I'm finding out I'm like everyone alse. I'm the guy in grade school that could look up and tell you what kind of airplane was flying over head. By the time I was in college I could tell you the operating specs and who designed the plane. I flew model airplanes when I was 15 and flew in small private planes with my Dad and Grandfather up until a few years ago.
When I graduated I didn't know what I wanted to do so I looked into joining the Navy and becoming a pilot. My dream was always to fly. I went through all the exams and physicals for the officer program and just before I was going to sign up I got a job offer from a steel company. I decided that the military life wasn't for me and started working. To make a long story short I was making $60,000 a year when i decided to leave last July. The job wasn't satisfing, and living in Riverside , Ca wasn't my dream location. The real story was that I had been thinking of leaving for about a year when I was promoted and bought a condo. I met a great girl in February. She was transfering to Berkeley in the fall. I thought this would be the perfect oportunity to make a change in my life because I knew I wasn't happy where I was. I don't look back at my decision as a mistake because I left the company right when things started to go down the toilet and I sold my condo right at the height of the real-estate boom. I came away with $40,000 in the bank.
When I got up to nothern California I started looking for jobs but just couldn't get excited about anything. I went down to the local airport and asked around about flight training. The more I thought about it the more I thought that being a pilot would be a dream job for me. In the past I never had the guts or the money. I had taken some glider lessons but never really jumped into flying. I signed up for ATP's 60 day PPL and their 90 day career pilot program. I thought I had finally found what I was ment to do in life.
I'm having second thoughts. I've been reading through posts and threads and most of what I see in negative. No one seems to think that being a pilot for the airlines is the way to go. No money, no family life etc. I've got my budget in place. I'm going to have to spend all of the money I made off the condo and borrow another $25,000 from my parents.
Can someone please tell me if I'm crazy or are my fears not a reality? Is being a pilot a dream job and economical or is it a fantisy. I've talked to one guy who just got hired by a regional and he made $16,000 his 1st year. HOW DO YOU SUPPORT YOUR SELF??????? THIS SEEMS CRAZY TO ME.