Originally Posted by NJ Spurgeon
I have some college under my belt but I still need about 60 credits for my BS in Management. I haven't flown at the Quantico aero club because I have heard a lot of bad things about the instructors. I know that it is going to be rough, I just want to do something that I truly love doing. Even though I am not a pilot I have over 1000 hrs as aircrew on helicopters. I would much rather be piloting verses shooting any day!
It seems as though everyone on these forums has a nack for complaining. I'm sure there are pilots out there who are infatuated with being a pilot. I know it will be tough, I am just looking for advise to help better prepare myself and my wife.
Priority number one: FINISH COLLEGE. Your chances at getting an airline job will be literally nil without it. And it's one of the biggest favors you'll ever do yourself and your family.
I'm one of those infatuated pilots. Still. I made my decision to be a pilot standing on the side of a mountain in Vietnam guiding a Huey in for an extraction. I figured what that guy was doing (Flying!) was a hell of a lot better than what I was doing (humping a ruck sack and getting shot at). I decided that I wanted to be an army helicopter pilot. Needless to say, one thing led to another and I am where I am today. How I got here is easy to explain. I wouldn't quit. Better put, we wouldn't put. My wife, and later my son's, were with me pretty much the whole way. As I clawed my way along the career track we made the sacrifices and adjustments that we needed to make. We've lived in the same house for the past 22 years. It's NOT a captain's house, i.e., 5,000 square feet with an $800K mortgage. It's comfortable and in a good neighborhood. We don't drive fancy, expensive cars. Our vacations are usually in a 15 year old motorhome. My yacht is a 14' aluminum boat. See a pattern here? If you're willing to control yourself, your spending and you're willing to make the sacrifices and put out the effort THERE IS HOPE!. I will tell you this before SkyLow jumps all over me. This isn't the same business that it was 2, 5 or 10 years ago and it's probably only going to get worse. But it still beats working for a living.
Talk to your wife. Make sure that you're on the same page and that she understands what has to be done. Remember, she's the best retirement that you'll ever hang on to. Look yourself in the mirror and decide if you can do what it takes to get to where you want to be. Then get it done. Even if you don't make it you'll never have to wonder in 25 years if you should have at least tried. You're a Marine. You understand what work and effort are.