You will not be making much money, almost none to your retirement, and starting a relationship under these circumstances can be difficult. Further, when you do get that regional job, you are likely to work weekends, holidays and be on call. You will not have a normal schedule, and it's hard to meet people like this. You can, of course, it's just not as easy as a normal job in my opinion. Your work friends at the airline will likely live all over the country... can't exactly stop by after work for a beer.
Noted.
Honestly the reason I've not married is because I've hated my current path and knew a major transition was going to be in store at some point. Some day I'll settle down, but its really not a priority.
I've been on this for about 6 months. Only other thought is med school...I have the grades for it, but I've no interest in working in a hospital.
I would MAKE SURE I had plenty of money saved up and that I really did truly hate my current career. It's a huge gamble. I'm a bit of a flip flopper myself, so I need to be positive, for at least six months. I'd also take inventory of my "Where do I want to be in five - 10 years."
Without borrowing, I have plenty to pay cash for even ATP's fee and then about a year's living expenses...2 if I sold my car...
Especially if you go through a school like AllATPs or a few others that essentially give you a CFI job upon completion of their curriculum. Besides CFI, there are other positions that you can look for as well. Some will require more hours than others.
I'm thinking about ATP merely because of the structure, network and the efficiency. That said, why is
Prairie Air Service, Inc consistently about 40% of ATP's pricing? He doesn't offer CFI, but anything wrong with doing flight with Herb and then getting CFI elsewhere?
Is the structure and networking at ATP worth difference between Prarie at 35k and ATP's $70k?
I'd be fine doing deliveries in Alaska or missionary stuff in Africa for a few years to get the 1500...sounds like fun actually. Or instructing at an India/China mill...whatever works.
Long term goal is captain at major airline. That would be stable, respected, interesting, and enough to comfortably have a family.