If I could go back and do it all over, I would not take out a student loan. When I started my accellerated training in 2003, I was actually in a postition to pay upfront for most of my training. However, I had to move my family, buy a house, pay moving expenses, etc., so I thought it would be smarter to use someone elses money to pay for training.

My origninal plan was to use my money to purchase an IFR single-engine, like an arrow or a cardinal, then hire an instructor to fly with me in my own airplane, then resell it or keep it after my training was complete, therefore skipping one of the biggest expenses of flight training, aircraft rental. I wish I had done it this way.

In any event, if airline pilot is what you want to do, I will not try and disuade you. This is my second career path in life and I am happier for it because I truly love flying. If you're just looking for a career to make money there are a lot of other paths you can take. However, if you're like most of the pilots I know, and you have a passion for flying, I recommend not waiting to get started. I waited when I was younger and in my opinion wasted almost 20 years doing something that I was not passionate about. That was harder on me an my family than being in a career that I love. In my former career, I used to come home every day disgruntled. In my aviation career, I come home every 4 or 5 days happy and content. Which do you prefer?

I would say that student loans are not a bad thing, but you must be very careful with them.

The first question is how much in loans do you have from college? If you have 30k in loans from college that you will be needing to make payments on and then take out another 50k for flight school, how will you make the payments?

Second question is what kind of loans do you qualify for? If it is a government subsidized loan you get a much lower interest rate and much more flexibility in repayment. Private loans aren't nearly so generous.

Many schools (academy's/accelerated schools) aren't considered accredited schools, therefore the loans you pull out wont be considered student loans. Schools like ATP will label them as 'student loans', but they are merely a personal loan with a jacked up interest rate.

I'm on my way to flight school now, originally I was going to go to ATP so I could get my ratings done soon and start making money (I just graduated college, low debt from that.) I applied to Salliemae and their 'student loan' that they give out for these ATP pilots, and it was a joke.

11.5% interest rate over a 15 year period was over a total of $110,000 in debt, for a $50,000 program, with $700 a month payments. Needless to say, I won't be going that route. Every pilot on here has already said that you don't make **** for your first years in the industry, so don't take on any unnecessary debt.

I'm not going to ATP anymore. I'm going to a school that offers ground school and a longer program but pay as you go and at your own pace so I can pay for this and stay debt free. It may take a little longer to get there, but it's worth it. I'm not giving salliemae & the government any more money than I have to. Just make sure you do the appropriate research before you go tacking on tens of thousands of dollars of debt.

This should be a sticky :D

It's not that student loans are bad. The difference is that my wife made enough money starting as an ARNP to pay the $1000 a month grad school loan. Pilots won't make enough to live and pay their loan early in their careers. It's simple economics.

This is why I tell everyone to pay as they go.

This would be my recommendation unless you have thought really hard about it, are truly dedicated and love flying. Also if you already have a family. Also if you have a "traditional" spouse who will prefer to settle somewhere, get her career going, be near family, make friends, etc (otherwise you may as well start introducing her to people as your "future ex-wife)".

Use your degree to get a real job (whatever you hate the most that pays the most). Flight train on the side at your local airport, most evenings and all weekends. Pay-as-you-go, don't get tied down with any girlfriends, car payments, mortgages. If you earn money faster than you can spend it on flight training, save (you're gonna need it later...).

Pick a regional that's not going to move backwards or go BK (rent a crystal ball to determine that). Take the first upgrade regardless of equipment or location.

Look into the Air Guard or Air Force Reserve. They will pay for all of your training. Then you can be in the go into the airlines while in the guard or reserves.

Lol! My father and I saw the interest rate and how much I would be paying in the long run and we both were running from the idea. I thought at first the loans would be the same as my college loans (low interest rates) but since its not accredited you don't get any help.

It's going to take longer for me to get all of my ratings but I will be debt free and thats much better in my eyes.

Yes, get a loan...
 

but my advice is not to spend it on training. If you are up for the challenge... buy a plane... start a flying club and let that aircraft work for you.

A few years ago, I purchased a very nice 172 for 47k. Started a flying club and flew the aircraft basically for free. I sold the aircraft for 53k.

For you, the difficult part may be learning all you can about intelligent financing, starting a club and running it efficiently. AOPA has much good advice on this subject. Also, with upward spirally cost of renting an aircraft outpacing inflation, I truly believe, shared ownership and flying clubs will become more popular. Just something to think about.

Also,,, I love being an airline pilot and would encourage you to follow your dreams regardless of the negativity on these forums.

No loans, at least as primary financing. BTW;Future salary is a major factor, whether you care about it or not! Everytime a pilot gives away or sells their skills short it brings down the wages for the rest of us; you are not operating in a vacumn... Additionally, many aspiring pilots have no real idea what they are getting into; you might want to do some serious reasearch on that for starters. If you just like being up in the air you could tether a balloon in your yard.

No loans!!