Postal Letter - should I become a pilot?

should I become a pilot?

I am 24 years and have completed an MBA course. I have returned to California where my parents raised me and am currently looking for a job but am not getting any responses from companies. I always wanted to be a pilot since I was young but my parents made me complete a bachelors degree in business and even a graduate course in business. Now that I am done with my academics, I am thinking of taking flight training and obtaining my PPC,Instrument, Commercial, CFI, and CFII and then working for a while until I can get 1500 hours so I can test for the ATP certification. My ultimate goal in being a pilot is to be working as a captain in the majors' just like most other commercial pilots, other than hitting the jackpot of flying for UPS or Fedex. I know their are risks of being furloughed more than once after reading blogs. But have you read about Boeing's forecast of how many more pilots will be in demand and aircrafts will be manufactured and sold. Do you think its possible to make $100,000+ by the age of 30( 6-7 years)? If not, how much do you think I would be earning by that age? Considering that I have gained a good amount of hours during the years. I know that most majors want jet/turbo prop hours, which is the easiest way for a new pilot to gain hours with jet/turbo prop? and PIC? Do you think I should focus on making flying my career? I really would like to do this, but because of the volatility in the airline industry and furloughs and lack of pay, it makes people think more than twice. Please give me your wise opinions. I mention about monetary returns several times, because I take an assumption that I would be married by or around the age of 30. I thank everyone for their valuable input to this question.

Public Comments

Your best bet would to become a pilot for Fed Ex, UPS, and there are others. DHL, etc. Very set schedules. Wages close to 6 digits. I used to fly and wanted to be a commercial pilot for one of the major airlines. A friend of mine was working for one of the freight companies and loved it. I never took his advice. Stayed at a good job and regret ever since. I love to fly and missed a great opportunity. Remember, being happy at a job and enjoy going to work is a lot better than making a few extra dollars and dread getting up to go there.
To make a $100K in 6 years would border on the miraculous. You would be better off spending your money on lottery tickets. There are multiple routes available to you to become a pilot. You can go to a private pilot training school, generally located at the airport and begin to take flying lessons or you can go the military route. Also you can locate a community college that offers the same sort of training. Keep in mind that these schools are very expensive. If you want to go the military route you need to get started now. You are approaching the outer limits to do everything you need to do. Airlines prefer the military option because the training is infinitely more extensive and demanding. These are the steps that you go through to get to the cockpit of an airliner via the military. Do not fall prey to the civilian flight school hype. Remember that there are few jobs available and that you will compete with ex-military aviators whose qualifications are infinitely better than yours. The poorest performing military jet trainer has an infinitely higher level of performance the best civilian propeller-powered aircraft. For openers you must be a 4-year college graduate and graduate from Officer Candidate School (OCS) You must be in nearly perfect health with at least 20/20 vision and no color-blind issues, at least 5'6" tall and no visible tattoos. Then you apply for flight school, graduate at or near the top of your class and the service must have an available slot in the jet program. So far, so good. Then you must learn to fly the particular aircraft that you are assigned, then learn to fly combat missions, day and night, good weather or bad, and then get the bird back to base (if you do all of this in the Navy you return to the most hazardous part of the mission - landing on the aircraft carrier). You can plan on roughly 6 years between the start of college and completing the program. Then you must complete your obligated length of service in the military. If it were easy, anybody could do it. Then go to the airlines and apply.
Sorry, but you'll be very fortunate to be earning $100k per year as a pilot by the time you're 40 years old. You might get lucky, but considering the current economy and lack of jobs, and the huge number of unemployed pilots who have a significant amount of experience already, and the length of time it will take for them all to get back to work, plus all the new commercially rated pilots currently looking for their first flying jobs, I'd say your chances are low unless you know an "insider" who is able to pull strings for you. I started out at the same age as you but for financial reasons did not finally become a working pilot until age 29. In 24 years of professional flying since then I have never come close to earning $100k per year. Part of the reason is that I have been furloughed 3 times and have had to start over at the bottom of a seniority list each time. Personally, based on my own experience, I'd stick with what you're doing and fly for fun. Buy your own plane to build hours in and earn the various ratings as you can afford them. Switch careers if you want, but you'll be committing financial suicide for AT LEAST the next 10 years. Email me if you like, I'll answer any question you have with facts to back it up. In the mean time, read my answer to a similar question that lays out the facts about pilot wages: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmSKpnz0hQPJCzUIpyipVsDl5HNG;_ylv=3?qid=20101005121812AAPRA4P
I think the best course of action for you is to get a job first. Do not start shelling out the cash for flight school without any income coming in. There are loans, but you will quickly find yourself with a mountain of debt and no pilot job to show for it. Once you have your MBA job, pay for flight training as you go. Not only because of the money issue, but it will allow you to hone a back up skill which you will most likely need. When you do need that back up, consider getting into the business side of aviation, perhaps airport management(major airports). You'll find that your MBA is going to get you further than your ratings and hours, and that is a good thing. Like the other said, you won't be making anywhere near 100K in 6 years flying, but using that MBA? The odds are much better. My good college friend has a business degree. I decided to follow my passion and got my pilots and mechanics ratings. He went to work for a major aerospace company out of college and is now making close to 6 figures. I now work for one of his company's major competitors on the technical side because the flying route didn't work out for me(along with several commercial pilots i work with). He's making tens of thousand more than what I make and we're both 30. So to sum it up, get you pilot's ratings but be smart about it(do it WHILE you work using your MBA) Get experience on the business side and keep those skills fresh. An (experienced)MBA with your ATP with 1500 + hours is valuable, and it might be what allows you to stay in aviation and make decent money. If you blindly strive to be only a pilot, you'll miss out on other opportunities that you might want to consider. Personally, I think you should focus on making flying PART of your career, a piece of the bigger pie. More than likely, you'll be thanking your parents 10 years from now for making you get your MBA.
Go for it.