best possible work at your current job, don't suck at it because you want to be a pilot. Doing well, will help you get raises to pay for training, will help you get more responsibility (which builds your resume), and will improve your networking.

Don't use debt, check out Dave Ramsey's "the Total Money Makeover".

badflaps

Look around for an engineering firm that has an airplane.

Sliceback

You need to fly frequently, minimum 2-3x a week, to get the most cost effective training. Less than that and you spend time relearning. It's like learning to ride a bike, if you do it once a year you'll never learn.

Actually guys with aviation degrees do better in training. But that's beyond the point since you already have a degree. Don't pay for a flying degree. Live as cheaply as you can to maximize your access to cash to pay for your ratings. If Mom and Dad will have you live there.

If you're getting your PPL in June you could be a CFI, and getting paid to fly, by November. Based on what? I did it. Others have done it. That's roughly 40 hrs per month. It's not cheap and that will be the only life you have. Hustle at CFI'ing and you could be with a regional airline by spring of 2018.


It's money, effort, focus, and a bit of ability(learning faster = less time and less cost).

Or you could chip away at it while working as an engineer. Every year longer it takes you to get hired is worth over $250,000 at the end of your career *IF* you get hired by a major airline.

The reality is CFI'ing doesn't pay much ($25K?) and regional airline pay, while improving, is still in the $30-40K range.

And you'll have come up with $35,000 to pay for your commercial/inst/CFI. That will get your flying career started. Add CFII and MEL/MELCFI and you're looking at another $10,000 and you can probably get an instructing job at dozens of locations.

Sliceback

You said you have asthma. Check to see if you can hold a first class medical. If you can't the time and money invested is pointless.

HeavyDriver

Having a degree in engineering will help tremendously if your interested in production test flight employment. Good luck.

Yoda2

First of all... Don't sell yourself short. You are probably smarter than you think, and getting the engineering degree is one of the smartest things you have done so far. It is entirely possible that you are just frustrated with engineering as you are in the early stages. It takes most anyone 5 to 7 years to get good at most anything, especially occupations of this type. It doesn't matter if it's engineering, nursing, flying, Etc. You might want to give it some more time. Everyone gets the cruddy projects/tasks when they are new. Over time this will change as you improve your skills and prove yourself.

As far as fun... You sort of have to make your fun in life. Most everyone has fun getting their PPL. After that it gets more serious. I don't know of any jobs that are fun. Piloting is sure not one of them. Flying for hire can be very rewarding, challenging, Etc., but rarely what I would term fun. Being a professional aviator is a job...

If you are really bent on flying, I would say to finish your PPL and get your instrument rating. Then fly some single pilot solo actual IFR. By that point you will be able to make a better decision about going forward with the flying.

Live within your means! Drive a used car, Etc. You never know what opportunities are right around the corner. You might even get rich designing a new machine for Dairy Queen. I'd keep the smartphone though...

hindsight2020

Figure out if you can hold a first class medical. If you can't, then brother just keep it recreational as long as they let you get a 3rd class.

You're not alone, and frankly your anecdote is not unique. It's rather common. Frustrated engineering graduates turned pilots are a dime a dozen. I'm one of them. You didn't waste time per se; everybody needs a 4 year degree these days to be competitive for a mainline job. Granted, it's much easier to fill that block doing some inane criminal justice mickey mouse degree from univ of central florida than an aero engineering degree from Georgia Tech, but that's water under the bridge for you at this point.

Don't let your parents get their feathers ruffled. How do you think my parents felt when I told them the same, but I had TWO degrees (BS and MS)in Aerospace engineering? That's 7 years my friend, to tell them "yeah if I don't get hired by the Guard or Reserves I'm taking a CFI job in Florida for 14 bucks an hour" (2005). That's how much I hated the idea of working an engineering desk when I got done with the second degree.

I would say, you're in a good position at 22 as long as you can keep your engineering job and you can min run it without getting in trouble. Those savings can be instrumental in surviving an attempt at an airline career. I did it with a retail job and a 6k loan for the CFI portion just to finish off in time to be able to apply to CFI jobs after graduation. I spaced the ratings out over a couple years, getting a rating every summer between grad school years. By the time I graduated with my master's I had everything up to CFII. It wasn't particularly difficult to do part 61, especially considering that working out at the gym and flying an hour or two a month during college when not pursuing ratings was of cathartic value to me, and honestly what kept me from throwing my hands up and quitting college altogether (and I graduated engineering with a 3.85 GPA mind you, so I wasn't struggling one bit, just hated my life).

Alternatively, you can segway this engineering thing into a flight test engineering career. I turned away from the test pilot stuff in the military when I realized the realities of modern flight test are not anywhere near cutting edge and exciting as the 1960s environment portrayed it as, plus the pay in the civilian sector is lackluster compared to just shuffling meat in seats for the same droning. But for a non-pro pilot interested in flying income it can be a much better office environment than the drudgery of an "office space" existence.

Good luck to you. I know engineers turned pilots. Just like I know them to become restaurant owners. I also know fighter pilots who hung the G-suit up for med school and never touched an airplane again. So you're not at the behest of whatever degree you came out at 21. People change, circumstances change. Don't feel you're pinched out of life because some stupid piece of paper. You're 22, a heading change now is frankly of zero opportunity cost for ya. Good luck!