For my 17 y/0 Son
 

Hello all,
I just came across this great forum. What a great resource, I got caught up reading it for hours last night.

My son is 17y/o and a Junior in HS. He has always wanted to be a pilot and frankly we don't know anyone in the field to ask questions.
We went to a small airport close to us and started to pick the brain of a few retired Captains and one new FO.
Questions: should he do his private now while in HS to start on his hours? It's expensive and I will do whatever it takes to pay for it (we are not made of money but I can work more hours).
College- He is looking at Utah State, U of ND, Embry-Riddle. Are there other schools you would recommend? These are not cheap especially when you add all the flight instruction to it. I have some money put away for College but nowhere near the cost of these schools. We have decided to either do student loans when the time comes or have him join the AF ROTC which leads to the next question....
ROTC- they want a 10 year commitment after school. By that time he will be 32y/o or so. Will he be missing the hiring window?
Any advice or insight would be great and very appreciated.
Thank You for your time,
Jeff

Gget ready to spend money and expect $250k for all ratings and a 4 year degree at the schools you listed, stand by for incoming!

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/re...ing-pilot.html

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ca...nally-fun.html

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/fl...realities.html

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ca...281-worth.html

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/mi...rong-usaf.html

Search function will provide hours of reading. Particularly the military route for an airline.

Put him through medical school, become a plastic surgeon, he can do all the flying he wants.

If you can get him to start flight training now, do it. He could get into that airplane and find that he hates flying. Or, he could get into flight training and discover that he simply does not have the aptitude or study habits for it. Or, he could discover that it is the greatest thing since sliced bread and is full throttles ahead. Building hours and getting consistent, regular, quality training is going to be very beneficial to him.

You just listed some of the most expensive aviation colleges in the country. My advice is to avoid loans as much as feasible for flight training. There is nothing worse than to be $150,000+ in debt and have a $20,000-$50,000 job to pay it back with. He does not have to go to an aviation college to get a degree. I know of no airline who even cares what college you went to, except that you have a bachelor degree. They don't even care if it is a degree in basket weaving. Recent discussions have revealed that some major airlines shun pilots with an aviation degree. Too useless.

I would go ROTC and get into an air national guard unit. The qualifications for pilot positions are extensive and the selection process is not easy. The possibility for wash out is real and you are still committed regardless if you get a pilot position or not. So tread carefully here. Will he miss the boat? No one knows. The airline industry changes all the time. It is sensitive to the economic climate. There are simply too many variables to consider given that he won't be out there for 5 to 10 years, depending on which path he chooses to go with.

Since money is a factor, I would carefully consider just how much he wants to be an airline pilot and just how much he knows about the lifestyle of an airline pilot. If he's willing to accept divorces, difficult relationships, time away from home, time away from family, time away from children, moving from time to time, then have at it. I'm sure others on the forum will be able to shed some light on the life of a pilot. And you can ask questions about it and discuss it with your son. But make no mistake, do not ignore the realities of the career. It is not for everyone. There will be those who are in the airlines encouraging your son to get into it; but their motivations may not be congruent with yours. Getting people into the industry bumps them up higher; it does not necessarily help your son's career.

The airlines and pilot unions have no problems feeding their young to the wolves if it means an extra dollar per hour in their pockets.

While I would steer my child away from the airline world...I understand having the bug. Once you get bit there is no other way. Look into Florida Tech also for college. Best time of my life, great education, much more enjoyable social life than riddle, and just helped me land my dream job through a very strong alumni association.

If you attend ROTC (or a service academy) on a scholarship, you will be committed to active duty and guard/reserve will not be an option until the initial ten-year commitment is up.

I would skip the scholarship programs unless he's certain he wants to be a military officer first, and also maybe a pilot second. Too much risk of not screening for flying along the way, or getting assigned helos or UAVs, neither of which will get you hired at an airline.

If he's willing though, I would recommend air national guard or USAF reserve after college. Since you apply only to specific units which interest you, you know before you commit what type of aircraft you'll be flying. Also if you wash out of UPT and still have a non-flying commitment, it will be part-time only so you can then proceed with your civilian career. If you complete training, after about two years you'll be released to part time status and again can proceed with your civilian career in parallel with your military track.

If he has the inclination and willingness for military service I cannot over-emphasize the advantage of military flight experience, including guard/reserve, when applying to major airlines.

The regionals are NOT, and never will be, a viable career option. They are a place to build flight experience and hopefully stand out...the majors then cherry-pick who they want from that pool leaving those not selected to rot in an unstable career at a company that can be bankrupted or shut down on a whim for the convenience of management. Since airline pay and QOL are solely determined by seniority, the loss of a job for a senior, older pilot is a catastrophic life event from which they will never recover.

If you go the civilian route, you need to have a plan, a timeline, and a backup plan. If you haven't moved on to the majors by a certain point (say age 32) then be FULLY prepared to quit and go get a real job before it's too late for your financial future.

This one is an all-time favorite read too:

The Truth About the Profession - Home

Read the links and articles, get some reality and perspective, but keep this info to yourself for now.

Your boy is 17 and won't understand the pressures of debts and career progression and commuting to another base. He's dreaming of flying jets and exploring the world and thats fine.

Before you go all in for a full time flight school or top dollar aviation college, get the kid involved with flying locally. Start with a private pilots license, a large part of which he can do without ever touching an airplane (he can study for and take the multiple choice written test prior to the flying portion). Have him help work towards this (using part of his allowance or part time work) i.e. let him have a stake financially in making this happen, he will appreciate the investment more.

From here he can get an idea of flight training (this career is a lifetime of training, studying, prep, and testing/re-qual… every bit as important or more so than being good on the stick and rudder bits).

Maybe he goes to junior college for two years and the money saved goes to flight training. He could be a CFI by the time he has an associates, and instruct part time while he finishes a bachelors (advise business or technical or medical, something outside aviation).

Now he has a degree in another field, a good bit done towards qualifying for an airline job, he's busted his hump a bit, and you can take stock of where the hiring wave is then.

Plenty of alternatives and there is quite a bit than can be done with minimal investment vs. writing a big check to a puppy mill pilot factory.

He needs to get a job and help pay for it too, he'll never appreciate it if you just fork over the cash.

There is no such thing.

Anyone that tells you there is most likely wants your money in some way.

Believe it. And never give a flight school a large sum of money up front. When they go out of business, you're screwed. I've seen it happen over and over again.