ComputerGuy

Then in my opinion, you should do it. I wanted to be a pilot since as far back as I can remember (at least since age 5, maybe earlier). My parents not only discouraged me from my dream, they actively blocked my pursuit of my dream. It wasn't until a couple of years ago when my wife finally encouraged me to pursue my dream. (I know, I'm a VERY lucky man.) However, it's much harder to pursue aviation at age 39 then it is to do so at age 19. I think if you follow your dream, you'll never regret it.

CruiseFL310

if it is your dream then you should follow it because you dont want to regret it later in life that you didnt.

out of curiosity what reasons does your family give that they dont want you to become a pilot? are they worried about the risk or the lifestyle or both?

you might if you havent already sit down and talk to them about being an airline pilot or professional pilot period. the career can have its ups and downs like any career but it can be a very rewarding career as well.

you have to be careful of the negative you read on these sites as these message boards seem to attract the complainers. it is not quite as bad as people on these various boards like to sometimes make it out to be.

MD11driver

Stick with your dream! Yes, the road may be fraught with uncertainty, but you'll kick yourself in the butt for life if you pass up an OPPORTUNITY for your dream. You should actually feel blessed to have a goal in mind as a sophomore...at your age, I was more interested in girls and beer than a life dream...good thing I wised-up shortly thereafter (well, with getting my life on track...but the girls/beer thing is a lifetime commitment )

My advice to you is to go the military route. Most major airlines require you to have a 4-year college degree (any major will work) at any accredited school. Many ways to get into the military after high school...talk to your guidance counselor. Probably, the easiest way is go to college, be active in a 4-year ROTC program, get a pilot's slot, get your degree, go to pilot training and fly a "heavy" aircraft (fighter guys have just as much chance to get on with the majors, just not as quick to build hours as "heavy" pilots).

In the end, aviation schools (i.e., Embry-Riddle, etc.) won't increase your hiring chances, unless you plan to go the civilian route and need to get all your ratings through the school.

In any case, if you can't get on with an airline, you still have your college degree to fall back on, and you can still fly recreationally. Consequently, I would advise to major in something YOU'D like to study and can make an alternate career out of.

I am obviously from a military background, and I greatly respect the path my civilian counterparts took and the multiple hardships they had to endure to get to the same position. But overall, I think the military flying life is a bit more stable (income and job security) than the CFI/regional/etc. side. You'll, of course, have to endure the *occasional* (constant??) conflict or deployment as a military pilot.

Sooo...bottom line, and I think most guys in my position would agree...stay in school, go to college, and fly as much as you can, civilian or military.

Good Luck!

Ranger

Amen. Especially that "go to college" thing. Your education can NEVER be taken away from you. Not by da feds, a bad day in the sim or a failed physical.

FLYBOYMATTHEW

I think articles like this are part of the problem...

http://netscape.salary.com/articles/...ce.asp?atc=544

A poll on salary.com named "Airline Captain" as the most glamorous, high paying job. If they only knew...

cactusmike

Just have to throw in my 2 pesos....

Those that are not in this business like speeder will never know what we have to go through to get and keep this job. We do have unique skill sets that should pay us above average pay for professionals. Along with all the great points made by Stearman don't forget that we have a forced retirement that is fairly unique among professions. Your neighborhood doctor, lawyer, pharmacist is not forced out of his/her prime earning years by a government rule, a rule that was originally implemented to rid American Airlines of their highest paid captains. So our peak earning years are constrained by rule.

The value we bring to our companies should be the basis of our compensation. That is what the ALPA pay for seats formula was derived for, the concept that the more seats you haul around (or seat - miles in the case of SWA type flying) the more you get paid. If UPS and FEDEX make billions of dollars a year in profits, then their pilots, who haul the freight that pays the bills, should be compensated accordingly. If I fly 190 seats at 600$/seat to Hawaii, then I bring in more than the Mesa RJ captain flying 60 pax to Fresno.
Anyway, the fact is we are paid what we are paid based on historical precedent as well as present day market conditions. There have been many attempts by airline beancounters to strike down the influence of the piloting profession, most have failed bcause of the fundamental fact that not everyone can do this job and that it takes you a fair amount of time to get to where you are expeienced enough in this job to perform to the level that is required of a captain. We just can't be replaced that easy.

CruiseFL310

actually if you click on the "salary" link next to "airline pilot" you will see that they say the national average salary expected for a captain of a large jet is about 101k a year. that is not off base at all. it is of course probably not taking into account the regionals but for captains of a large jet at a major airline that is probably correct in fact i would say it should be a bit more as many captains of even the medium sized jets at the majors make over 101k a year for the most part.

if you truly look at it being an airline pilot specifically a captain is one of the highest paying jobs there is whether you want to deny that or not. very very few careers offer that opportunity or potential to make a six figure salary like that. whether you think we are underpaid for what we do or not we are not exactly making pennies compared to other careers. even as a regional first officer i dont make much different than other friends starting in their careers from college.

what many of you focus on is the rare real estate agent or sales men or other rare people who make large salaries but those as i said are rare. the typical american does not and will not make six figures at any point in their career. reading through other threads on this board i saw another one debating pilot pay. it was mentioned that the national average income is less than 50k a year. even as a regional captain i will make more than that. even if i spent my career at the airline i work for or any of the decent regionals out there i could make 100k a year or close to that in fact for some a little more than that.

while we do have a unique skill set and while not just anybody can do this job and we do deserve compensation for that we need to drop this idea that everybody is making so much more than us because it simply is not even close to true! keep in mind that there are people out there in jobs that truly do deserve more pay such as nurses police officers etc who dont make what a regional captain makes. sometimes pay is not always fair. despite this pilots still make more than the typical american will and we need to remember that!

what gets me is that many of the ones doing the complaining on here seem to be the major pilots who probably do make 100k or more. without naming some odd ball job that some rare person you know makes 200k a year tell me what typical american job you can get right now if you quit flying and make the same money? despite doctors and some rare real estate agents etc there are very few that will offer you that. even most engineers do not make much over 100k a year.

flyerNy

Couple of things to consider are the fact that the pilot jobs that pay over 100 a year are dwindling fast. You can't count on a pension anymore. Your job as a pilot is very delicate in response to the slightest economic sneeze. If you lose your job making 101K with great seniority at X airlines and they fold - you must start again at half the salary somewhere else. Most professions do not do this. In most professions you gain experience and can get offers at different companies with an overall increase in salary over your career. Thus distinguishing a career from a job.

CruiseFL310

you are correct and it is unfortunate that the airline industry works that way but it is what it is. in fact i had a conversation with a pilot friend of mine a while back and he made the comment that being an airline pilot is a great job but a lousy career.

it is a great job because i would rather be flying airplanes than sitting at a desk all day long. it is a great job because they pay whether you will admit it or not is as much at the regional and at the major level more than what people make in other typical american jobs/careers. it is a lousy career because you do not know what the future holds. you may have a great paying flying job one day and the next day or year it can be gone and you have to start over. some people are lucky enough to have a great 'career' as a pilot by getting on with a major at the right time and progessing through seniority enough to miss furloughs etc. others are not so lucky. that is part of the game we play at airline pilots.

personally i think the 100k a year or more flying jobs will always be around and will not be so few as some think. i think the majors will figure out how to survive in this economy and get their feet back on the ground. i am not saying this will happen soon but i think it could happen in the next several years. when this does happen and once the legacies figure out how to survive in this economy we will see pilot pay stabalize and possibly go back up slightly again at some point. i dont think we are looking at fedex, ups, swa, cal, jetblue and airtran forever as the only majors hiring. i think we will again see delta, united, american etc in the picture. when this happens i think we will see things go much more smoothly than they are now - atleast for awhile and hopefully for a long while.

dckozak

Something I don't understand. If this is a lousy career (but fun job ) why are you doing it?? You sound like SkyHigh but with a flying job!
I assume your flying for a regional. Why inflict this on yourself.