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To Do It? (Am I too old to be a comm. pilot?)

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To Do It? (Am I too old to be a comm. pilot?)

Old 07-15-2010, 08:56 PM
  #11  
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Default At 32 am I too old to become commercial pilot

I have always wanted to get my commercial pilot license and start a career in the airline industry, I am currently 32 is it still viable at this age to start from scratch and join the airline industry.
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Old 07-15-2010, 09:03 PM
  #12  
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http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/me.../52050-do.html

I know you are a totally different person but might as well join this conversation.
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Old 07-15-2010, 09:14 PM
  #13  
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Find 3 friends and buy a single engine plane, if it isn't complex you will have to rent one for ten hours for your commercial and then to show proficiency in the checkride (as well as the CFI checkride). Pay as you go and when you are done you will own part of a plane instead of having $50,000 in debt. The multi time, well that is a different story, beg or do what it takes. This method ensures that when you decide to get out of this crazy industry you won't owe it anything.
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Old 07-16-2010, 04:24 AM
  #14  
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I think you need to look at quality of life more. If you have a wife and kids, then this is going to be extremely difficult for you and your family. If you are single, it's a different story. You're goals seem realistic in that it would probably take 5-7 years to build the time for a 121-135 job, but even pay isn't good at those jobs for your first few years.
Could it be done? definitely
Will you regret it? maybe
Start off slow...go get your first class medical to see if this job is even an option
From there...get your private pilot license and see if this is really for you

Best of luck to you!
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Old 07-16-2010, 04:59 AM
  #15  
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Originally Posted by mmaviator View Post
8 years of corporate sales, so could you transfer to a different company for more money since that is what you are looking for. The pilot thing is like las vegas....play the right slot machine, at the right casino, at the right day, at the right time and jackpot(maybe). In other words, the pilot career is a big gamble and only do you know if it worked out when your 65 and looking back.
mmaviator nailed it exactly about this career. A friend and I got on with a 121 commuter 10 years ago. He dropped out right before his checkride and got a job in corporate sales. I thought he was making a huge mistake. Now he is regional sales manager for a major pharmaceutical company making a brazzillion dollars. I stuck it out in aviation and I have been in and out of aviation employment. I was unemployed for over a year at one point. I am now working my "b" job not in aviation and not making nearly what I was hoping for and still looking for a pilot job. Stick with the sales. One thing he did was not hang with one company. He kept moving to companies with better pay. In today's world you can't think you are going to spend 25 years working for the same people. It's sad, but modern corporations have no loyaty to their people and you should not have a loyalty to them. Always look for a better paycheck!
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Old 07-16-2010, 08:05 AM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by TonyWilliams View Post
What do you base this statement on? Speculation?
Factual studies that are being and have been completed. It used to be drilled into generations to go to school, get a good education, go to work for a solid and stable company, work your way up and retire at the top. With the vary rare exception (probably more rare than going through and entire piloting career without furlough), this does not happen.

The mid to late 20 somethings and younger are starting to see the world for what it is, cruel. They are deciding to focus on careers that bring them joy, that fulfill them, rather than chase the money and be miserable. Whether it's Natural Resources, Physical Therapy, Sports Management, Biology, Self-Employment, etc., people are realizing that life is not about becoming a slave to your job in order to earn a check. They are starting to realize that they will have more fun, be happier, feel more fulfillment and ultimately live healthier lives by pursuing what their heart is in, not what looks to pay the most. With companies lowering their pay scales across the board, people are also realizing that they can make as much (sometimes more) and be more happy, doing what they want.

Research it.........it is becoming more of a reality, daily!

As for me, yep, I made good money in sales.........and I was miserable every single day! Unless one has been there, they will never truly understand what it is like to dislike your job so much that you are already in a negative mood before crawling out of bed. What happened to my fiancee and I at the time, is happening to many other couples as well; the time in their lives when they were/are making the most money; they are the most stressed, eating unhealthy, doing nothing other than work and their personal relationships are suffering. The more we made, the less we were home, the more stressed we were and the less happy we were together. The time in our lives when we made the most, we were at our worst. It happens! Life is not all about the money. Do you need it, yes! Is it worth sacrificing other parts of your life for, no!

I've been on both ends of the spectrum. I was broke and couldn't make rent in college. I was successful in sales and made good money. Together, the fiancee and I did well. I was a sales rep., on my own, doing well. She was the Director of Sales and Marketing for an International company at 26. Today, she is doing what her heart is in and I am doing something I enjoy (although I am considering the pilot career, as this thread suggests), and we are healthier and happier than we have ever been. Something to think about!
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Old 07-16-2010, 09:24 AM
  #17  
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Money and status means more when you are older. Most of us here started out our flying careers as bright eyed idealists. I lived like a college kid on mac and cheese and with roommates until my early 30's. It was all fine and good until I got married and started having kids.

The problem is with employment. Times are hard and companies are having to squeeze profits from those who work for them. My advise is not to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire but to consider starting your own business.

At least if your current job stinks there will not be thousands fighting to get it. Aviation is incredibly competitive and demands most everything from its followers. It is more of am obsession than a real career. Over time most of the idealism goes away and financial security means ever so much more.

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Old 07-16-2010, 09:31 AM
  #18  
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Originally Posted by Wings and Water View Post
I can understand where you are coming from. Yes, after a decade in the career, I would expect that on the low end. The thing that I have learned in this economy (and from my previous career) is that the career field does not matter with regards to pay. No field is currently paying what it used to. Computer Science majors are coming out of school making 40+ these days, not the mid 50's that they were two years ago. Accountants and Lawyers, same thing. Wages and opportunities across the board are down! What more and more individuals are realizing is that it is better to do what they want and enjoy, rather than chase the money, regardless of what that is.
Aviation wages have nearly been cut in half at many legacy airlines over the last decade. Become a cop or firefighter.

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Old 07-18-2010, 08:27 PM
  #19  
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W & W, most of what these people are saying is very true. I just got out of college myself, stupidly got a degree in aviation, as well as completed all of my ratings through CFII and MEI. I am currently instructing part-time for the same school, and getting by with assistance thankfully. The job market out there is very small right now, especially for low time pilots like myself.

When I first started flying when I got to school, I was blind to the fact that the career was like this. I guess maybe it's how the public perceives this career to be extremely high paying and glamorous. Well, just from reading these forums, and talking with friends, and alum it really isn't. Just take a stroll over to the pay scale section for regional pilot jobs. Had I known back then what I now know, I most likely would have considered a different career, or would have gotten a backup degree.

At the same time I feel like I may have been somewhat mislead by the hiring spree that was taking place in 2006-2007. Regional airlines were taking kids straight from school with ridiculously low times, and other places were in desperate need of instructors, it all seemed to me like thats the way things were, and that's what it was going to be like when I got done with my degree. Now many of my friends can't even find instructor jobs, and they are suffering just to get by working cruddy part time jobs they could have gotten without a college degree!

Though I must say, I don't believe that things can possibly stay this bad for much longer, I believe that in about 2 years all of this will be turning around. It seems that some of it already has started, and some people I know have gotten called back up to airlines or went off to training. I am sticking it out myself, but luckily I am not totally broke. Aviation is a huge investment, and it seems to be all about timing and luck. I love flying, so it would be hard to hang up, and for now I am going to stick it out with hopes it will get better. If you really want to do the flying thing, I'd say go for it, but keep that 50k job while you do it. You may find out that you don't even enjoy flying as much as you think.
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Old 07-18-2010, 11:39 PM
  #20  
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(for the record, I have not read any of Sky's replies as he is a bitter guy who cannot say, "I took a chance, it didn't work out, oh well, now I need to move on")

You have an (apparently) stable job making enough that you could raise a family, plan for retirement, and the kids' schooling if you live within your means. Flying is a risky business. If you go 121, regionals are at the mercy of the mainlines. The mainlines are at the mercy of management and the economy (ask any Pan Am, TWA, ect pilot). Part 135 jobs are kinda in between (although a few are pretty solid ie Mountain Air). Corporate jobs are at the mercy of the economy (when times are tough, the first thing to go is the company jet). Part 91 jobs can be solid IF it is with a company that has dealt with airplanes before and is in an industry that cannot go south (ie oil or natural gas).

I don;t know if you have or want kids, but 121 will mean you will miss roughly half of their lives. 135 cargo will be better, but if Johnny's game is on a Tuesday night, you will miss it. Corporate can be anything from home every night to "I'll see you next Christmas."

I started at 31 and between medical issues, international affairs, recessions, buy outs, and bad luck it has been a hard row to hoe. Now, at 46 and after closing two good 135 companies, I am making less than what I made as a high school teacher in the late 80s and that is BEFORE inflation.

Do I regret it? No, I wanted to be a pilot since I knew airplanes could fly. But I am as single guy, no kids, who is willing to deal with high risk. What are YOU willing to deal with?

My advice:

If it is in your blood, if you are willing to get to a point you think "I've made it", have the bottom drop out, and then say "Well, that didn't work, let's try XXX", then YES, you should try it. But if you are the faint of heart, have a family with no other income, or cannot save a bunch of money for the inevitable rainy day, then NO. Stay where you are, grind it out, live modestly, hug your kids, and be happy knowing you are a good, common man.

(and for all of us common men, I present http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzf0rvQa4Mc. For those who do not know the history of the the piece http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Arch.../msg00039.html)

Last edited by FlyJSH; 07-19-2010 at 12:06 AM.
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