Is it (financially) worth it?

[Chocks Wahay]

I'm in a pretty common situation - mid/late 30's, wife & kids, etc - reaching the "it's now or never" stage. Have a PPL already, but ran out of money for further training a while back.

While I have a very supportive wife who will put up with me investing 50k in training, but there needs to be a future in it. I imagine top of the earnings pile is charter or lo-cost, followed by regional, followed by instructing.

Assuming an almost 40 year old 250 hours fATPL holder can get a job, what would he/she earn?

Don't get me wrong, it's not about money - I'd stay an IT Contractor and stick to private flying if it was - I just need a realistic picture of what to expect before I commit.

[no sponsor]

If you were a financial analyst, then the career may not give you the financial return on the initial 'investment'.

My own research tells me that the following cold be reasonably useful guides:

As a junior flying instructor you will earn £8,000 - £12,000. Salaried instructors doing IR training, up to £35,000 pa.

Junior F/O on a turboprop = £18,000 - £25,000

Junior F/O on a jet £22,000 rising up to £45,000 for a SFO (at a low cost)

Captain on Turbo props = £35k

Captain on Jets = £40,000 to £70,000

On top of these, flying allowances are paid for every hour flown, and this might amount to 2-5K pa depending on airline.

[Lucifer]

Before you commit to such an undertaking, it might be worth you paying for some aptitute tests that - I believe GAPAN organise - will enable you to gain the best idea of whether you are able to gain employment following training, and therefore avoid disappointment having 'self-selected'. It appears to be ever more the current thinking that by self-selecting people present themselves to a great deal of risk, simply because although they gain the licence they have not been through any selection procedures until after they have spent the money and before they have stepped into a crew environment on a jet. Hence why EasyJet and other appear more interested in the CTC McAlpine approach.

Only you can provide the determination and drive to commit at your age however, as the financial return will of course be countered by your pure enjoyment of the job and lifestyle! Accounting for your lack of earning during training however, you should add your current salary to the cost of training to determine the true cost to yourself - and your family.

[scroggs]

You should also get yourself a Class 1 medical - your PPL medical is inadequate - to make sure that you are medically qualified to hold an ATPL. And once you're over 40, you will need to renew this medical every 6 months. This costs serious money - and until you're employed (and after, with some airlines) will be your financial responsibility along with the 50K or so training costs!

As for salaries, PPJN (http://www.ppjn.com) holds a reasonably comprehensive database. no sponsor's figures are in the ballpark, as far as they go, but salaries at BA, Virgin, Britannia etc go considerably higher than the figures he quotes. Having said that, it's unlikely at your age that you could end up working for these airlines.


Scroggs