Originally Posted by Cold Start

I made a bad decision and need some advice. I was hired as an FO for a regional last summer, resigned after only 4 weeks of training, and now I wish I would have stuck it out! I was doing fine but didn’t get to the real tough sim training. This was going to be my second career. I made the quick decision to resign because I felt swamped, a little behind, and decided it was too much of a lifestyle change. I should have taken time to get advice from the instructors before resigning. So, with a short email, I thanked the company for the wonderful opportunity and told them I had decided the pilot life wasn’t for me. They accepted my resignation, so they didn’t get the customary two weeks’ notice.

I’m 55 and work a full time none flying job. I hope I don’t fall in the category that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks! My current career is good (a little boring), but after much thought and soul searching, I realize I still want a second career as an airline pilot even if it’s a short career because of my age. The only flying professional experience I have is as a part time CFI / CFII. I was never a full-time pilot for pay and didn’t really comprehend the life of a full-time regional pilot until sitting class. I have given much thought to this and now have a much clearer understanding of the challenges. I haven’t flown in 8 months now.

I would greatly appreciate any advice on options to help me get back up on the horse.

I would like to fly for the same company I resigned, but they probably won’t want to spend any more money on me. I think the best way to earn my way back to a regional, if possible, would be to try to get hired in a demanding flying job like multi-engine cargo or charter work for a year or two. That would give me some great experience, show I can do a tough flying job, but if I did that, I probably wouldn't go to a regional. Another option is going back to part time flight instruction, but I would feel obligated to working at least a year. This would be much better financially and less disruptive because I can keep my full-time job, but it doesn’t show career progression. Maybe I can just apply in six months and see what happens. I prefer to ultimately work out of the DC area since that’s where family is located. I’m hopeful that after the FO surplus is corrected, a regional would give me another shot. Any ideas for me?