mattjm1121

Hey all,
Apologies in advance for the long post ahead...

As the headline implies, I've recently begun considering a career path as a pilot; more specifically, commercial piloting. I've long had a fascination with flying, but only ever gave it cursory consideration as a career option. With very little foresight, I wasted a lot of time in college not really figuring out what the hell I should do or at least see myself doing with my life. All I figured was that I'd probably not end up playing baseball for a living. I was the first in my family to go to college, so I had no real helpful advice or direction from home.

Here's my profile in a nutshell: Born and raised in NYC (definitely looking to get out sooner than later!), now 26 years old, with a BA in Philosophy (a guy with no career conviction studying philosophy...who woulda thunk it?)and minors in Economics and Psychology, good grades, wide ranging work experience from hospitality and customer service, to my current dead end and wholly unfulfilling situation in medical administration. Don't know how relevant this is, but I exercise consistently and am in good health; perfect vision. Although I haven't very extensively yet, I love to travel. And this may be somewhat of an oversimplification, but I also love the idea of having essentially a mobile office cruising at 40,000 feet; would seem to be a rather cathartic (albeit very calculated and meticulous, I'm sure) work environment.

Throughout my life, it's never been a question of effort, but always one of conviction, so I have no doubt that I'd be able to successfully deal with both the academic and physical rigors of flight school, if I choose to commit.

I certainly don't have the expendable income to pay for schooling up front, so I know hefty loans would be in my future. But as stated above, I'd be sure to ride this thing all the way through.

At this point, I'm just looking for some direction from insiders for someone in my situation. Anything from program suggestions, to student life insights would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Be as blunt and straightforward as possible!

Thanks in advance.