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Old 12-30-2016, 01:44 PM
  #1  
aveng
New Hire
 
Joined APC: Dec 2016
Posts: 6
Default Early career change worth it?

Alright so I know...Another career change question!

Once I started flying about 10 yrs ago I knew I wanted to fly for a career. with a wet private pilot ticket, I was met with all of the recession and news of big furloughs, and crusty retired pilots telling me not to do it! "its not what it used to be," "better off to get a real job and pay for a few lessons here and there.." And to be honest all of the advice was probably spot on!

I figured joining the military was my best bet but sadly I didn't have a degree. So I Enlisted and worked my way into the aviation side with the plans of competing a degree and applying for the officer program that might lead to a pilot position. So here I am now past the age cutoff for the officer flight school. I really do like my job but its still not being a pilot, I just sit between both of them! I am a C-130H Flight engineer (yes they still exist and still required on some old birds!).

Currently have 7yrs in the military, age 30, wife and two kids 6 and 4 yrs, 60k/yr, private ticket with 85 hrs. I started flying again and now current.

I am not really sure what to do next... This is kind of what I was thinking: stay in military and retire at age 43, work on getting my cfi now and then instruct/build hours and try to retire with an ATP. then start my second dream career as a professional pilot.

And then I read other topics about people actually doing just that, changing careers around 45 and if they started 10 yrs earlier maybe they would already be making 6 figures...

If I get out of the military right now, I don't think I could survive very long on my first commercial pilot job with a family and debt from getting my ratings. But it would be worth it if I could make decent money after say 5yrs... I'm just not sure what I would realistically be making in 5 yrs? 60,80, 100K?

If I could make $100K within 5 yrs and have a good QOL for me and my family, I would probably get out of the military and I wouldn't care what I was flying! Just not sure if that is making some of you laugh or if its possible right now with the market.
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