Postal Letter

What is the life of a pilot?

My husband is getting out of the Navy soon and is eager to pursue a career as a pilot. He'd go to school to get his degree in Commercial Aviation, and then hopefully become a commercial airline pilot or a pilot for usps, fedex, etc. We are a young couple in our early 20s with an almost 1 year old baby boy, and we're currently trying for our second baby. (A dream to have 2 kids close in age) My question is, what is the typical life of a pilot. I know it's mostly based on seniority, but does anyone have any real life experiences on what it's like to start out, what it's like when you get a bit more established, what other work you do besides the flying, what the schedule is like, on-call, time away from home, etc? It's a dream of his, but my concern is that he'll miss out on so much of our children's childhood. He wants to be there for the sports, concerts, school conferences, but I don't know if this career path is a good one to be around for those things. Does anyone have any other suggestions for jobs as pilots that aren't such crazy schedules? Thank you!

Public Comments

1. From my experience as an airline pilot... Expect your husband to be gone all the time, especially in the beginning of his career. I won't lie to you. There will be times that you will feel like a single parent (but better than being the wife of a military man whose out at sea for months at a time). Expect him to be gone every Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthday, anniversary, kid's soccer games, etc. It does get better eventually but it could take years if a couple of decades. You have a very valid concern. He will miss out on much of his children's growing up. Airline's are also very unforgiving when it comes to wanting days off. You fly when they tell you to fly. Since your husband wasn't a Navy Pilot, you will be starting from scratch. If that's the case, money will be very tight for years. Living off of a flight instructor's salary (the typical first step in one's career) or a regional airline pilot's salary (2nd step) is hard enough when you're single let alone married with children. It's not uncommon for a flight instructor to make less than $15,000 / year. It takes a few years to even reach $30,000+ / year. Every pilot wants to work for UPS or FedEx. It is extremely hard to get hired there Only those who know the right people get interviews there. There's a very good chance that your husband will be stuck working for a regional airline for his entire career, unless he happened to make some really good contacts with some Navy pilots or something. After maybe 10 years or so, he'll probably be making an average middle class salary and be home half the time (but still working a lot of weekends and holidays). Jobs as a pilot that don't have crazy schedules? There are two types of those jobs: A) horrible jobs that pay very little (flight instructor) and B) really cushy well paying jobs. The latter only go to very experienced pilots with the right contacts. The business is also very unstable. Pilots get furloughed (i.e. laid off) all the time, sometimes for years at a time. When one airline furloughs, many do and thus, it's hard to get another job right away. My advice is for him to go to college for something else. Airlines don't care what degree you have and they don't care where you went to school. He should go to college for his #2 career choice and maybe even work in that career for a bit after college. Go to flight school in his spare time. That way, he can sort of prepare for two careers at once and, most importantly, have a backup career if things don't work out as a pilot. I know he wants to follow his dream but you two have to be smart here. You are both already married with children. It is, in my opinion, foolish for him to put all his eggs in the airline pilot basket. He can still go for it but he really needs to have a backup career. PS He can always have a normal job now and go for an airline career when the kids are a little older. That way, he doesn't miss out on their childhood. Good luck
2. Chances of getting hired by a major airline within 10 years - 1 in 50...? Salary as flight instructor or regional airline co-pilot - $18,000/year - I would recommend he gets a regular "non aviation" job - Then when having some savings, learn to fly and become flight instructor - Be flight instructor on weekends since he is attracted by airplanes -