doctor or commercial pilot
 

hello,i recently finished my highschool with great results and i have 2 choices to decide within a week either become a doctor or a pilot .i started my foundation pilot ground classes 7 weeks ago and i really got interested in becoming a commercial pilot and i think its really fun.1 week ago my mom told me i got accepted into one of the top medicine school in my home country.since i was young adore science. i have watched many medicine related tv series, surgeries and i really dont get disgusted where as i also play alot of flight simulators and play a lot of plane games and i do know alot about aircrafts because of the foundation course.i always try to work hard in order to achieve my best and i like discovering things.i really dont know which one suites me the best and to choose as a career.

Be a successful doctor and buy your own plane.

Look up Dick Karl. He's a Dr. That owns a Cheyenne, retired from surgery and now flies for a fractional.

I don't know many pilots that own turbine equipment.

Doctor.

That way you won't end up hating a fun hobby= flying.

Hey being a Doctor isn't all what it's cracked up to be these days. Not everyone can be a surgeon, insurance companies and medical malpractice attorneys take a lot of their money, and they work some really long days, 5 days a week. Not all Doctors make $300k+ a year and I bet you can find plenty that are working their tails off making $150k that would rather be making $200k working 12-14 days a month. The grass isn't always greener and I do agree flying for a living has taken a lot of the fun out of it, but I still ask myself if there's anything else I'd rather be doing for a living and the answer is still no.

Lots of pilots never make near 200k. Doctors have the ability to work anywhere.

Anyone hired at the Majors in the next 10 years will make well over $200k for a good part of their careers.

Doctor.

Then, when you fly, you'll be flying where YOU want to fly.

Nice.

You have to ask yourself the introspective questions:
Corporate or Airline?
Do I interview well?
Do I network well?
Am i will to relocate?
Am I will to commute and for how long?
What if I do not get that High paying dream job?
Am i willing to miss Many important days...Holidays, birthdays, etc.?
What if a health issue arises and can not maintain medical?

What if I Really hate being a Doctor?

Only you can answer these questions and with that being said...I have no idea what I would be doing if I were not a pilot but I would say the days are split between I'm glad I am and I wish I wasn't.

Anyone hired at the majors in the next ten years will be the first furloughed when the next economic downturn hits (and it will).

"Willing" in my above post

Become a Doctor...You can live anywhere you want and always have a well paying job..In many specialties, you can easily earn $300,000 per year..Even as a regular Hospitalist you can earn $200,000 per year...If you end up in top paying specialties- cardiology, radiology, oncology, orthopedics, ophthalmology-retina,etc..you will earn well above $500,000 per year...In flying you will not see $200,000 until you are mid career with a legacy airline..That could be in your late 40s assuming you get hired in early thirties..In medicine you will start earning those numbers as soon as you complete your residency/ fellowship which will put you in your early thirties...If you want to waste your life away then by all means become a pilot..Flying is a long bumpy road to get on with a Major Airline..

A lot of people on this board think all doctor's make a lot money just like a lot of non-pilots think all pilots make a lot of money.

Being a doctor is a long and hard road too.

If all you are thinking of is the *possible** pay off at the end of the road - you run just as much risk of being disappointed at the end of that road as you are if you chose to become a pilot (aiming for the major airline job).

As in medicine - there are NUMEROUS other avenues to make a living in aviation; you just have to open up to the different possibilities.

Or become an Anesthesiologist, about half the school of a Doc and making good money (north of $150k) in less than 3 yrs.
I fell over when a friend of mine started dating an anesthesiologist and told me what she made.

My 33-year old niece is making $200K+ as a lawyer, but that's far from guaranteed, same for pilots and doctors. Docs and Lawyers rarely get furloughed and have to start again at base wages. Docs are in very high demand and always will be.

GF

Anesthesiologists ARE Medical Doctors with MD Degrees..They earn an average of $350,000 per year..Its a 4 year residency after medical school...

No kidding!! I sat back recently and considered what has happened in the airline industry over the last 26 years. It has really been nothing but turmoil over and over again.

People who seem to believe that this all suddenly changed are either overly optimistic, or just kidding themselves.

There have never been more than a few years of good news followed by several years of bad news.

One very important question missing from here: "Do I like dealing with other people's bodily fluids?"

That aught to make the decision easier....

Agreed. Turbine? The only air-cooled engine I own is attached to a pressure cleaner.

Do you mean anesthetist? They are usually experienced nurses with around 27 months of school beyond a BSN. But yeah, the pay is good and the working conditions are awesome.

Maybe that's what he meant..A nurse anesthetist or CRNA..They do earn good money $150,000-$200,000 per year..Requires a BSN, 2 years working experience in ICU, CCU followed by a Masters degree in Nurse Anesthesia..Then you become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist...They only work 35 hours a week as well so 3-4 work days a week..

Unless mil aviation is available, or otherwise a benefactor can put you in a position to gain turbine PIC without the indignity of regional FO pay dynamics, I would pursue medical training and leave the flying as a recreational pursuit, perhaps pursue professionally part-time as the required experience is gained in time.

When the GA user fees come and 3rd Class medical reform fails, doctors, lawyers, and hedge fund managers are going to be the only people who can afford to fly recreationally ---- In airplanes made in China.

And I think he is having a ball flying part 135.

Become a Physicians assistant or nurse practitioner and fly on the side.