UGBSM

When you're young, pay, working conditions, sacrafices made to friends and family don't seem to matter much, because ... i get to FLY FOR A LIVING!

I'm 45 and I've been able to fly for a living in the military and civil since I was 23. I'm realizing now that the exhuberance, passion, and wonderment of being young and paid to fly loses its appeal when you find yourself older and underpaid to fly.

My future in this industry is going to be, at best, a shadow of what I thought it would be. I also realize that this shadow is not going to be as much fun, rewarding, challenging, or profitable as the many other career choices I could have made earlier if I had the foresight to consider them.

So this is my "general" advice. Make the effort now to discover several careers you may find enjoyable and rewarding for a lifetime. Resist the youthful temptation to fly into aviation at any cost just to fulfill a romantic fantasy. Like all romances, it wears thin when reality sets in. Try to be pragmatic.

Make a list of things you'd like to do with your career, and put airline pilot at the bottom. If all else fails... well then you're probably not smart enough to be anything else anyway. ( That's a joke. Or is it?)

reddog25

FL350...I don't know your age or educational background, but have you considered the military? I went the USMC route. Good experience...good pay...and especially nowadays...defending our way of life.

FL350

UGBSM

1. Singer
2. Model
3. Actress
4. Work for some company in IT (the most realistic out of them all I suppose)
5. Flight Attendant
6. FLY!

That's how it would look if I had to put flying last.........

FL350

reddog25 yes I thought about the military, airforce to be exact. one morning I was up at 6 something and had the tv on, saw an air force reserve ad, thought it was my calling! Fact is I will probably not make it through basic training. never much of a workout person. plus af reserve basic is in Texas.. i HATE hot weather.

Packer Backer

If you really LOVE flying, be an orthodontist and buy a Bonanza. Flying when/where/in whatever weather somebody else tells you to, kills the fun. Just ask any professional pilot the last time they went flying "just for fun". I'd say 99% of them haven't flown "just for fun" in 10+ years. Besides, as an orthodontist, you'll earn more money in the long run and won't miss your kids birthday/Christmas/Thanksgiving/etc....

FL350

Packer Backer.. uhh.. for a person terrified of the dentists?....

Hmm.. Probably true, what you said.

HSLD

It used to be fun making the approach to the old airport in Hong Kong, although there aren't very many exciting approaches like that anymore. These days it's a radar vectored 30 degree intercept heading to join the LOC ON a 20 mile final...the thrill is gone.

I have fond memories of flying a 152 as a kid and I think I'd enjoy flying a Cessna for a change of pace. Any CFI's in Seattle want to babysit an airline pilot around the patch a few times?

de727ups

I'm in Spokane and have a 152 if you'd like to putt around a little. You gotta be able to fit in it, though. That seems to be the biggest problem anymore when I take people for rides. Even kids...

Fools & Horses

HSLD: That was very kind of you to say something nice about Sky Low. I'm very surprised he's not said a word on this thread. Must be out on the tractor. About the flying for fun thing...have you seen those Columbia single-engine airplanes? They are made in Bend, OR. That's not too far, is it? Maybe you could get someone to give you a demo flight. They look pretty neat.

dckozak

Don't worry he'll be around soon enough, and knowing people are talking about him will fire him up. He's probably hanging some cabinets today.