Javok

You say you've been flying periodically on and off for 3 years... Do you have any ratings at all? Started any and just haven't finished? Where are you at in your training?

FlyingNasaForm

Get a bachelor's degree in something unrelated to aviation as a fall back and go do your flying at a local airport. This way is much cheaper than doing it through a university. Plus I've never seen a job posting that required someone to have an aviation related bachelor's degree.

A pilot's career is a lottery, and it's all about dumb luck. You can go from making $150,000 / year to $30,000 in a blink of an eye when your company folds. So you'll need to have a backup plan. It will also give you a way to make money on the side when you're making $25,000 / year with 2 kids.

Do not learn to fly in an all glass airplane (like an airplane with a G1000), rather fly something with a 6 pack. Learn to navigate without a GPS. I currently fly with a guy who's never flow without a giant moving map and when something doesn't go right he's completely lost.

JamesNoBrakes

You should think about how you are going to support yourself working for an airline at 25K/yr (some are even less). That's right, 25 thousand per year. You can not get hired by a major airline unless you have thousands of hours of jet/turbine time, the usual way to build this is by working for a regional airline. The problem is that major airlines are not hiring or expanding, so pilots don't really "move" to these jobs after working are regionals for a few years. The pay does go up a bit with regionals over time, but you max out little beyond that initial pay usually, only when you move up to captain does it get somewhat better, but you have to put in so many years at a regional that you have to go back to the first question, how are you going to support yourself making that small amount of money.

If you have a good idea, then go to college, even do something aviation-related (do not recommend just focusing on pilot-degrees, get something you can use outside of being a pilot in the wonderful world of aviation, as a backup). Many of the big universities like UND and ERAU do try very hard to prepare people for airlines, hold them to high standards, instill knowledge, but realize it's just the "initial" pilot training, this doesn't get you jobs at airlines, what gets you jobs at airlines is thousands of hours and experience.
How to get that is always the issue.

Is it that you dream of flying, or you dream of flying for an airline? Those are two different things.

soloedin74

When you described yourself, you described me. I wanted an airline pilot job when I was five years old, and soloed at 16, private at 17, then instrument, commercial, CFI, double I, MEI, ATP, type ratings, etc. I have made as much as $250,000 a year and as little as $50 per flight. I've been piloting airplanes for almost 40 years.

You can spend as much money preparing for a professional pilot career as any other professional career: medical doctor, orthodontist, etc. I really love flying. But as I got older and married and had a family, I found that flying took me away from my family way too much. I have operated in 6 continents, but I never had my family with me.

If I could do it over again, I would have gotten a degree in medicine and earned consistent money. That way I could have afforded my own airplane to satisfy my flying bug.

But if you are set on flying, the above posts offer some good advice. I especially think you should consider the military. Great training while you serve your country.

pilot0987

Not to mention alot cheaper. I served, enlisted, those were the best years of my life. Learned alot about myself and made some really great friends in the process.

Blaine01

Right and what happens to your precious seniority number once you get furloughed or your airline closes its doors. This myth about hurry up and get hired, seniority is everything, and the great pilot shortage are the puppy mills two favorite propaganda to keep young and ignorant kids investing in this pyramid scheme of a career. I sincerely hope your advice is tongue in cheek. The kid is 17 he is 6 years away from even meeting the ATP 121 requirement. He needs to go enroll in a major university and enjoy being young. The low wages and abuse will still be here when he is ready if this is something he still wants to do. The past decade I have been in 121 flying the only thing I have learned is luck not seniority is all that matters. This industry is as unpredictable as a Texas summer. I love flying and have been very fortunate, but please don't forgo the best years of your life (college) so you can get some seniority number from a place like silver making less then most high school kids and them get some worthless diploma from an online paper mill.

Right Side-I am guessing you are new to the industry or this was flame bait, in which I must say well played.

Luv2fly123

Thank you so much everyone for your feedback! My best friends father has been a UPS A300 Captain out of Boston Logan for 10 years and is making over 200K/year. Theoretically speaking, that was the "old Time" pilot dream. I do believe that with all of these guys retiering @ 65, it will open up a wide range of opportunity in the United States.

galaxy flyer

Don't look at the UPS captain, look at the bottom guys who have been furloughed, or my friend who will never make captain there. Besides, UPS doesn't base out of KBOS.

GF

Airbum

ahhh the night sort commuting to a freight job, the old time pilot dream

who is on top now will in no way resemble who is on top when you are in the middle of your career.

honestly though, good luck in your endeavor, here is my advice

community college while you fly, transfer to four year university, get a marketable skill besides flying, reconsider military service if you are physically/mentally capable.

get some solo pic time along the way and be prepared for an income less then the highest paid folks are making today.

Stitches

That may be but those who will benefit the most from this are the pilots that are qualified to fill those jobs now. There will be a hiring wave, but you (likely) won't be there to take full advantage of it.

Getting in on the front end of a wave is great, back side, not so much. Reference .com bubble, real estate bubble etc.

Lets assume you get on at a regional at 23 and stay for 5 years to build time before hired by a major at 28. So in 11 years, after the bulk of the retirements there will be thousands of pilots 5-10 years older than you ahead of you on the seniority list. You'll be inching up the seniority ladder for 20-30 years very slowly.