FlyJSH

DO NOT GO INTO DEBT TO START THIS CAREER!!!!!!!!!!

A $45,000 loan over 10 years at 6% means a payment of $500 per month.

There is a joke:
What is the difference between a large pizza and a regional pilot?
The pizza can feed a family of four.


Now, IF you are still interested in professional flying...

If you are using the GI Bill money, in my day it:
had to be a part 141 school
would cover 50% of the cost (but 141 schools charge more than 61 schools)
only started after you have a private ticket
If that is still the case, where you go to get your private is entirely up to you.

Go to a bunch of nearby airports, there are bunches more than you probably know about (use this site to find some AirNav: Airport Information). Talk to the folks at the FBOs, compare prices, check out the airplanes, ask for references, and maybe even haggle a little. Schools are pretty hungry for students, so you might make a good deal if, for example, you agreed to pay in advance.

AFTER you have your private, you can start thinking about 141 schools. If you have a little luck, the FBO you chose for the private HAS a 141 curriculum. Back in the day, 141 cost 10-20% more per ticket, but you got to use the GI Bill to cover 50%. Again, schools are hungry, you might be able to cut another deal with a local.

You mentioned ATP. I have no experience with them. I have worked at another "name brand" school and attended one myself (I didn't know any better and google didn't exist). All that advertising, fancy buildings, and huge staffs cost money; so, just like canned corn, the name brand is more expensive for what is often the same as the no-name.

No one really knows when the turn around will come. In the past year or so, maybe 10,000 pilots lost their job last year. American still has 2000 on furlough. To put that into perspective, Delta, the largest US airline, employs 12,000 pilots. Let's be really optimistic and say the majors start hiring tomorrow, it could still take years to deplete the glut of unemployed pilots. If one were lucky enough to get a regional job today, it would be several years before $30,000.

One final thing to consider: how will the Mrs. feel about you making less than half what you are earning now, spend 20 days a month away from home, and have added $500 per month of debt?

Whatever you decide, good luck.

And for all of us who sleep better at night knowing you and your brethren are on the job, Thank You!

JSH

FlyJSH

Oh, and the honesty of the average 141 recruiter is about equal to the average Army recruiter!

de727ups

I would never recommend going to ATP. If you could get a loan for that, perhaps you could get a smaller loan and buy yourself a small Cessna 150. They can be found in the 20-25K range. Learn to fly in it and if you don't like it, you can sell it. If you do like it, you could move through your ratings, do some of the advanced training and time building in your own plane, and get to the point where you can instructor others and make a buck.

Take your time and don't go into much debt. Keep your day job but explore the opprotunity to fly. This has always been a cyclical business and we are seeing a perfect storm low because of the economy and age 65. I feel good about the prospects of it turning around. Many of the folks with good jobs, like me, will eventually retire and open up a spot in the food chain.

This site is overwhelmingly negative. I think the happy, satisfied, folks have better things to do than complain about life on an anonymous message board. Really, I think that's typical of anonymous internet sites. As many people that post here, they are a VERY small fractions of all pilots in the biz.

Take it all with a grain of salt. Explore it on your own and form your own opinions. Don't believe the ATP marketing staff. Remember, your career situation, decisions, and expectations are unique to you. Good luck.

Lighteningspeed

You can't be serious. In this economy you want to take out a $45,000 loan with wife and 2 kids? You've got some real good advice here especially from FlyJSH. His analysis is spot on. Fly on the side and keep your firefighting job. You may or may not like flying so why take such a huge risk. When and if the airline industry turns around, try your hands then if you still want to pursue it. But just know it will take many years to make what you are making now as a firefighter.

Jetrecruiter

I could not have said this any better than you. ATP are just in the business of taking your money and give a s*&$ if you make it or not..This career was once glorious, now it's a mockery.

Purpleanga

ATP is good if everyone is hiring. That way the extra price which I believe has come down a bit is justified because you get your ratings quickly. You will NEVER be able to do what atp does at a local fbo and you get great experience. Howerver since nobody is hiring, it's just not worth it.

Wash out

I would put some serious thought into filing that idea away in the nice-to-do box if I were you. I spent most of my adult life working toward a career in the 121 airline world and it nearly ruined me in about a years time on the job. I quit, joined the phone company and make a captains salary now. I even bought a Tomahawk to get my flying kicks for a mere fraction of a zero to hero school tuition. Bottom line... It is not worth the investment.

Bond

What does that make you if you're a moderator here? A bit hypocritical of you to use such generalizations don't you think?

To the original poster,

If you're going to do this for a living just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. There's a lot of things to look at and you will get different responses from different folks at different airlines. In other words, if they work for a less reputable company with bad pay and QOL, then you'll probably get a lot of negative feedback. If you talk to anyone that works a good company with good pay and QOL, well then you'll probably get a different story. A lot of it believe it or not has to do luck and timing, there are some great folks here that have been through not one, not two, but three furloughs! And then there are others that are lucky enough to never have been furloughed.

Jetstream 823JS

A school like All ATP's will get you your ratings quickly but at a premium.

In today's job market their is no advantage to that.

I recommend you find a local flying club or FBO and get your ratings that way. In three or four years when hiring turns around you will be ready.

Use the extra money to get a degree in something you can use as a back up.

My question is after being in a respected profession as a firefighter , Why would you want to become an airline pilot?

FlyJSH

Very true. Luck, timing, and who you know will have a great impact on one's career. And he is right that personal experience has great influence on what one posts on this site. Honestly, my present employer is the first one that did not appreciate me as a worker or fully trust my decisions.

That said, I do think you need to hear the negative. The folks trying to sell you flight instruction and probably you own beliefs paint aviation in a rosy picture..... a picture similar to what I, as a kid, thought of being a firefighter (all romance, no reality).

I offer my view, which most would see as dark, as a realistic balance to the dream most of us had.

In spite of all I have been through, my love for being in the clouds will keep me doing this work while fighting to improve the life. Keep in mind, I have no family, nor do I want one, but every morning I fly east into a sunrise, I cant help but think, "and they pay me to do this".