Hello,

I am currently 23 years old, graduated from UCSD with a bachelor's in Psychology, and am currently working as an analyst for a company. I had a few questions that I was hoping to get some opinions on.

1) (Incoming Broad question!) How receptive is the airline industry ( in its current state) of pilots of my age/background? I have read that first years are paid around $20k, but have also been told that after around 15 years of flying for an airline the salary jumps substantially to around $150k. Does this/Will this still hold true in the near future?

2) One of my local flight training schols (www.sdfti.com) quoted that it would probably cost about $10-$15k to get my Private Pilot's license. I know that recreational flying would just be way too expensive for me, so I am reluctant to spend that much money. I feel that the only viable solution to satiate my desire to fly would be to go career. I have the passion to fly, but have always been very meticulous about what I spend on. Should I still get my Private License regardless?

3) Does anyone know of any good schools in San Diego I should look into? (that won't destroy my wallet =D )

4) Do airlines value training at local flight schools less than training from a university or college?

5) As an airline pilot, are you constantly flying flight after flight, or do you have opportunities to explore your flight destinations a bit?

6) My main hangup with fully committing to being a career pilot is the extensive time away from home/family. Being that I am only 23, it is not much of an issue, but looking further down the line, are there alternative positions that are open to pilots that afford more "consistent" schedules where you would not be away from home as much (ie: ATC?)? If so, is that transition expensive/complicated?

Sorry to smack you guys with a wall of text there. I hope some of it made some sense! Thanks for any and all your comments!