Originally Posted by NoWake200

I start flying when I was 14 and by the time I was 18 I had my CFII/MEII. At 19 I had my first CFI job. After working full time for a year I went to college, Vaughn College of Aeronautics to get my 4 year degree, A&P and FCC. I was 25 and just months out of college when TWA hired me but I had already logged a couple of thousand hours while going to school as an instructor and 135 pilot.

Things were great until our TWA/AA merger and 9/11. I have worked for two airlines since then, one went bankrupt and the other was just not the fit. In the middle I tried owning a trucking company that did not work and now a floor cleaning business that I just shut down. I am now 42 and back to flight instructing, yep I once flew 767s international and now I am flying the 172s.

There is no crystal ball and if you had asked me where I would be when I was 42 at the age of 25 IT WOULD NOT BE MAKING NO MONEY AS A FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR. I only had one interview my entire career that did not come with a strong personal recommendation and that was with ATA, but keep in mind they were extremely sympathetic to what the TWA pilots were going through an what was being done to us. All the others, strong letters of recommendations, so be a good person and make a lot of true/solid connections/friendships and keep them.

The pilots that are working a lucky, because being on the outside looking in is not fun and sadly there are zero guarantees in aviation. The aviation industry is an ugly one and sadly our fellow pilots can be our worst enemies. Good luck, it is not going to be easy.