Europe doesn't have an FAA, but I'm sure you meant EASA. Don't worry about autonomous jets either. There will be too heavy of a push from unions to prevent it, even after consumer stigma is alleviated. We were suppose to have "Back to the Future" style hover boards in 2015, so 15 years is way overly optimistic for heavy jets to carry passengers. Keep in mind the electric car was invented 130 years ago, but that idea was also stifled!

Now is the time to really question how much you want it! There are no guarantees.

Had I said EASA he wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about.

"Europe's version of the FAA " but I was too lazy to write all of that out.

Don't believe me? It's coming, and faster than you think.

BigKitten229180

I got my Private in 1992 and it took till 2017 to get where I wanted to be.
Thats 25 years.....
You need stamina and backbone in this industry.
If not you’ll fall by the wayside somewhere along the path.
70% doesn’t even finish their Private...food for thought.

In fairness, that includes recreational starts.

Career-oriented students do much better statistically.

1993 for me. Right behind you brother.

Drone airliners in 15 years?? Lmao.

I remember back in the early 2000’s when the FAA said they were overhauling the NAS as part of a project called NextGen. I think originally they said it should be complete by around 2010.

Now they’re saying 2025.

It will end up being 2030.

Nothing moves quick in a heavily regulated safety first industry like aviation. Drone airlines won’t be a factor for anyone reading this forum right now.

This. No way could automated airliners be built at a reasonable cost yet... it could probably be done but pilots are still far cheaper than some kind of combined Manhattan project/moon shot. Even if they could build them, they can't certify or insure them without massive changes in infrastructure and regulation. Then there's political and PR hurdles.

It's still a good time to be a student pilot, you can probably get discounts in training if you play your cards right, plus fuel should be cheaper for at least a year. By the time you're ready for the airlines the economy will likely have snapped back to something more normal... and while the economy might take a time out, the retirements will not.

I'm sure you also chose Blockbuster over Netflix and doubled down and went with HD DVD's instead of Blue Ray.