General aviation training and schooling questions
Hi guys, new to the forum and was hoping to get a few questions answered and some opinions. I don't personally know any pilots and ran across this forum and everyone seemed pretty helpful. First a little back round on me. I'm 21 currently and working, only have 1 year of college under my belt. I took time off to work after but I haven't really entertained the idea of going back yet. Also feel like starting a 4 year program on top of flight training at 21 is too late. Well, I am looking into going in for my commercial pilots license. I've had a fascination with it for a long time and have always loved flying when going on vacations and trips. I've finally decided to look into it more but i had a few questions before i jump in.
I was looking at going to ATP for the training. It seemed like one of the best choices and didn't seem like too many people had anything bad to say about it. I've been reading around the forums and it seems like a lot of people are saying its bad to take out a loan to pay for your training/school. Why is that? I have some money in the bank but not enough to pay for it in full.
Is is just extremely hard to find any kind of job or instructors job right out of training? Also how long does it usually take to get hired after you get a decent amount of hours?
Another thing I was curious about is, is it impossible to find a job without a Bachelors degree? I'm pretty much willing to relocate wherever. I know most people will probably tell on me to go ahead and finish school first but is it really the only option? From what I've read you max out at 90k without bachelors.. and around 200k+ with one. What are some of the average starting pays with out without a degree? I've thought about going and finishing up a Bachelors but i would probably have to take out another loan for that, on top of the one i would have to take out for flight school. Could add up to 75k+ loan, which is kinda scary for me, although maybe it's not as bad as it appears. I was reading "theblueones" thread and it had good information about this. But it was kind of vague on the differences between regional and major airlines. Any extra info appreciated^
And finally just a few general questions. I know becoming an instructor is probably the best way to gain hours but if it does become a problem finding an instructor job, is it possible to privately gain hours? Or is it far too expensive? And lastly would you guys recommend going for it with my current situation or does it just sound like a recipe for disaster. I'm not afraid to put all my effort into it but i just want to get some experienced opinions on the matter. Make sure I'm not gonna jump into something that would just put me in way over my head.
Sorry for the loaded post. But I had a ton of questions and any information is appreciated. Thanks a lot guys