I have read the stickies and I have done the research. I understand the challenges ahead of me. This post however was looking for advice on schools - not whether starting a career in aviation is viable. I've obviously already made up my mind, so this kind of feed back is not constructive, nor relevant to my original posting.

 

No problem, I'm just a 22 year old college graduate back at my parents house trying to give out some public service advice. I understand. I had and still have the flying bug, otherwise I wouldn't put up with what I'm doing right now which is less than cool. It's just that times, have changed, things are not and will probably never be the same as they were in the airlines. Make sure you know that before you go into debt 50-70K for something that will not give you a return on your investment as other fields will. Flying is cool, but that's about it right now.

 

I honestly welcome all types of advice from everyone. It's just tough when I hear things from both sides. I have some really good friends flying for Detla, AirTran and Continental - and they all think that getting into aviation is wonderful. In fact - all of them are speculating that with the upcoming "pilot shortage crisis of 2012", that the airlines will have to start paying more to entice pilots in. This isn't bullsh@$t, this is straight from a 67 pilot at Delta.

Once again, I understand the arduous and challenging times ahead - but I've already made up my mind. The only thing I have left is the hope. Once again - thank you.

Regards

 

It's bulls@$t. That's straight from a 47 pilot at UPS. Mine's bigger, I win! Nobody know what the future holds in this industry...nobody.

 

Never ever do the following thing in this career:

Go by what you hope to get in the future based on what some one is getting right now.

If I had followed this, I probably would not be furloughed right now. I know major pilots as well, including one former TOP GUN. He's told me many times to quit or go into the military so that at least you can get benefits. Which doesn't matter anyways since I've been there and know already what he means.

 

Yeah, but 6 is bigger than 4, numerically....

Purple is not completely trying to discourage you from becoming an airline pilot, but his points are still completely relevant to your current situation. 2012 is 3 years away and even if it happens like most people think it will, there will be little to no movement until then. There is no rush. Why take out a $45k loan that is going to eat you alive while you try to CFI? Also, does that ATP program include your CFI certs? If so, is ATP in a position to hire you? Thats about the only way to get a CFI job right now...train for the position from within. Do your CFI training at the place you want to work if you anticipate room for yourself there. Could be different in 6 months.

Take it from a guy in debt...pay as you go. Live at home and get a job to pay for your ratings. Its not glamorous now, but its nice to be a CFI and actually be able to take a girl on a date every once in a while, instead of paying monthly on that loan that could pay for a lease on a BMW (or 2 BMW's in my case).

 

This is absolutely NOT TRUE. There are thousands upon thousands of pilots on the street RIGHT NOW. Look at AA's furlough numbers, they have 1,900 pilots on the street right now and have been for almost 9 years. Look at Comair, they went from 2,000 pilots to around 980 with more scheduled to hit the pavement... I could go on and on.

The airlines have been in the process of cutting capacity and will continue to do so in order to decrease seat availability (increasing price)... it's supply and demand. They have learned that increasing market share by supersaturating the sky with aircraft and rapid growth is not a sustainable business practice.

When things turn around in this economy, you will see slow growth and replacement of retirees, some of which will be absorbed contraction to further facilitate decreased capacity. The pilots they will have to bring on board will be those of us who are furloughed. Despite what you have been hearing, there is no looming shortage.... the hiring spree we saw in 2007 will not likely happen again in the next decade.

If you want to fly, try the military, including the Coast Guard... the civilian side of aviation is in shambles. My advice would be to set yourself up with a good career in something outside of aviation and fly on the side.

 

I have 4 years 1 month 22 days left till furlough is completed hopefully by then i will have another job

 

BdubNYC, I was in the same boat as you. I graduated college with no loans owed thanks to my parents, friends had jobs lined up once they graduated and I knew I wanted to be a pilot. 4 years of majoring in another field than aviation and I still wanted to be a pilot. So then I was faced with your decision, FBO or Fast-track school. My problem was half-way solved right off the bat, FBO's don't have hiring partnerships with Regionals like a few fast track schools, as well as they don't have a set curriculum like the fast track schools, nor do they have a finance department that deals with banks on a weekly basis to assist you in getting the loan you need. So, I now needed to decide on a fast-track school. I did my homework, shopped costs, reputations, and hiring agreements, in the end I chose ALL-ATPS. Some people out there, on this board as well, may knock it for being a puppy factory, but I don't care. I was dedicated, as professional as I could be, and it got me where I wanted. They have have been doing this a long time and have a curriculum perfectly laid out and tweaked to get you all the ratings and flight time in the best order possible while saving money where you can. They have FTD's on site to practice your instrument training before you get out in the plane and waste time and money with trying to teach you everything in the air. They have you get your Multi add on to your private 4 days after showing up, so you log multi-pic the whole time you are there. The only advice I have for you besides going to a fast track is get your private from a local FBO and be one hundred percent certain this is what you want to do before you take a loan out for that kind of money. It blows my mind some people who have never flown a plane in their life and think it sounds fun and cool and show up at these fast track schools with a 60k loan and zero flight time, half of them bail. Get your private, see what kind of dedication it takes and make sure you have the bug still to get the rest of your ratings, best of luck in wherever life may take you.

 

1) Partnerships don't mean anything if no one's hiring.

2) Even when hiring resumes, 200 hrs is not going to get you a job.