I’m a 31 year old married guy, and I’ve got the now-all-too-common question that a lot of posters seem to have: do I leave my current job ($100k/year government job, but little to no possibility for much of a salary increase) for flying?

I’m in a position where I basically just need the multi engine cert, then I could quit my job as soon as I find a CFI job.

I won’t bore everyone with the personalized “should I or shouldn’t I,” but I just want to know, generally speaking, if it’s a little too late for someone in my shoes.

Basically, I’d like to be in a position to be hireable by a major before the peak retirements hit. I’m seeing here on APC that the peak tends to hit the legacies in the early-to-mid 2020s.

On my timeline, barring economic catastrophe, do I stand a shot of getting into a major with enough time to spare before the music stops?

In other words, is it still possible to start now and get to a major soon enough that a decent number of folks are hired under me so I’d have a decent seniority number for a good chunk of my career? I don’t have to spend a decade as a 777 captain, but I just don’t want to sit stuck at the bottom of the seniority ladder for decades.

Bachelor degree and professional degree (with honors), FWIW.

Thanks all!

 

Not too late, especially since you have some ratings and given the retirement numbers. But if you're going to do it, better get started, don't want to waste any seniority or get hired on the back side of a wave.

 

Not at all. People 25 years older than you are in class at their first airline right now.

 

It’s going to take 5-8 yrs, perhaps 10, from now to get to a large major.

The total pilots at each airline is available. The retirements are available. Figure out what your number would be in 5-10 years. The pay rates are available. Based on when you’d get hired you can project your seniority and income. The analysis is much easier once you’ve done the background work.

 

Only too late if you think it is.

I started flying for money at 38.

The question is your wife working a good job? Is she Ok with you leaving the 100K/year job for a 25K/year job? Is she Ok with moving for your flying jobs?

Before you jump ship, find a reputable AME and make sure you can pass and hold a 1st class medical certificate.

 

Concur completely with everyone above. But, you definitely need to ask yourself why you want to fly. If you're leaving the relative stability of a gov't job you're venturing off into a big unknown with a high-risk/high-reward payoff. I ditched my life to fly after over a decade in the military because it was always my passion and I had previously been commissioned to fly for the Army but a line of duty injury screwed things up. My passion is and always will be flying, so for me it's worth it regardless of the outcome. Thankfully, I got lucky... but the road ahead as I have been learning isn't a certain one. Airline industries can be as dramatic as your bi-polar HS girlfriend.

If wifey is solid and on board with you doing whatever it takes, and you're willing to make little/no money for several years before you get to a remotely decent paycheck at a regional... go for it. If flying is just something you think will be a way to make more money in the long-run (I only say this because you specifically mention the lack of positive income growth), I would say that reason alone isn't worth the risk... but that's just my opinion.

 

Thanks all. Income potential as a pilot is not the primary motivator - I’ve wanted to be an airline pilot for all but maybe 5 of my 31 years. I’m one of those types. The income potential is really just one way to help justify the dream.

My wife has a good, solid job and is OK with my making the jump. Two biggest concerns of mine are that she wants kids in the next couple years (although she’s somewhat flexible) and we really cannot leave Phoenix (where she has family). So assuming I could make it to a major, it’d be Southwest or commute (American seems to be winding down PHX, but who knows).

 

Several easy commutes out of PHX, with multiple regionals and majors... LAX, SFO, SEA, SLC, DEN, DFW, IAH.

 

Gee, you think? It's obvious that the individual is seeking information to use to determine their options... not to receive the Gospel. But when I read your whole spiel and then that last line, it sounds like you're completely discounting the LARGE numbers of opinions from DIVERSE backgrounds with VARIOUS aviation experiences as opposed to going to Band Camp and talking to ONE or a FEW people who may have an agenda. I mean seriously dude, your website has prices on the first page....