From everything I've heard and personally observed, the age concerns are a thing of the past. I thought I would be the old guy in my new hire class at 37 years old, however, I was 10 out of 20, with the oldest guy being 54 or 55 (don't remember). I would say that being under 30 is now the exception rather than the rule and I've seen new FOs at SWA who are in their fifties quite often. You only live once, do what is going to make you happy and leave you with no regrets....just my .02

 

And the mail carrier will have a much mcuh better retirement too...

I still love the job when the cockpit door closes. It's all the ancillary crap that gets to ya.

 

There is no glass ceiling in the US that will effect you. You have time to become a mainline captain.

But it is less likely that you will ever be a senior widebody captain. Anyone who starts aviation later than age 25 is probably never going to beat the demographics to reach the pinnacle of the industry.

 

Heyas N2,

I would have to echo what my bro Rotor said. While there is no glass ceiling, as we get older, it gets progressively harder to recoup the financial expense of a career change.

With the current airline demographics and economic outlook, older guys and gals are on the wrong end of the curve to see what little "real" money is left in the airline business. But there is opportunity outside the airlines, such as the fractionals, but, unfortunately, lots of guys have "fled" to those jobs as well. Corporate is a good alternative, but it is "networked", and almost impossible to break into unless you know someone unless you get really lucky.

Beyond that, there are the dollars...always the dollars. First you have the outlay for flight training. Even done on the cheap, FBO style, you're looking at 30k, at the minimum, to take you to CFI/II.

The days of hiring 300 hour wonders is winding down as well, so figure on at least a year grinding out the time CFIing at minimum wage. With the CFI shortage, there IS some improvement in this area, but it's still rock bottom. The age of flying night cargo for multi time is also winding down. Checks have moved to mostly electronic, and "just-in-time" delivery pathways are getting killed by the reduction in manufacturing in the auto industry. In another year or two, it's going to be a bear for guys to build ME time.

Assuming in two years that there still is a regional industry (and we're all not riding bikes to our jobs in agriculture), you get hired and now face 3-5 more years of poverty wages waiting to upgrade.

There IS still some money to be had flying corporate, but who knows what's going to happen to that segment. As public scrutiny comes to bear on these bailouts, lots of CEO types might be flying coach...you just never know.

Not to be forgotten is the "lost money". The money you would have made had you stuck to what you were doing.

Consider where that money might be better spent....law school (I understand there's a huge need in bankruptcy law), med school, MBA and so on. You might be better off trading up and earning the money to own your own aircraft. And discount what you hear about "I'm not smart enough for med school"...I call BS. I spent two years teaching college kids...the ones who went to med school aren't any smarter than the average person, but they were driven. All it takes is mental elbow grease.

I'm not trying to dissuade you. Far from it, but you need to be aware of the cons to everyone's pros.

Nu

 

Just wanted to thank all the posters there. Great and encouraging info for the most part. I'm 39, coming out of Alaska flying and wrenching with 3500 hrs tt (But it's almost all single engine day VFR).
It is encouraging, even in these crummy times, to think there's a shot at flying something a little heavier than a Beaver someday.
For the original poster- I wrote a bit about Alaska flying jobs under an APCF thread regarding same. Check it out. Hope it helps or is encouraging.
As far as age in case you go North for a bit- don't worry too much. Yes, there's some youngsters (we had a pilot who could fly but wasn't allowed to drive the company vans because of insurance!) but Alaska passengers really like to see old grizzled looking pilots sitting up front!
Cheers,

 

Rickair -

Do you mean actually starts training from day 1 or do you mean gets into the first 121 job? I hope you mean someone who hasn't started his first step towards his PPL by that age

USMCFLYR

 

Why not? A buddy of mine gave up his computer business at age 41, soloed shortly thereafter and after 4 years worth of time-building which included flying parachute jumpers and later working at a small commuter airline he ended up at one of the LCC airlines where he's now a captain.

It's unusual but definitely possible.

 

I mean entry level, which includes UPT. Military guys routinely get major airline jobs in their early thirties, which is about the best that most civilian pilots can hope for.

 

AV8OR -

Not sure that you meant to use my quote or not. I wasn't saying whether someone could or could not. I was actually asking what the previous poster meant by the statement. If I were trying to get into the business I would like to think that I'm not too old to be a widebosy CA. Btw - he did specifically say a widebody CA - and I'm assuming that means some extra time on top of being a LCC CA.

USMCFLYR

 

Been in the business 7 years. Highest Yearly income was a hair over $49K. (and thats with tons of O.T.) Regional. Then made the move to LLC. First year pay should be illegal. Then got furloughed, again. I've made about $16K this year. Still drive an old crappy car, slept in dumpy crash pads ,or on an air mattress somewhere, and you'd have to be an extremely lucky person to not have to commute. Just wanted to make sure you heard the 'glamorous' side. But hey, best of luck. You never know in this business, you may be one of the lucky ones! Roll them dice!!