I flew with a guy today who quit flying for a regional just because he could not afford to live with what he made. It was a great flight, one of my 50 hours of cross countries required for the IFR rating. I have close to about 30 now, and I am having a blast exploring new destinations. So how is everybody who is training doing I wonder? Sometimes I feel like I am just doing it because it's something I've always wanted to do, and cruising along today on the way back, I am thinking, this is the best place on Earth sitting in this plane, listening to the drone of the engine, atc, there is nowhere else I would want to be right now. I wish I could do this for a living...
I was given a first hand account of what flying for a regional is like, and it did not sound very good, needless to say. So I am thinking, I absolutely love flying, but I would never want to quit, that would be devastating...And he loves flying too, but circumstances are so that it is not a realistic venture for him anymore. Sure I am single right now and I could easily live with a salary like that, but, my question to all of you is that, is flying for a career a realistic goal? I have spend thousands on flying, and have loved every single minute of it, and I would hate for that to go for waste if it is not realistic anymore.
So it is time for me to set some realistic goals. Perhaps, flying in the U.S. is a bad idea, and aviation is obviously booming in the middle-east, India, etc. and I should look into opportunities over there if I want to fly for a living. I feel like this sounds like a more realistic goal than trying to find a gig in the U.S. Like most of you, flying for me is a passion, and I would really like to make it a career someday, but I want to be realistic about it too. Any thoughts, opinions, are welcome.