I am 29 yrs old, and I want to earn money as a pilot. I currently hold a bachelor’s in math from UT and am working as a high school math teacher making 42K, but I can’t stand my job (I love teaching though). I am married to a 26 yr old doctor (still in residency making 38K) who in 2009 will be raking in 400K as an anesthesiologist. If I can reach yearly earnings of at least 50K as a pilot, I will consider myself a success (even though my woman will have lapped me 8 times over).

I am about 1/4 of the way through PPL and I love it. I kick myself at the thought of not starting sooner. I landed the 172 classic on lesson three on my own (with instructor next to me, of course), and I love to study and am learning quickly. I feel as though I was born to do this, and, despite the fact that compared to many on this forum I know nothing, the idea of flying for a living sounds perfect for a guy like me.

As painful as it sounds to me, I plan on staying in public education for another few years. The pay is half-way decent believe it or not, and I only work 187 days out of the year which frees up a lot of time to fly. I am paying for PPL out of pocket, and once I am through with that I plan on hitting up Sallie Mae for a loan to finance my Instrument and Commercial. My wife and I have absolutely flawless credit, and paying back this loan when my wife reaches her full earning potential in a couple of years will be fairly easy. I have been told that most people accumulate their hours by becoming instructors, and since I am already a teacher this sounds exciting to me (although I hear I will be paid very little at this stage).

So this is my plan thus far.

1. Is it feasible to earn Instrument and Commercial in 2 years while teaching high school full-time?

2. What is the next step after becoming an instructor?

3. What would my next move(s) be in order to be on my way to landing that 50K/yr. job?

Thank you for your advice/criticism

MikeinTX