Originally Posted by chrisreedrules

Well I can say this... Think long and hard before becoming a professional pilot. We are all caught up in the romanticism of flight when we are first starting out but the reality of paying bills and supporting a family makes it difficult. Do not expect to make much money for your first 5 to 10 years of being a pilot. I'm on year 3 of being a professional pilot and I made about 33K in 2013. Now that I'm looking at regionals as a next move, I will barely be scratching by on less than 30K for a couple years. If you have a wife/kids or plan on it in the next 10 years I'd say he77 no, don't do it. If your okay being broke, single, and on a ramen diet for a decade then go for it. Oh and did I mention the debt incurred throughout flight training? I'm debt free and it's tough. I've worked with some guys with over 100K in flight training loans and they were miserable beings. Avoid debt at all costs. There is a reason most financial advisors try and steer people away from being a pilot.