I see these bottom feeder trucking companies paying $0.23-.28 per mile and newbies lining out the door to get a shot at it. It is very sad. I would not accept any job below $0.40 per mile. As far as aviation goes, as much as I would love to fly for a living if I can not make at least 50K grand a year I would pass on it. I'd much rather keep my trucking job and buy a Cirrus SR-22 to joy fly around in.

Everyone has basic needs to be met.

A miserable job is made a whole lot more miserable if you are broke as well. The profession is rife with risk and demands a huge sacrifice. When analyzed from a purely financial perspective it does not make sense.

Skyhigh

SkyHigh is correct.

If you are lucky you'll spend no more than $30-$40K to earn your flight ratings. Most people will spend significantly more. Add into that the cost of college and people are spending upwards of $100K or more to pursue a job that will pay them $20K. Is it really worth it? Many hold on to the hope that one day they will move up and fly for a major airline. For some they will achieve that. For the many they will never achieve that. The question one has to ask is is it worth it to spend that amount of money for a career when you can become a city bus driver have similar income potential and not be in debt.

There is nothing wrong with pursuing a passion and there is nothing wrong with enjoying flying. At some point it becomes much more than that. At some point the moment of being proud of the airplane you fly and being proud of what you do will wear off. Then you are left with a mortgage and a family to feed. Will it really be worth it? There will be people who will go on to have great success in aviation but the reality is that many if not most will struggle for the rest of their lives for passion they could easily fulfill on their own during the weekends without making it a career.

My local University program quotes 80K to get all the ratings plus 100K in college costs. Trucking school is $2800 and six weeks.

Skyhigh

Goodness gracious Sky, just how many ways do you think that there is to get to the final destination of being a professional pilot? You are assuming that EVERYONE who chooses this career will go the route of 200k training or however much you claim your local school is offering. (I’m surprised you didn’t say 300k or 350k).

If two different people set out on a long distance drive from New York to Los Angeles, do you think that they would both follow the exact same route or do you think that their routes would differ? There’s more than one way to skin a cat!

There is more than one way to become an airline pilot without spending the amount of money you have listed. Anyone who spends that much money for an airline gig is either misinformed and needed to do a little more research or they are just plain silly!

I agree. There are cheaper ways to become a commercial pilot but at least a thousand or two pilots a year graduate from programs like that and they do not seem to be getting the message. However even if it was offered for free it is still a very difficult career that is hard to justify for most.

I don't know what your full story is but perhaps you should take a look in the mirror before attacking my positions. Perhaps you could lay all your cards out on the table here for everyone to see? How is it that you have a better idea? It seems like you spend a lot of time here between being the courageous airline pilot and looking for a new career. Do you even have a pilot job?

Skyhigh

Better idea? What in the world are you talking about? When did I ever claim to have a better idea? My simple point is that instead of you attacking people for choosing this line of work, why not try to get the younger and future pilots out there to not make silly mistakes like paying 250k for a pilot job and other hard lessons you have learned in your years flying? Come at it in a positive way. I think you’ll definitely catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

Oh and you are absolutely right, I’ve never had any real airline job. I’ll give you that. But why don’t you at least let people try? A lot of people can live with failing, not a lot of people can live without trying. I really admire your point of view on this forum and have never asked for your voice to be silenced like some on here. However I just think that you’ll do a whole lot of good by helping in a positive way and not putting people down and calling them names for choosing this career. Simple. No pun intended.

If you aren't a pilot and I am guessing not a truck driver what insight do you have in this being such a poor comparison?

Alright here you go, being a truck driver is JUST THE SAME as being an airline pilot. There… cool?

This thread is intended for career changers. It is you who has been on here attacking people who are considering other careers. You are not a pilot or a trucker.


Skyigh