Shoot some holes, please! (airline career)
seeking input, both good and bad. been pursuing the airline pilot thing since 2007. my window for going for it is summer 2015. i am looking for input about what i have not considered or if my thinking has been flawed. i am Commercial and have about 1200 hours TT and still need to get my 100 multi, but lucky to have a buddy that wants to pay for the time building past my add on. he says he has to pay for the airplane anyways and if i want, i can pay him back after i make captain. will get another 200 hours as a sheriff volunteer pilot flying a C172. i already have the big custom house in a gated community, a VA disability that gives me some monthly income but more importantly covers 100% my son's college tuition in California and has no age limit for him. i can also draw on my CalPers retirement at age 50 that has a continual 2% adjusted COLA until they put me in the ground. wife just got appointed to a state employment position that is worth about a 10 year major FO pay at southwest. because of the early retirement money and my wife's pay, we can still pay all of our bills and have almost 2000 a month left over if i get furloughed. it is very true that i will lose out on retirement money but in retirement at age 65 i will still have monthly about $6000 left over with my early retirement and SS after all my recurring payments are paid and then a couple more thousand after my first mortgage is paid off. i also have saved about $30,000 for that first year pay and included $300 a month for 6 years into my calculations for a crash pad if needed. my calculations also include making Captain in the sixth year. i also have a Masters degree but will only stay at a regional for QOL issues because of age.
been married for 22 years to my high school sweetheart and she was my spouse when i was in the USAF as a navigator flying B-1s. she stated she would not hold me back from doing what i want to do but constantly states that the pay is crappy. my son is just about to turn 13 and will be 15 when i start applying.
i laid this info out because i want my family to have limited worries about a lowered income or lifestyle. my need from this forum is whether i have considered most of the gotchas before making the jump. thanks for listening.