Originally Posted by Imeneo
Thanks a lot guys for the advice... I guess the critical thing now is to see if the asthma is a career buster. I'll speak to my AME. I could probably get a 1st Class Medical with a waiver, but I guess the critical part is has anyone ever been hired with a waiver (as rickair7777 explains), because $60,000 is a lot to spend on something that may amount to just a hobby rather than a paying job. In addition, do any of you guys know of any working pilots with such a disease?
There are all kinds of pilots working with all kinds of conditions. It is generally easier to keep an existing medical than to get a brand-new one.
As far as getting the medical, discuss it with an expert BEFORE applying for the medical. The FAA can do all kinds of evaluations and hoop-jumping to make a determination on a medical, but if they give you a clean medical at the end with no restrictions, you're golden. You probably want to avoid having the words "special issuance" on your medical.