Quote:
Lots of things are fun in life. It does not mean that it is good for you though.
Skyhigh
How have you been Sky? Hope all is well.Originally Posted by SkyHigh
So your advise is to "just not think about your future"? I wonder if drug addicts and bank robbers use the same approach? Your subconscious is trying to tell you something. I think you had better listen. Lots of things are fun in life. It does not mean that it is good for you though.
Skyhigh
I think that having a job for 40 - 55 hours per week (more realistically, add in a 45 minute to an hour commute each way in most cases, plus some night and weekend on call here and there) that pays well is a safe life... But if there is something you would much rather be doing, it can be unhealthy for the mind and soul to not be doing it... I am in that situation, and it works, but that's about it. There are weeks that I leave the house at 7am and don't get home until 9pm, every day... Not saying this is the norm, but it can and does happen often. I have a friend (one of my first CFI's, and to this day years later we still drink beers together) who fly's A320's, and wouldn't change a thing. He kind of lucked out I guess you could say, Flight Safety Academy for a year or 2, CFI for another year or 2, regional job, major job... About a 6 year total time frame. He didn't get started flying until his 30's, but did have the Bachelor's out of the way from his 20's. He gets in all reality half the month off, and loves his job and life. Still has a strong passion (but not unhealthy obsession) for flying, even tho the A320 is a "French voting machine" as he likes to put it. I am in my late 20's at this point, 2 months away from my Bachelor's, and I might give the thing a try as well, even with my color vision issues... I've had plenty of time to research and learn about the industry however, and I recommend you do the same. Get the college (in something else that can lead to a backup career) out of the way, and take a few flying lessons on your semester breaks... Try to hold down your job and keep a steady income. Work on college as cheaply as possible - go with a community college for the first 2 years and transfer... something like that. There is a hell of a tax break right now for Undergrad students called the AOC credit. Take advantage, keep the loan to a minimum, and give it a try. You are not too old at 24. Although I had my Associates degree at age 20, I didn't start my Bachelor's back up until I turned 25. If you can work part time (not full time) and take summer classes, you could nail it in 3 and a half years. Worst case scenario you don't end up flying for a living, but now you have a degree and more and better career options.
I don't subscribe to the "get a career, make millions and fly for pleasure instead" camp, because that's not possible in this world unless you were born into money. It's well over 110 dollars an hour to fly even the most beat up planes you can imagine, and it's just not affordable even if you make 50 to 60k a year (which is a stretch to attain even with a degree), and this doesn't count the CFI cost of 40 - 60 an hour. It won't work if you plan on retiring someday that is. It worked in the 90's when gas was 1.25 a gallon, incomes were exactly the same as they are now (if not higher) and houses cost 50% of what they do now (for the same house, just older and more worn down, which never made any sense to me) even after the so called "crash". So if you want to fly, I think unless you are rich, it has to be leading to some kind of income, or at least a break even scenario (like in some donation or charity cases). Flying clubs are also a possibly... But if you are like me, you will be too tired on weekends to even make the trip to the local airport to begin with, and you won't have enough time to do it often enough to be safe and proficient. I'm sure I'll get a lot of flack for this statement.