Originally Posted by
Cubdriver
I think you will walk away if you really know what you are getting into.
You are crazy to fly for a living unless you can make it to a major very fast.
That is the goal. Out of about 144,600 ATPs in the US 70,000 or so of them, roughly 50% are flying at well paying cargo, legacy, and major carriers. And this isn't counting the thousands of US contract pilots flying over seas in China, Japan, etc. earning substantial salaries. How crazy they all were to believe they could make it in this business.
Cubdriver is right, better cut your losses now and forget about it because you, I, and every other aspiring career pilot will never be one of them.
Originally Posted by
Cubdriver
As an engineer I was able to recently buy a $4,000 musical instrument for the fun of it- a lifelong dream. That would never happen on FO airline pilot salary. I have the money to fly twins whenever I want to for fun. I flew a Seneca for two hours today over an airshow in Winston Salem, NC. That would never happen on an regional FO salary, guaranteed.
It all depends on how you live I guess. Might be a little tight for a first yr FO agreed, but come on upgrades at regionals don't take that long.
I don't know anything about the current climate in this economy for someone with an engineering degree so I can't compare the two. If you enjoy it enough and are confident you can easily land a job with high starting pay then I suppose you should go for it but don't let yourself become overly discouraged when it comes to the opportunities available out there for a competent pilot.