Originally Posted by galaxy flyer

Remember, in real dollars, today’s airline pilot is making probably making half what his father at PAA made in 1970 flying fewer hours. In those days, airline pilots lived in Greenwich and Malibu, not remotely possible today. Then again, no iPad, no Internet.

GF

Originally Posted by Broncofan

I wont lie I've been blessed with a great career so far. I have been flying for 14 years now and have NEVER lost the love of flying. It still gets me excited to go to work. Honestly the worst part of work is the other people I fly with sometimes. A lot of jaded people out there in this industry and it's hard to tune then out sometimes. I've worked for 15 dollars and hour puddle jumping all the way up to majors, and quite honestly the best people I flew with were the ones making 15 an hour. But to answer the OPs question would i do it all over again? Absolutely! Best career out there in my opinion. Lots of family time, or time for a side business if that's your thing. However I wouldn't quit your day job, this industry can flip at any point. I would keep working as an engineer, keep flying as a hobby until you have all your certs and ratings and necessary hours. Then decide at that point if your ready to swap careers.

Originally Posted by CC268

Meh. If you want to make a ton of money go start your own business. That’s a nice dose of risk and working your tail off too.

Originally Posted by GoJuice

If I was an engineer I would absolutely be flying at my local FBO and financing as I go. Unfortunately i do not make near enough money to finance that. I tried the pay as you go route and i could barely afford flying once a week. For me, taking out the loan is the only real option.

Originally Posted by galaxy flyer

I wasn’t comparing a ton of money being a business owner, but today’s pilot pay to the earlier pay FOR THE SAME JOB.

GF