just woke up out of a six year dream.im forty five a truck driver who had a dream of flying seaplanes over the islands.but its not going to happen i only have 183 hours and at the rate of 2 hours a week thats only 96 hours a year even flying traffic watch wouid be maby 3 hours a week.cant aford to go full time becouse my wife went collage to be a pharmacy tech and now only makes 1200 a month.that really sucks for a degree filling meds. im going to the islands any way to watch sea borne airlines in action in jully and dream one last time of how it wouid be to fly over clear blue waters and reefs,palms blowing in the wind that points the direction of entry and then i land and water spays the wind screen.were now a boat and take heed to the sea.i look over the dash and see the dock with with passangers waiting next to a long white sand beach lined with palms i look out the side window and see all the way to the bottom of the bay with tropical collor fish. well time to go now to my burnt out job of 16 years laboring in the texas heat.lifting heavy ;''';';,and driving in this stupid trafic.

Well, you never know... Sometimes I felt like giving up while I was making sacrifices while working at a job I absolutely hated. Fortunately I didn't, now I have a job I love and am a much happier person.

Sandy, in 1996 I was a 29 year old truck driver trapped in an over the road job and knew I wanted a better life. I was not interested in flying then but I said there must be a better way. I applied to college at a state school, got accepted, started taking classes and driving part time locally for a short haul yard in my area. Driving by Hartsfield International in Atlanta every day to that job in the summer one year, I got interested in flying. The east end of runway 27 juts out by the freeway on the south end of ATL. I then transferred to another school with a flying club and started adding flight ratings one after another in my spare time. Long story short, 5 years later I am flying fulltime and enjoying it tremendously. I never went to an aviation college or racked up any loans. Get a local job so you can fly in more of your spare time, and you can do it in a few years if you try. It is hard for people who have to work full time... but it can be done.

I struggled and sacrificed to get out of my gas station job. Eventually I made it and then all I could think about were those peaceful days at the gas station. Back then I didn't have to get up at 2:00AM. I had a better QOL and made about the same money.

You never know. You still got time.

Skyhigh

Hope you have a great trip, and are able to talk to some of the pilots who are doing that kind of flying. Most of us probably have misconceptions about what it is like, day after day, living and working there. Might be even better than we thought, but it might be worse. If you and your family really want this, it's never too late.

thanks for the posotive feedback,trouble is the slow down in aviation and all the negative talk alsewere and reality of getting 1500 hours plus me time has got me midlife crazy ha

Here's a couple of tips:

-There's always negative talk in these forums, even in the "good" times. Just keep that in mind (pilots ***** a lot).

-You don't need anywhere close to 1500 ME hours for an entry level job.

-Take it one day at a time. A career in aviation can appear very daunting otherwise.

-Don't dig yourself into a financial hole just to enter this profession. It isn't worth it, and that goes for almost any job.

Good luck!