Originally Posted by
Scottman
Excellent thread! I am 33, have recently earned a multi-Engine commercial/inst. certificate. Up until about a year ago I had never really entertained the thought of an airline career. Sure, I've always had respect for pilots when I traveled and momentarily thought about how cool it would be to work in the cockpit. The smells of Airplanes and Jet exhaust sparked my imagination of a challenging and rewarding work envirionment. After earning an instrument certificate two years ago I began to think about how much I would like to learn to be a professional and work in the NAS everyday. I've been plugging away at it ever since. I know that it will be a challenging journey with no guarantees, but I'm old enough to know that there are NO guarantees in this life. Right now I have a decent job, and many of the folks in this forum would recommend staying where you have security. The truth is I am no less vulnerable than the guys hired at American Eagle last month. My plan is to learn as much as I can about this profession and give it everything I've got.
You seem like a happy chap. I'll be blunt, if you wanna stay happy, keep looking to the sky, and keep doing JUST THAT: LOOKING.
From a young idealists standpoint, aviation is great. Get to fly to cool places, hang out with the crew, fly awesome equipment yada yada yada. The fact is that things are not always as they seem. You will be a miserable regional first officer in five years, if you're lucky(after two years or so of starving as a flight instructor). By then, you will be pushing forty still waiting for a rj captain slot. Is that what you want: to be a forty year old regional fo? And as far as the "pilot shortage", you can forget about it; it is and always has been a myth.
If you REALLY love your wife and want to have a family with her, then set aside your giddy, childish dreams and be a responsible man. Stick with your current career.