Start New Career From Private
 

Hi all,

I am looking for general advice on which flight school would be best for me. I have done research on the many flight schools out there and I am a bit overwhelmed with the many choices. I am considering either ATP or Epic flight academy. I have heard good and bad things about both schools.

A little background about me. I am a 21 year old cop in Montana with a bachelor's degree. After a year and a half of being a cop I really want to change careers and be a commercial pilot. Being a cop is just not as rewarding as I though it woud be. I got my private pilot license at 17 and had a 3 year lapse in my flying. I recently started flying again in a Cessna 150 and have fallen in love with flying all over agin. My plan is to save some money while working and quit my cop job in about a year and a half. I plan to pack up everyting I own and fully invest myself into an aviation career.

I am really looking for fast paced training at a fixed price. Any career or training advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for any input.

Kevin

"Academies" such as ATP and Epic tend to be overpriced in my opinion. While you could get through your training quicker at a pilot mill, quicker isn't always better. I suggest looking into getting your Instrument Rating at a local FBO (should cost substantially less) while you continue to support yourself with your job. However if you're dead set on one vs the other, I would chose Epic as I think their training and end product is better.

Otherwise, I'm located in KEVB (where Epic is) and provide flight training, if you're interested.

Your career is like a house. If you want to build a career from scratch, start with a good foundation. You wouldn't build a house on swamp land. Invest the time it takes to learn correctly and in depth. If you go to ATP, the knowledge that you'll get will be from other fast pace instructors, therefore the knowledge pool is extremely shallow.

You're still young and there is no rush, those pilot jobs are going to be there for years to come. I would get your ratings while working as a cop and not building debt, getting lessons about 3 days a week. You can have all your ratings in that 1.5 year time frame you are giving yourself.

I am sure there is an FBO near by that you can get them at. Then when you get to your CFI, you can decide whether to quit being a cop and being a CFI full time, or do it part time on the side to build your hours.