Navy submarine-driver to professional pilot?
Hello all,
I am currently serving as a nuclear-trained US Navy submarine CO, with a few more years to go until the usual retirement point. As an amateur pilot, I am still quite new to flying, with just a PPL and at about 100 hrs. I am planning to start IFR training in about a month. I expect that, in my current assignment (over the next 10 months or so), I should be able to finish my instrument rating and maybe my commercial.
I would appreciate your thoughts on a few things. First, I am considering retiring from the Navy sooner (in the next 1-3 years) rather than later (I could stay in probably another 8 or so if I wanted to). If I did retire earlier, it would be to pursue a 2nd career in aviation. I have come to really enjoy flying airplanes. I am passionate about it, I think about it a lot (I listen to liveatc.net for fun), and I enjoy doing it.
Trying to stay co-located in the military with my wife (active Army) will likely become harder and harder, with little likelihood that she will never be able to be stationed where we have submarines. It seems that with a flying job, I could live almost anywhere and commute to work as necessary.
My reasons to stick with the Navy:
- Job satisfaction - I think that what we do is important.
- $$$ - If I leave now (as an O-5) rather than as an O-6 (if everything goes OK from here, this is pretty much guaranteed), I would leave well over a half-million bucks on the table WRT lifetime retirement pay.
- If I leave now to be a professional pilot, I understand that I will make very little for probably 5-10 years. In terms of the price of flying, it would be a lot lower to just keep working for Uncle Sam and buy my own airplane and fly it until I get tired of it. (Of course, finding time to fly it is another matter…). I understand that I will be taking an over 80% pay cut initially.
- I know that I am taking for granted the respect and status that I have in my current job, and that it will be tough to be at the bottom of the totem pole again if I start over in aviation.
Some questions that I have are:
- do you have any thoughts on the “pilot shortage” that is said to be happening at the regionals? Is it real? Are the 1500-hr rule, 65-year retirements and FAR117 changes really having an effect? Do you think it will have any significant effect on pay? Is the pay really as bad as I hear it is? Is there any chance the ATP FO Part 121 requirement will go away?
- I've read some pretty hellish accounts of regional schedules and lifestyle (e.g., groggy and tired all the time). Have the FAR117 changes had an impact to improve QOL? I’ve already done the sleep-deprivation thing in my Navy career, and don’t really feel like doing a lot of it again.
- it looks like I have two options for flight training:
- rip the band-aid off, pay someone like ATP $60K, and get it done in ~4 months. CFI or something until 1500 hrs and then get to work. I have the money to pay for training with no problem and incurring no debt.
- go to a degree-awarding public college for an aviation-related degree. Get the GI Bill to pay for the whole thing, and then I only have to get to 1000 hrs to get the R-ATP. I figure this would take two years. I would fly on the side to try to be at 1000 when I graduated. BTW, I already have a respectable mechanical engineering BS (with a high GPA) and an MA from a US War College.
- do my (non-flying) military background as a served ship CO and my degrees have any value WRT being hired by the majors? Or are they just looking for flight time?
- any idea how many years people signing up now will likely spend in the regionals before getting hired by the majors?
In summary, I am considering forgoing a very cozy retirement to retire a bit earlier (for less money) and take a monster pay cut to fly airplanes for a living. Am I crazy? (my wife thinks so, but says that she'll support me)
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!