So I did the math to figure out about what it would cost for me to change careers and go fly for a living. Looks like I'd have to fly until about 2035 to break even with where I'd be financially if I kept going in the Navy and retired in 2022 (at 30 yrs service).
My calculations assumed the following:
- that I make O-6 in 2016 and retire at that pay grade in 2018.
- that I can knock out my instrument and commercial in the next year or so, and leave here with about 300-400 hrs.
- that I can get my CFI and knock out another 1000-1100 hrs in the two years after that, so that I'm at 1500 hrs soon after I retire. I can do this either by CFI or by just buying a plane and flying the heck out of it, changing my own oil, etc.
- that I get hired by 2020 by a regional at 1500 hrs and after getting the ATP
- I used Piedmont Airlines pay scale
- that I am a regional for six years, FO for 4 and then upgrade for two years and get 1000 TPIC in two years
- that I get picked up by a major after 6 years at a regional (I know that this very optimistic, but I keep hearing about LOTS of retirements happening in the next few years).
- That I am a FO at a major for about 10 years and then make CA, after which point I'd have about four years until mando retirement.
Please let me know if I'm totally out to lunch on any of this. I know that a lot of my time estimates are very different than they have been for others in the past, but by my math (counting up retirements as listed online), about half of the pilots at the majors will have to retire in the next ten or so years. I also know that I have the financial means to get over the 1500 hr hurdle that I know is now slowing down a lot of other prospective airline pilots.
Thanks again to all for your advice so far.