Brit43

Hello all, I'm currently a senior in college graduating this year and I have a huge passion to become an airline pilot. However, there are so many obstacles right now that it seems impossible to accomplish this. One of my obstacles is my student debt. I'm over 100k in student loans and taking out extra loans for flight training would be overkill. Second obstacle is my parents. My parents initially were pushing me towards dentistry but I really didn't want it. They also are well aware of my debt. My options are either military or civilian( which would possibly involve more debt). I am thinking about the Airforce by commisioning becuase of free flight training. Any advice would be appreciated

Beech Dude

Military flight training is not free; you just don't pay for it monetarily. It also isn't a commitment to take lightly or on a whim. If you have questions, myself and many other on here will help you out with that with our experiences.

If i was you, assuming under 25, Id keep working for cash for flight lessons, and look into the airline cadet programs. There are alot of flying jobs out there too, besides airline gigs.

followingdreams

You are a senior in College, realistically how much more is Dental School after your graduate? My guess is WAY more than flight lessons. Yes, student loan debt will be tough, but it will be tough in either case. So you can add another $100k to your debt and get thru all of your ratings, start to instruct to get to 1500hr and get to a regional paying over $100k per year. After that, you are well on your way to a $300-400k per year career which will take MAYBE 3 years to do (to get to a regional). OR you can spend 4 years in dental school with about what 250k in debt and make around what, $200k per year AFTER establishing yourself in business? If you become a dentist, and your plan is to finance it with student loans, both you and your parents are being short sighted. Im tired of hearing how expensive flight training is, it is less than Medical school (including dentistry), less than law school, yet can yield the same income with a 100x better QOL. If this is TRULEY a passion and you are not doing it for the 300k plus income, there is no better job. There are sacrifices though, maybe your first 3 years you live with your parents, you dont drive a new car, you dont spend crazy, you just pay down your debt like crazy becasue once its gone, you will be able to live VERY nicely. Are you willing to make that commitment!

Sliceback

The $300-400K per year takes 10-15 yrs to reach if you're successful.

If you're not successful you'll be at $100K-$200-250K in 10-15 yrs.

Some do even worse and are in the $50-75K range. With proper advancement, and avoiding making poor decisions, you should avoid this pay dead end.

TiredSoul

Which one you talking about? You just described aviation.
(Also)

Brit43

Yes I am! I am willing to do anything for my dream.

captjns

Brit43... You haven't started Dental School yet... True? Start flight training. You can delay entry to dental school, if you discover Dentestry is not your cup of tea. In fact, you can attend Dental School after your flight training too. Then again, your may consider a totally different profession all together. Best of luck which ever direction you take.

QRH Bingo

This is the third post by you asking for advice. While each one is slightly different, they do seem to cover a general theme here. Are you not receiving the answers you want to hear or are you still just very unsure and possibly worried about making a wrong decision? As you've seen, opinions and advice come in every flavor.

What about splitting the difference between dental school and flight training as a different approach. You are about to complete college and earn your degree. What is it in? Do you have any potential career prospects that you could jump into immediately after? If so, you could begin a career that will pay for flight training. Work full-time while training part-time. This will, of course, delay your entry into the market but would do so with the benefit of minimal additional debt.

If you do go the military route, as stated above, take a long and hard look to make sure you understand ALL the commitments that are involved. And take time dicussing with different recruiters across different branches, allowing time for reflection afterward before signing any paperwork. Also, understand that junior officers do not make much money. Much like every other industry, it takes time to build up that paycheck.

There are many different paths into aviation; much of them meandering. You are young with plenty of time to plot a course.

TiredSoul

More like 5-6 going back 3 years.
There are some major issues here.

Rama

Three years ago would have been the best time to start ever.