Some help on student loans
04-03-2013, 10:23 AM
#11
Moderator
Joined APC: May 2006
Position: ATP, CFI etc.
Posts: 6,056
If you are capable at engineering and can make the cut, I echo what others say and recommend getting that degree. Engineering is a gold mine- salaries start above $50k in almost all specialties except civil (don't do that one unless you can't cut the others, and skip chemical engineering, it's too narrow).
I came out of school in '06 with an aerospace degree and about $65k in debts, and a few years of living light paid them all off, bought a spiffy new car, bought lots of toys, got several flight ratings, and gained valuable insight into how flight test engineering works at numerous aircraft firms. Did I blaze a trail to the left seat of a turbine CRJ? Nah, I failed on that one, but I took care of my debts, had fun, learned a lot, and was highly responsible.
If you can't do engineering, then go for the flight sciences ticket IF you get all your flight ratings out of the deal. Federal student loans have wonderfully low interest rates, barely keeping pace with inflation. That way you can get a job at TransPac, FlightSafety VB, or IASCO teaching foreigners to fly DA-20s for $30k a year, and hopefully over an eighty-seven year period (seriously!), pay off those federal loans.
Another alternative is to keep flying out of your schooling, get a BS degree in accounting, paralegal, health care or some other lucrative field with a low buy-in, and let flying be a pet project on the side using discretionary money alone. There are numerous arguments in support of this approach, the least of which is you will emerge debt-free. But you will wipe butts, stare down a $20 "Teamwork" poster umpteen years, or learn more about the tax code than any human being should ever know. Only do this if you can't make the engineering cut.
Another approach is to consult a military recruiter for the Army, Navy, AF, or National Guard (do all) about what they would need to make you a pilot recruit. This approach is really a gold mine larger than the engineering gold mine, because government pays for everything, plus they wear the coolest uniforms and have the biggest guns. Army has a fleet of nice helicopters. An old friend of mine became a warrant officer and went there on my advice, he has the engineering degree but prefers guns to other equipment.
Good luck!
I came out of school in '06 with an aerospace degree and about $65k in debts, and a few years of living light paid them all off, bought a spiffy new car, bought lots of toys, got several flight ratings, and gained valuable insight into how flight test engineering works at numerous aircraft firms. Did I blaze a trail to the left seat of a turbine CRJ? Nah, I failed on that one, but I took care of my debts, had fun, learned a lot, and was highly responsible.
If you can't do engineering, then go for the flight sciences ticket IF you get all your flight ratings out of the deal. Federal student loans have wonderfully low interest rates, barely keeping pace with inflation. That way you can get a job at TransPac, FlightSafety VB, or IASCO teaching foreigners to fly DA-20s for $30k a year, and hopefully over an eighty-seven year period (seriously!), pay off those federal loans.
Another alternative is to keep flying out of your schooling, get a BS degree in accounting, paralegal, health care or some other lucrative field with a low buy-in, and let flying be a pet project on the side using discretionary money alone. There are numerous arguments in support of this approach, the least of which is you will emerge debt-free. But you will wipe butts, stare down a $20 "Teamwork" poster umpteen years, or learn more about the tax code than any human being should ever know. Only do this if you can't make the engineering cut.
Another approach is to consult a military recruiter for the Army, Navy, AF, or National Guard (do all) about what they would need to make you a pilot recruit. This approach is really a gold mine larger than the engineering gold mine, because government pays for everything, plus they wear the coolest uniforms and have the biggest guns. Army has a fleet of nice helicopters. An old friend of mine became a warrant officer and went there on my advice, he has the engineering degree but prefers guns to other equipment.
Good luck!
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
