Career advice-ish
 

Hello,
So I'll try to keep this simple. I'm military retiree (no not pilot), just finished my bachelors and 52 in June. I always read about pilot shortages and these schools, which I am sure are worth the cost if you're younger than I am, but if everything lined up correctly and I made it through one of these 3 or 4 yr programs, realistically, could I start a career as a FO? I am not asking for fluff, I know that pilots are required to retire at 65 and god knows if I will make it that far lol but realistically, could I keep myself successfully keep myself employed, im guessing as a regional first officer? Financially, I can handle the loans for school, and I live frugal already so lets hear it.

thx

You would first have to seriously ask yourself why you are doing it, and what would your overall goal be. To be successful in the career, that would be something that only you could define. That being said it would take time and effort, but it is definitely possible. I have trained students that started at your age and are now in the industry. However, keep in mind that the quality of life may not be what you are looking for.

It's certainly possible. It would help if you have a PPL and flew when younger... harder for old dogs to learn new tricks, but not impossible.

What was your MOS?

Unless you have fundamental aptitude/trainability issues in aviation (some good people do, and age doesn't help that), you should be able to retire as a regional CA.

But the regionals might get ugly over the next five years, so I wouldn't bank on that as Plan A... shoot for major airline FO. There should also be plenty of opportunity in corporate aviation (not hard retirement age).

No need to load up the expectations from the start. What I mean is, test the waters some, at a quicker pace, towards a private pilots license. You can later on see how far you can go.

It can be as simple as enrolling in a private pilot ground school course at a local airport or community college. This is the time of the year where airports are having open house and fly-ins, check them out.

Once you get some time in the saddle, you can evaluate your aptitude to bring more on.

What “3 or 4 year programs” are you referring to? It should be 6 to 9 months. If you’re thinking about getting another degree then by all means DON’T go that route, you don’t need an aviation degree and you already have a degree.

As to taking on debt at age 52 to learn to fly...I wouldn’t recomend it. But if you can pay as you go, go for it. What are you doing right now for work?

angels66, I did what you are planning to do -- I became a commercial pilot at a "late age. So I have some ideas for you. The FAA has two sets of rules, one for "big" airlines (called Part 121) and another set of rules for "small" airlines (called Part 135). Pilots for Part 135 are NOT required to retire at age 65. You may want to consider a career as a Part 135 pilot. As long as you can pass an FAA medical and can pass a checkride, you can fly Part 135 "forever". I am a Part 135 pilot, and it has worked out better for me, especially because I will not be forced to retire at 65. Take a look at both a Part 121 career and a Part 135 career. See which one may work out better for you.