Originally Posted by
CaptainCarl
That's seems a little steep, Sky. Last time I checked, ERAU was charging $178K for the four-year degree and the CPL cert (albeit at 200 hours due to the 141 regs). Don't get me wrong though, anybody who pays that was either very ignorant at the time they started or came from money.
Anyway, point being, don't embellish the facts. There are those of us that went from "zero to hero" in less than 40K and are able to pay the debt down regularly on the less-than-desirable wages whilst slugging it out in the Regional/Part 135/CFI world.
However, on some of your other talking points, this career is a minefield. I was told when I started, "You'll start with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience. The idea is to fill one before the other runs out."
So I continue to fill my bag of experience, trying to navigate this career without falling into the traps that will claim my life or my license. I plan for the worst and hope for the best. Fate will take care of the rest, after all, for it is the hunter
It is important add in all the important details to get the full and most accurate accounting like:
1. The opportunity cost of what you could have been doing other than wasting four to five years in college.
2. All tuition, books and living expenses for four to five years.
3. The full cost of all flight training plus taxes, ground school and check rides.
4. The interest on the student loan that is going to haunt you for the next 20 years.
Compare all that to something else like joining the Army at 18 or sorting boxes for UPS. Lastly college and flight training are inflating in price hugely every year. In my home university one hour of flight training comes in at around $200/hour dual. $145 plane 50 for the instructor plus another 50 for pre and post ground. A professor in the department claimed that their students are graduating "$160,000 in debt".
$250,000 for four to five years of college plus flight training through CFI and lost wages is low if anything. Fate will take are of the rest. A studio apartment at 50. It happens all the time.
Skyhigh