The topic of student loans has come up recently in conversation and also in the evening news in regards to the occupy Wall Street protests. I thought I’d use this platform as a very unscientific forum to see what my fellow and vocal pilots have in regards to student loan debt.
I know pilots from diverse backgrounds but a common theme has been student loans. I myself have a fair amount of debt to pay back too. The ironic thing was that I looked at staying in my state school and flying on the side but realized that it would take a long time, years, to pay for the training and college simultaneously. And as naïve as I was back then regarding the industry, the one thing I knew was that seniority was paramount. I knew in my gut that the faster I charged though school, and flight instructing, the soonest I would be on a list accruing seniority and on to better pay and schedule. The only way I could afford to finish college and pay for flight training at the same time in any reasonable time was to attend a university with an accredited flight program that I could finance with student loans. So then I found myself in the middle of an aviation college on my way to an airline career.
One afternoon I did spend some time in a career center office at the university and looked at the expected salaries of airline pilots, and this was from the late 90’s and what I found justified the student loans I was taking on. Just like a close friend who is a Dr. of Pharmacy, he also took out massive student loans, but is also making over $150,000 a year four years after graduation. I’m not there yet but it does look like I am tracking the right direction.
In a way, I do feel a little slighted in that I did do everything right, but am still in a stituation where supporting my family and paying those student loans can be pretty tight. I rolled the dice and take the consequences and responsibility for my decisions, but it doesn’t take away the frustrations when I dwell on it.
I also wonder if it is even possible to finance the amount of college and flight training I did a decade ago? The dream of being an airline pilot may well be out of reach for the kid now, who is in the position now, that I was in then. That is sad.
So what are your student loans?
-Yes, I should have probably put a poll option for a "0" only. Oh well.