28 years old career change question
 

Flying was my dream when I was younger. In mid-late 2000's when I graduated HS and was researching the career the consensus was to get a B.S degree out of the way so you have something to fall back on in case the flying career doesn't work out. I got my degree in a nursing related field and I am now employed full time in healthcare and make a pretty good wage plus full benefits.

I got my PPL last summer (2015) and have about 100 hours so far. I tried to star the IR but have been busy and couldn't do it. I am getting really excited reading all this stuff about the pilot shortage (as far as the regionals are concerned) and how now is the time to enter the field. I have some money saved up and am thinking of enrolling in ATP to do their accelerated course to put me on the fast track to getting all my hours and ratings. Alternatively, I could wait it out a little longer and perhaps the regionals will get desperate enough to provide some sort of paid training for applicants or at least a sweet ab-initio program.

My only hang up is that my PPL training was fun in the beginning, but then got boring. Although I still look forward to flying, I usually find myself sitting in the cockpit and at some point I get pretty bored...ie staring out the window and I kind of want to get out of the cockpit and do something else but I'm "trapped" inside because I'm up in the air. Furthermore, when I started studying for the IR knowledge test I found it hard to stay awake (I know the IR is the most boring of all the ratings or so i've been told). On the other hand I think about some of the cool sights I've seen and the cool experiences I've had flying so far and there isn't much I'd trade them for. And like I said, I do look very much forward to the next flights I have despite getting bored at times.

I'm also at a point where I can't stand my healthcare job anymore. I work with the same people every single day in the same small confined environment, deal with arrogant doctors (which is very discouraging), and am treated like i'm expendable by the administration. I am getting frustrated with this every day because I know i'm not the kind of person cut out for this type of job lifestyle and I think about how great it would be to be in the cockpit with another professional where we are equals and for the most part are away from the BS. The thought of that is really really appealing right about now.

Another option I have been considering is to take the money I have saved up and shoot for a small-business venture of some sort. I am pretty handy with tools and have construction experience and was thinking of trying real-estate flipping. Being self-employed and flying for fun on the side sounds almost as appealing as being a full-time professional pilot except for all the headaches and stresses that come with being self-employed. Ultimately if I could choose I would rather be employed by the majors making $200k+/year and have a set schedule...can't beat it.

I know there is no easy answer here but if you guys were me would you pull the trigger and make the career change? I am in a position where I have enough saved up and could get all my ratings up to CFI and be debt-free.

Change doctors to captains and that's a pretty good description of flying with the added thrill of being killed.

Like going to heaven, everybody wants to, but not everybody wants to do what it takes to get there.

GF

The added thrill of being killed? What an ass. And the vast majority of Captains, or any pilot I've flown with, have been great to work/fly with. You are in the wrong career

99.9% of every pilot I worked with over a forty-year career have been great, most I'm still in touch with over all those years. I've also gone to 11 funerals of friends who came to grief in planes. And I managed to escape a midair that killed the other pilot. How many doc's or medical people get killed in hospital? So there's that.

I'm pretty sure the ratio of personable doctors to arrogant ones is pretty similar throughout every career and life. As Raylen Givens said, "you meet an a'hole in the morning, you met an a'hole; if you are meeting a'holes a all day, you're the a'hole."

GF

Apologies, I should have said "the possibility....." Most of my flying friends have similar history. YMMV.

GF

The grass ain't any greener....

Personally, I think you'll hate this career. All we do is stare out the window 85% of the time (or read USA Today, hard-hitting journalism). You think pilots aren't arrogant? How does working beside a captain 10 years younger than you sound?? Captains and first officers are not equals, regardless of what anyone says. Yeah, we like to pretend we're close... but ultimately, they're not. The 40% difference in pay should make that clear. There are plenty of much more capable first officers than their captains, but I digress... You'll find some captains who make this very clear to you.

And you'll never be away from the BS. Ever.

Are you allowed to read while flying? What do most pilots do while flying?

*I'm not the original poster. Just another person considering a career change.

Technically, usually not. Technically.

Sometimes the Captain must declare a boredom emergency and authorize reading (in the interest of safety, you understand). ;)

Do a 12-hour night leg across Siberia sometime and see boredom.

GF

It sounds like you are looking for a career with varied work environments and challenges you on a daily basis. Airline flying ain't it. You can find that type of job in aviation, but you probably won't get rich doing it.

I overcome the boredom by thinking of how much they pay me for how little work I actually do.


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Start a company, it is no more risky and much more fulfilling than being a pilot slave.

As a captain I once flew with said: "We don't get paid for what we do, we get paid for what we KNOW HOW to do."

Bingo. I could have delivered both of my kids, right up to the point the first one was choking to death and needed an emergency caesarean delivery. Seven minutes from birthing room to split wide open dragging a kid out of the wife's belly. Second kid was just as easy, anyone could have done it, right up to the point that she wouldn't breath.

Me in charge? Dead kids. Doctor in charge? Crazy moments = two healthy kids.

Come over to one of the higher end Charter companies. We have wifi. :)

This. It's very, very hard to find the right balance between compensation, workload, and stimulus in a career.

I know plenty of miserable dudes in my age group who are overworked, over-stressed, don't have time to go to the gym, and make less than I do (they do get holidays off though).

Better to err high on pay, and low on workload and stimulus, which airline flying accomplishes.

Hey guys,

I am the OP. So, 6 months after starting this thread and I am still thinking about making the career change. I take that as a sign that I should just do it. Everywhere I read on this forum people are saying this is the best time to get into the aviation industry. I have come up with a very loose and simple plan and would like to ask for your evaluation of it before I get started.

I have two flight schools near me. I am planning on choosing one of them to do the IR and CPL ratings, and likely the CFI as well. Both are part 61 programs and I could do them in my spare time while holding down my full time job. Once I get the CFI I plan to get in touch with Piedmont since they seem to have the best deal going right now for low time Pilots. I could get hired with them with less than 500 hours as a CFI and become a cadet instructor. They give you $500 for every 100 hours you build until you are at 1500 hours. The total they will give you is $5000. At that point they hire you with no additional interview and put you through an ATP-CPL course at their expense. From there on out you are making $60k to start and are in a flow program to the majors.

What do you guys think? Seems like I could become a first officer for them in about 2 years if I get started within the next few weeks.

Do you receive an hourly salary on top of that? Or do they expect you to live on $5/hr until you hit 1500?

I'm going to email them soon to get more details, but I believe you work full time at one of their affiliate flight schools as a CFI making regular CFI wages with the $500 per 100 hours being just a bonus.

BTW, they are not "giving" you $500 for every 100 hrs flown. You are EARNING that money by working hard as a CFI. Please start early in your aviation career getting out of the mentality that your employer is giving you anything. You will be earning everything you get, and deservedly so!

Have you thought about flying in the military? Fighters in the AF, attack RW in the army? I'm a military guy about to hit 20, and leaving is VERY hard as my job is to fly and blow stuff up. That's kinda fun. But make no mistake, it ain't always great. Sometimes it's about all you can do not to (insert suicide example/metaphor here) due to boredom or BS.

BUT, I can say with little doubt, this career has the highest highs.....but damn, some of the lowest lows.

Yes, I have. I have applied to several ANG squadrons but no bites. Since I'll be 29 soon I figure the military option is out since I am nearing the age limit. So, the civilian path it is.

I just wanted to update this thread for anyone who was/is in a similar situation as me.

I took a handful of lessons towards the IR but haven't finished and at this time I don't have any plans on finishing in the near future.

It was disappointing to not enjoy the flying as much as I thought I should have. I was getting in the same routine as during my PPL where I was getting bored during flights. The whole ordeal was uninspiring and after the flights I was very fatigued. Some of the landings were cool but that was about it. I also did not enjoy the instructor putting me through the wringer (I know it is part of the training process but I just did not want to deal with it after already dealing with the stress from my day job). Furthermore, I could not stay focused white study the IR material and honestly it was purely due to a lack of interest. I tried a LOT of coffee, watching aviation videos on youtube for motivation, looking at airline salaries, etc. But...the interest just wasn't there. After looking at the mountain of work and sacrifices in front of me which was required to get to the majors, it was obvious that I would burn out way before crossing that finish line...and even then the prospect of getting to the majors didn't do much for me after realizing the lackluster-ness I was feeling this early on in my career.

I also found that my focus was constantly being at least partially detracted by how lopsided and cutthroat the industry traditionally has been towards pilots. I think it is appalling how many people go into this profession due to their passion for it and the airline companies exploit them with low salaries, career insecurity, and sometimes career stagnation. The industry perhaps should be nationalized somehow because the supply and demand structure does not do justice for the sacrifices individuals have to make to attempt to succeed in the industry. Perhaps this was the wrong approach, but I approached my training with somewhat of a chip on my shoulder even though the industry hasn't done anything to me personally...yet. I found it offensive how I am being expected to pour everything I have into my own training and yet the industry can change overnight with some kind of unforeseeable crisis in the world and I could be out on the street with no income. I could not shake this dull nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I was a fool. I realize many who took the plunge will find that offensive, but it's the truth. For those who do, I hope they find solace that the industry is booming right now and they will likely find their preferred job placement within the next few years as layoffs at the major increase. I hope they get the last laugh here, I really do.

Perhaps I should of pulled the trigger on this when I was in my late teens/early 20's when I was more gung-ho and naive.

Perhaps military aviation would of been more interesting due to the tactical flying aspect and fact that weapons systems are involved. Also, going the military route is very justified in my eyes due to the paid-training and seeming preference military pilots get when it comes to airline jobs. This is the definitely the path I would recommend to someone who knows for sure they want to be a career pilot.

Anyway, that's my update. I'll likely always keep an eye on aviation and will def go flying here and there, but only as a hobbyist. I'm glad I got as far as I did and it is unfortunate that all it did was rule out the career for me. 10 years on this forum and all I have is my PPL so I guess the writing is on the wall based on that fact as well. As far as careers go I started reading a great book by MJ Demarco about being an entrepreneur and I find it much more exciting than the FAA handbook. Not to mention, the prospect of succeeding as an entrepreneur and the associated economic freedom from that seems much more worthy of my efforts.

I hope this is somehow helpful to others thinking about the career.

Good move
 

Congratulations on your early discovery that aviation is not the right career for you. Some people reach that conclusion only after spending a lot more time and money than you did.

7thgear,

I don't mean any offence by this, but is it possible you have other issues going on like depression? You keep mentioning stress, fatigue and lacking motivation a lot, and seeing people as "arrogant" or "putting you through the wringer".

Whatever industry you work in, there will be those who put you through the wringer, whether it is a pilot, doctor, your line manager in an office job, or a customer.

I appreciate you asking that. Funny, I have thought about it. Unfortunately going to see a doctor might disqualify me from holding a medical if I'm diagnosed with depression.

I am in a much better mood when I'm on a vacation. Perhaps i'll take some time off work and give flying another shot and reassess at that point. Next time around I think I would just resign from my job and do ATP's "all in" program.

I am currently a CPL student, here's my experience so far. Granted, I love flying and haven't really experienced boredom aside from long XC's, but hear me out.

Get your IR. The studying sucks yes, but I guarantee when you finally get to fly into imc, it will be exciting and everything you learned will make sense. It's an entirely different style of flying and is fun in its own right.

For your CPL XC Solos, group them together into multiple day trips. Go to cool airports! Bring a tent and camp overnight, or get a hotel in a fun place and explore. Land in class B airports, and also go land at uncontrolled fields. Aviation is about adventure and exploration, you can't let it become monotonous. Not in GA anyway. Sure, maybe airline flying will get boring, but hey you have free flights to anywhere in the world.

If you aren't an adventurous person at heart, then yeah maybe aviation isn't for you. But maybe it's just an issue with your training. Does your school let you take planes overnight? If not, find a new school that will allow it. I just got back from a 3 day xc solo all around the Rocky Mountains, and it was awesome!

Sorry to hear about it all, but if you try again, keep this all in mind.

QUOTE: " I am in a much better mood when I'm on a vacation. Perhaps i'll take some time off work and give flying another shot and reassess at that point."

To the OP, this is perfectly normal! Vacations are alot more fun than work. That is why work is a 4-letter word. Think of work as an 8-hour-per-day necessary inconvenience that hopefully allows you to do what you want to when you are not working. Fly G/A for fun! It's a whole lot more satisfying, kinda like a mini vacation on your own terms...

If you found the PPL boring there is no way that you would make it through the Instrument. You made the right choice to pick something else. If the PPL was boring, then you would not enjoy military flying either. There are plenty of pilots with children who have limited interest in aviation. It is not a career for everyone and even when someone is extremely passionate about flying it is hard to recommend it as a career choice with the QOL issues that come with it. There is a good reason why so many pilots are divorced and it has to do with the job not being an everyday 8-5 schedule. Most women want stability in their lives and it is hard to offer that when you are a pilot.