Two part answer...

Are you really into aviation? If you're not at least a PPL, and cannot name numerous types of civilian or military airplanes the answer is probably no or unknown.

If you're really into aviation, then it might be a good fit. But there are so many uncertainties and variables in the career that I cannot recommend it unless you are a highly competitive individual and very young.

There is no certain path to success and there will likely be decade-long setbacks. When your golden opportunity arises, you want to be the best candidate available (you will be competing with others, maybe hundreds of others).

By the end of high school or college at the latest, you should know where you stand...good grades (3.3 or better), robust sports and/or extracurricular activity participation, no medical issues, and no legal or employer issues (other than a very few minor moving violations). Hopefully you'll have done some flight training and not had any fundamental issues with airplane flying. You also should have some mechanical/technical aptitude...work on cars/motorcycles, build computers, engineering/computer major, etc.

If you fall into those parameters and can keep up the good work and avoid checkride failures, it would not be unreasonable to pursue the career.

But anyone with legal issues, employer issues, bad grades (<3.0), training challenges/failures, health issues, lack of mechanical aptitude etc will be a "backburner" candidate when it comes to decent aviation jobs. You might get something eventually or you might even luck right into it early in the game. But there will be significant uncertainty over your career progression and you'll likely see other folks pass you by. I honestly wouldn't recommend taking the chance...too many folks get stuck in crappy aviation careers and end up regretting it. At this point I think there's simply too many variables to go into with anything less than the ideal package.

People will still try and some will have successful, satisfying careers. Many of those will tell you all about it here on APC. But the dropouts and those who got sidelined typically don't bother to come here and provide their insights.

As always the best path to the airline career is military aviation...there are many benefits (paid training, decent entry-level compensation) but one that's often overlooked is that you find out very early if you can hack. If you graduate from military training odds are high that you'll be competitive for a good airline job down the road but the same cannot be said for civilian training.

 

I enjoy flying for fun, but I don't consider it "fun" enough to own an airplane. Maybe I would go for a 1/10th share in one or something.

However, given the choice, I would much prefer to have a desk job where flying is involved. If my flying duties were 5-8 days a month, and I had other professional duties in my off time, that would be ideal. I've seen both sides of the coin - full time and no-time professional pilot. I want to avoid both burnout and malaise...

 

This job is WAY too much of a pain in the butt to do if you don't love it. Anyone who says they hate it and are still doing it are experiencing an existential crisis and their answers are therefore statistically meaningless.

Perhaps some mistake the career for the job. The career sucks. The job is great.

 

My two cents...

I love flying professionally and it is part of who I am today. I enjoy the camaraderie, the challenge, the training, the destinations, and even getting away by myself on overnights from time to time. I love my current job as it affords me a lot more time off than my previous airline schedule.

Having said all of that if I had a way to fly privately whenever I wanted I would probably do it. For me though I would have to have enough cash to retire so I would be truly free to fly as I wanted without restrictions of employment.

If I still had to work I think I'd rather still fly professionally as I can't see myself doing anything else. I have loved all things aviation since I was a kid so for me I'll fly until I retire and then enjoy retirement...probably flying. Hope that helps.

 

That sounds like a very ideal situation. Doing any one thing all the time gets highly monotonous. Sounds like you got a pretty good thing going!

 

Excellent points. I thank you for that. Stakes are high...as high as stakes can be (your own family's safety). So I VERY MUCH value your opinion, which sounds extremely prudent to me.

 

First time I've heard it said this way before. You're very right...there is a difference.

 

Yes I can very much relate. Ever since I took my first flight at age 4, I became engulfed in all things aviation. I've had plenty of "office jobs" and never felt like any were my calling, so to speak. I'm old enough to know that flying professionally won't be all roses. Like most things, I'm sure it will mostly be a grind, as many of you have acknowledged. I just think I prefer a grind in the sky vs. one in a cubicle. But let's be real...many of those cube jobs pay well, and you're home every night by 6. And when you have a wife and kid(s), that makes putting up with the (boring) cube job almost worth it. And there in lies my dilemma. I imagine this dilemma plagues many of you all as well. Don't mean to go all Freud on this, but the issue probably is much deeper than simply "flying vs. desk job." I think many of us (pilots) are just not wired for desk jobs. Flying is one way out of that mundane lifestyle--what we consider mundane anyway. Many people aren't wired for office jobs...so they become cops, firefighters, bartenders, hair stylists, waiters (servers), and of course pilots!

 

That about sums it up. If I had a non-aviation related desk job I would be a basket case.

 

Law enforcement is a good career but a bad job. Aviation vice versa.