Originally Posted by
TallFlyer
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).
I have considered engineering, but do not feel it is fit for me. Sure I have only been in school for it and don't know exactly what the field is like, but I have the flying bug, bad and have loved planes since I was a little kid. The main three pieces of advice I get from pilots are:
-Stay Away (sorry I am young I would rather get in now and find out I hate it then switch when I am 30-40 and find out I hate it with a wife and kids and low income)
-Avoid commuting (that was the purpose I started this thread to get an idea of a regional that has three hubs within close driving distance, hopefully not all three would close down or the airline itself before I was hopefully able to move onto a major)
-and finally, I should have started sooner.. (I know there is a lot of pessimism out there and of course I don't want to hate being an airline pilot or any pilot to feel that way, I don't know how tough it is yet, but I am open minded that is why I am discussing all this, I am preparing for the worst)
My Engineering degree is my plan b, and my colleagues here at school are my connections if I were to ever need them (hopefully aviation works out)