If your parents will let you live with them until you are 30, and borrow their car then go for it... Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to afford anything. Even 50K a year is barely enough for a ****ty apartment with a half decent car these days. Try having a fraction of those things with your 16 grand a year salary and ridiculous school loan payment that tops your net income.

When you get furloughed at 35, then be prepared to have to move back in with your parents yet again.

Girlfriend or wife? Probably wouldn't be able to keep one around.

=)

Don't sell your soul for a damn job. And don't work for anyone that won't pay you a livable wage. That's just disrespect. If you like computers, take up programming or software engineering. But stay out of IT - because you will always be viewed as a cost center and will be crapped on all day by idiots that make 5 times as much as you but are about 1/5 as smart as you. And don't put your life on hold. I did that for 3 years and found myself in the same place spinning the same wheels only to realize I just lost and wasted the best years of my life (early 20's) waiting for something that's not going to happen or worth it anyway.

Like others have said, professional aviation needs to be approached very cautiously.

Can you succeed at it?
Absolutely!

Will you succeed?
Do you have any dice?

Life is sort of like a ratchet. Everyday that ticks by cannot be undone. If you have a desire to live comfortably, the likelihood of doing it outside aviation is higher than inside. The beauty here, though, is that you can train for both. Having two careers open to you allows you to pick the best of each at any given time. The aviation world is pretty dry right now and so I am working in my backup career at present. When/if aviation turns around, I'll go back. It beats the alternative of long term unemployment.

You really can have your cake and eat it too. But you better roll up your sleeves and work hard to attain the prize.

Best of luck!

First bold quote above
That is pretty broad statement there Dan.
It also comes across - since you said you were in that situation - thinking that you are smarter than everyone you work with/for.
From your previous posts I wouldn't have thought that was your attitude.
Maybe you meant that these people who are angering you aren't 1/5th as smart as you are about computer or IT stuff?

The second bolded statement is what a lot of people are saying about the airlines right now; yet you wish to pursue a career in aviation correct?

USMCFLYR

Sorry, was having a bad day... But allow me to respond to your comments..

I don't feel this way about 'everyone'. I'd say a good 10%, but it only takes 1 bad apple to ruin your day because their wrath more than compounds over the other 90%. I'd say 98% of our problems come from 2% of our users, and it somehow is always IT's fault (according to them). But the ones that feel that way about me (5 times smarter deal), or IT people in general, I feel that exact same way toward them. Work in the field for 5 years and trust me, you will know what I mean. These are the same people that are always at the ticket counters EVERY flight complaining to the poor gate agent about nothing just trying to get over or get something for free. The same people that treat waiters and waitresses like prison inmates, or basically anyone in the service industry that they never had to work in . Same personality type - this is how they became VP's to begin with - walk on everyone around them to climb the ladder themselves (If they weren't already born into it, which most of them are). I am the furthest thing from a snob or pretentious that you can get... Blue collar upbringing - finally finishing my degree now - at 25. So trust me, I am way above that whole thinking anyone is better than anyone nonsense.

This goes way beyond computers or technology. Things lacking like common sense, respect, thinking us 'regular folk' don't realize their true intentions or deceptions and rubbing it right in your face because you have to bite your tongue... If computers didn't exist, it would just be something else they think they are 'above'.

About aviation career. I still kinda do... But I'm not getting any younger, and my bills aren't getting any lower. So I don't know if it's gonna happen. Especially if the first 5 years of the career remain below poverty line pay.

I do want to work out a plan for myself. Should I get a degree in something else, and go for it? I'll have my backup plan to fall back on will I?

Ultimately your decision to pursue a given major will be your decision. Take the advice of many, weigh the pros and the cons and then make the best informed decision that you can. With that being said, I will offer you my $0.02. :)

If it were me, and I had the opportunity to pursue a degree and fly, then I would most certainly pursue a degree outside of aviation. Why? One word - diversification.

What would I study? I would make a list of everything that interests me which could possibly be studied. Next, I would see how feasible those skills would assist me in the real world. i.e., do I have a truly marketable skill or just a piece of paper?

Many will tell you to get a degree outside of aviation solely as a back-up in case flying does not work out. I will challenge you with this thought. In the event that it will work out, would it be nice/beneficial to have another skill that you can practice in addition to flying? Think about the opportunity(ies) that may abound for you on your days off.

Again, the latter part of my post is just my thoughts and opinion, so take it for what it is worth. Just be sure to put much thought into whatever decision you decide to make.

Its a hedge against the down times if nothing else.

First you must analyze the #'s does this make sense. For example the avg "flying airline line pilot" will receive about 300 hrs/month in per diem.

If spending 300 hrs/month at work sounds like your kinda gig.:eek: Then go for it.;)

Also ALPO I mean ALPA has some pilot pay data on their website check it out.

Other career
 

The development of another career aside from flying makes you more interesting and useful as a pilot. Pilots with aviation degrees can be viewed a mono dimensional one trick pony. Not all that interesting.

Aside from that pilots need to work two jobs to make a go of it. Get a degree in something other than aviation.

Skyhigh

Well, I'm glad I asked my question and got the answers, to be honest. Not the answers I wanted to hear, but answers.

You see, it was up until a year ago that I had my pipe dream about being an "airline pilot." I'll share with you guys...

When I was 11 (two years after I started taking flying lessons), me and my mom went on a trip to Hawaii from LAX. Well, I got to go in cockpit of the ATA 757. Being a young kid who loved flying, it was heaven.

I was asking the Captain and FO things such"so when do you put you're landing gearup?" I even remember the FO telling me what the SID chart on the yoke meant..and me not really caring and just looking at the pretty flight display. Anyways, I then went on to tell my mom how I wanted to fly for an airline.

Are you guys ready for this? Here we go: "Yeah, I think once I get my pilots license I'll start out small and go for Southwest. After I fly for Southwest for a few years I'm gonna go for United or American Airlines and when they ask me what plane I want I'll take the 747. When I'm an airline pilot you can take as many free vacations as you want."

Ahh man, how about that? Getting a "pilots license," starting out for Southwest, and then going for a bigger airline and choosing your favorite airliner. And then once you choose your favorite airplane you can give your old mother an unlimited amount of vacations. Wouldn't that be something? :D

Although, my dream wasn't always THAT ridiculous. After a while I just thought you head for an airline, stay with them, and build your way up while making a good salary...