Originally Posted by
MPGrunt
How discouraging,
Ok, honest opinions guys, I am about to retire from the Military and will be attending the ATP fast track Airline Transport Pilot program. I am debt free except for a house payment that my retirement will cover. My main concern is by the time I finish my training I will be just about 40. Will an airline even touch me? Will I be able to make a decent living on the pay of a regional, EVER? Basically I am asking am I wasting my time? I will be of course obtaining a loan for the training minus about 25k.
Thanks in advance guys. I am a zero flight time guy btw, I have taken a couple of lessons and fell in love with flying, and am willing to live a humble life for a few years if theres a payoff in the end.
Thanks in advance.
Age is not a problem for regionals. Almost half my class at Eagle was 40+ (7 of 16), and the oldest 2 were 50+.
Make a decent living is a personal judgement. Since you're military you've probably had long deployments before & your family is accustomed to seperation. Are you willing to be away from home for two months for initial training? Then be gone 5 or 6 days in a row, home for only 48 to 72 hours, for the next year (or three, or more). All for only $20,000? Yeah, you'll gross low to mid 30's 2nd year on till upgrade. Which can range from 2 1/2 years to 10 years, depending entirely upon luck. After five years of so you'll have the opportunity to move to a major. Which means probie pay, displacement, sitting reserve, being last on the seniority list, and potentally being furloghed in the next econiomic downturn.
Is this a big enough payoff for you?