Originally Posted by
mine
Thank you for all your opinions. You guys are freaking awesome!
I just applied for Embry Riddle University to take the non military route. You guys are right. 10+ years is a bit too much... for me at least.
Does anyone know how much flying hours I can get going through the military and/or going through a flight school program?
Are there any airline pilots that are willing to give me their number so I can talk more personally and with more detail?
I would also comment that there are better civilian paths than ERAU. It may have had some redeeming qualities back in the day, but not so much anymore.
The amount of hours you get in the military is largely irrelevant. The airlines prefer to hire military pilots, so their minimums are normally set so that a military pilot who has just finished his initial obligation will typically meet those mins. A fighter pilot will get 1000-2000, a non-fighter type probably several thousand more.
In a civilian flight training program you will spend $50-150K and get 200-280 hours. You will then spend ten years working in bad to marginal conditions, for very little pay building several thousand more hours before you get to the same major airline job in the end.
Either way, you are going to spend ten years getting there. Military pay and bennies are MUCH better aong the way, but you have to go to work when and where they tell you to.
I don't think that there is anything wrong with using the military as a path to the airlines...you just have to 100% committed to doing the military service while you are in. It will be more work then the civilian route.