Why I Want To Get Out of Flight Training
 

So a little bit of my background, I am currently 21 years old and I'm a junior-senior at a Part 141 university. I've been taking flight lessons since I was 16 years old and I have only gotten my PPL. I am trying to finish my instrument rating but I have failed my instrument check ride twice already during the flight portion, and I am about to try again soon. I also have failed one stage check during the oral portion, and my private check ride once during the flight as well. With all of that said I been flying for five almost six years and all I have to show for it is 3 check ride failures and 1 stage check failure and still at the beginning of my flight training. I am about to run out of classes to take and soon will only have flight lessons to take, I am also paying out of state tuition and taking out student loans so the financial burden is there if I continue down this road.

After my instrument failures I been having a lot of thoughts about whether or no I am cut out for this type of work. I read a bunch of threads on here about different people explaining their QOL as an airline pilot and getting out and it more or less justifies the reasons why I think I should get out now. So here are some reasons why I want to stop flying after I finish my instrument training.

1.) I have 3 check ride failures plus one stage check failure, I don't want to keep on taking these for the rest of my life.
2.) I do not want to be a flight instructor to get hours.
3.) Moving to base does not sound appealing and commuting to work seems like it makes QOL terrible.
4.) I want to get married and start a family someday and I don't want to be gone from home all the time.
5.) I don't enjoy flying, I'm not sure if I ever did, I just kinda did it since my parents bought me flight lessons back in high school. I have always dread going to the airport and stressed about whether or not I will perform well that day and make my instructor satisfied.
6.) Continuing taking flying lessons will keep me in college longer and thus taking out more student loans.

There's my top reasons on getting out. If someone can comment on some of these and tell me their insight on them I would appreciate it.

So I'm sure a lot of you are asking what is my plan if I don't want to be a pilot and I thought a lot about that. I will switch my major to aviation management and work the nonflying side of aviation. Switching my major to aviation management means I will stop flying and will pick up some business classes instead. I would like to work in airport management or work for an aviation company located at the airports around my home. I will probably take online business classes after I graduate and get a full time job and probably work towards an accounting degree which will probably take about a year and a half to two years to complete. I have always been interested in accounting and finances for a long time if I couldn't fly.

Please let me know of any advise you get give me before I jump ship.

If you have lost interest in flying already, which it sounds like you have, do yourself a favor and quit now. Why waste more time and money on a career that you'll hate and have no interest in?

If you change your career goal, but still plan to use the PPL recreationally, it’s a good idea to finish the Instrument Rating and maintain reasonable proficiency. That could save your life some day, because IMC can sneak up on anyone.

I would not recommend continuing if you don't enjoy flying. There is a big difference between Flight Training and Flying and I want you to be able to differentiate between the two, but if you really didn't enjoy just buzzing around or getting a $100 hamburger with some friends then I don't think setting yourself up for a lifetime of doing something you don't enjoy is a good idea.

I don't really know anything about Aviation Management, but ATC seems like a good career maybe that is an option you should consider. Some of the skills and knowledge you have built between your PPL and IR will be transferrable to ATC.

Sounds like your mind is already made up. If I were you, with your training issues I would choose a different path. Checkrides are a major part of professional flying. Depending on where you work, you'll have one at least once, maybe twice a year.

You're still young, but mature enough to realize you need to make a change. You can always fly with the PPL on your time! Good luck!

I don’t have much experience flying for fun. All the flight hours I have are all flight training and my solo time is just more or less the minimum I needed to get a PPL. The IFR cross countries I went on with my instructor were fun but really exhausting by the end of them.

If you don't enjoy it now, you won't like it better as a career.

I commend you on your honesty. It’s an absolutely brutal profession even if you love to fly. It’s okay that you don’t, but get out now. You’re wasting your time, money, and risking your safety for nothing. Move on to something that’s right for you.


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Concur with all the great advice to cut your losses and redirect your attention to where your interests, strengths and true passion lies. A person who enjoys their career tends to be the better employee/employer and a rarity in this world. The majority of the world struggle to and from work for the paycheck, perceived stability or are locked down due to current life requirements such as a family to support, loans to pay off, etc. Your young with the world ahead of you, chase your dream that will provide that feeling of accomplishment/satisfaction/financial stability while still energetic and able.

“I would like to work in airport management or work for an aviation company located at the airports around my home.“

While this is the first time most of us elders have seen the ability to pick an airline based on where you wish to live, being a commercial pilot isn’t always what you thought it might be. It takes many years, sometimes decades to be in that coveted position where you are senior enough to be home more than you are gone (basically fly when you want), able to pick trips you want routinely, get holidays/weekends off and garner significant paychecks that ease the pain/make it worthwhile or pay for your 2nd or 3rd wife.

Never ask a Capt at a major airline who has been with their company for 30+ years what their lifestyle is like now. Ask them how they got there. Most of them have had a tumultuous career (ask a 20 year pilot and compare, then a 10 year pilot); a few have had incredible careers. Timing is everything and this business is fickle. It’s on the upswing, but down turns happen like they do in most careers.

Everyone has their driving factor that gets them to work. Showing up to work with a genuine smile is an amazing quality that is not easy to attain. Pursue what interests you, not someone else’s interest or dream. The inner drive/intestinal fortitude will keep you going. You will do GREAT in whatever YOU choose!

It’s not for everyone.
Nationally 70% don’t finish PPL training for a myriad of reasons.
Ask yourself why you failed the rides you did.
A stagecheck failure under 141 doesn’t count by the way.
In any case finish your instrument rating as it is a life saver.
Take a couple year break and just maintain some level of proficiency.
See if aviation keeps creeping back in your thoughts or not.
You’ll know the answer then.