Originally Posted by
Jordon11
The annual medical, check rides, getting laid off ect. Just so many things that could go wrong after I spend 10 years dishing out time I don’t have to waste. Then I look up, my daughter is in high school I am a failure that lost his medical, lost time with his kid and never made it to the Majors.
You pays your money, you takes your chances.
There's risk. But people do it because of the high reward potential. That potential is unusually high at this exact moment in time due to retirements.
If your family has a history of (non-lifestyle induced) medical issues, that would be cause for consideration. But if your genetics are decent, you can really improve your odds of staying healthy with diet, exercise, and lifestyle. Also the better majors (and some regionals) have loss of medical disability up to age 65. If you're young, you'd probably just want to start a new career. But if you're 50+ at a major, you're covered to age 65. Not full pay, but 60% (non-taxable) of major captain pay is still quite comfortable.