Yea, What Rickair777 said. I would also like to add that a lot of people are currently stuck in the profession. It is not easy to start over. Aviation training and experience does not offer much cross over value to other professions.

It is my belief that most become pilots because they love to fly but also because they think that they will be the exception. Most think that they will be the one who gets on with SWA a few years out of college. Why else would anyone choose to take on 200k in college and training expenses for a profession that has the promise to pay a little better than what a mailman makes.

The truth is that fate, contacts and circumstances play the biggest role in where a pilot career ends up. The odds are that most will struggle no matter how good they think they are or how hard they are prepared to work. Most of our fate as pilots is out of our hands and in the control of business executives.

200K break down:

My local state university quotes $21,500 per year in bare bones housing, tuition and books. No spring break trips or skiing lessons just a bed, cafeteria food and other educational expenses. Add to that another estimated 65 to 80k to get through a professional flight academy and things add up fast.

And your costs as a professional pilot are not over on graduation day. After that there are potential ATP, type rating, CFII and MEI add on costs. Not to mention the opportunity cost of what you could be doing for a living instead.


Skyhigh