Originally Posted by
DreamToFlyy
Thanks guys, I have been reading about this career on these forums and everywhere I can find while also talking to current and former airline pilots. I am not going into it for the money I am graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from Villanova, which is a top 15 undergraduate engineering school and I see what kind of jobs I can take and what kind of money I could make, but that is not me, I want to fly and the single most taught lesson I have learned from all professionals is do what you want, do what you love, the money will follow.
I understand the hardships if I have to live in a single bedroom apartment for years, all o need is a job I love a 6 pack for the weekend, my girlfriend and football. I really hope everything in the industry gets better for everyone not just me
Dude, I'd be really careful with that kind of attitude. There is a legitimate debate on here about "quality" regionals vs "quick upgrade" regionals, but in the end all of us are here to make a paycheck. Sure, we sacrifice some things early on because we really like flying but ultimately it's got to be about "show me da money!"
That said, if you have an engineering degree, you should absolutely go out that to good use and self fund your flying. Heck, go check out Boeing then go get your ratings on the side. You may find other aspects of aviation that float your boat. SpaceX, Scaled Composites, LockMart, etc, etc, etc.
Ultimately, it is absolutely, 100% worth slowing your plan down a little bit if you can end up with three instructor ratings, an engineering career, and a ton of money in the bank and then making a decision about flying for a living instead of getting your instructor ratings 6 months faster, but being broke when you're done (albeit out of debt in your scenario).