Originally Posted by
Airhoss
RJM
If I were in your shoes and a had 150K in debt and no way to pay it back I'd seriously look at bankruptcy. Get it over while you are young and start rebuilding your credit now. Unless you are not telling us something like your parents are rich. You are already in a smoking financial hole that you will never dig out of in the aviation industry. Not with entry level jobs and you are YEARS away from getting any kind of flying job that will support that kind of debt. And even after you do get hired by a "real" airline it'll take five or six years to get to the pay level you'll need to be at just to survive with that monkey on your back.
The sooner you realize just how screwed you are the quicker you can start with your damage control.
If it was a federal student loan (and some others as well) one cannot declare bankruptcy and start over. The feds will take all of one's income tax refunds and sometimes garnish wages to get paid. The US government is the ULTIMATE House.
Originally Posted by
RJMFlyboi
Hey guys,
To answer the first question, I got raked over the coals by my flight school. Obviously in retrospect I was a moron and wish I could have done it a ton of different ways, but I didn't and looking back and regretting what I've done won't help me. I can only learn and move on.
Also as far as PTF goes, it's already in the past and I'm not looking to do it again. The only real reason I did it was because it got me access to more money to get my commercial licenses.
As far as bankruptcy goes, the reason I was able to get that much in loans was because my parents co-signed the loans (and no they aren't rich at all).
Honestly I'm doing everything I can. Getting my four year degree, looking for work else where to pay the bills, however I don't want to give up. I absolutely love flying and think it's utterly amazing some people (hopefully me in the future!) get paid to do it!
I know it's not going to be easy at all, but this is obviously my burden and I know I can do it. I am just looking for advice and perhaps creative ways of getting to where I want to go. I hope that you guys might have some advice (other than giving up turning around and running for it). There's no turning around for me financially or for flying. I simply love it and won't give it up.
Thank you for your guys time! I appreciate the feedback.
Also my main question was, given my situation, would you (recruiters out there) still hold it against me that I did a PTF gig? I hope that people in your position can see that lack of knowledge/guidance/experience may be able to see the position I'm in. Worse comes to worse, I'll get my instructors ratings and get another job or two on the side, but I won't give up flying!
Thanks and take care all!
Yes, you were a moron for listening to salesmen telling you it was ahort cut to flying riches. The good news is you ADMIT you were a moron (I too have been stupid, we admit it, we learn, and we don't do it again).
Unless you are working 100 hours a week (or more) you ARE NOT doing all you can do. Education is great, but spending more of your years not earning money and accruing interest is not a solution. I know several people who are high school educated and are store managers who make as much as a 4-5 year regional captain (as much as I do now). It ain't sexy or fun. but they pay the bills and put a few bucks away.
Loving flying is great! I love it myself. I also love sex, but I would NOT love being a prostitute. Flying is a JOB: it is WORK. Yes, it is more palatable than being a garbage collector, but over a lifetime a trash man can end up as rich (if not richer) than a pilot with a huge debt and whose career has had a few hiccups (like me).
I loved flying, and still do. BUT being an airline pilot means I actually "FLY" about 30 minutes out of every 8 hours (and I handfly more than 90 percent of my coworkers). This is a JOB. True, I don't smell as bad as a trash man, but in my day I have taken a Jet A bath under the wing of a Caravan. There are many negatives involved in the work. The reason I enjoy my job is I have no debt, no wife, no kids, finally earn a reasonable wage, and (most importantly) can hold a good line flying only 30 hours per month and having 18 nights off each month (I bid stand ups because I prefer to work the back side of the clock and flying 25 hours a month is PLENTY).
The real question for you is.... are you a worker or an artist. A worker finds the least distasteful way to make as much money as he can, while an artist does what he loves no matter what and accepts poverty as a way of life. If you are smart AND lucky, you can find a balance between the two. I have. But it has taken almost 15 years to do so..... and if my current employer goes tango uniform, I could be starting all over again.
Good luck.