Doctor to Airline Pilot [Archive]

Joelogan

26th Mar 2010, 03:27

Hi All,

I am a 28 year old doctor and have always dreamed of being an airline pilot. Recently I have begun to think more and more about this and I would really appreciate some advice from others who have considered this or have done it themselves.

My idea is to get a job in the ED so that I have lots of time off from work, and it is fairly well paid. It is shift work, so antisocial hours, but I would frequently get whole weeks off in exchange for working at the weekends.

I then plan to use the money I bring in from this work to fund a PPL, and then CPL and then ultimately a frozen ATPL by sitting those exams. I understand no checkride is required in Australia. I anticipate this would take 2 years or so.

I then plan to get an instructor job at my local airport (Jandakot) and accumulate some hours in exchange for more money that I can put into various endorsements.

After I have accumulated enough hours I would then really like to get an airline job. I understand that I would probably never make the majors, but would be satisfied with a smaller airline such as Jetstar.

Has anyone else considered doing anything like this? I do not want to leave my current job as it is well paid and I have worked hard to get there and I really don't want to borrow a lot of money that would be a struggle to pay back. I worry that my increasing age would be a huge barrier.

Any advice would be appreciated

thanks so much in advance

Joe

27/09

26th Mar 2010, 04:16

Joe,

Stay doing the Doctor thing and use the good money you earn there to fund a PPL and get your flying fix that way.

Otherwise go and see a Psychiatrist, especially if you think flying for LCC is a good career choice.

ei-flyer

26th Mar 2010, 07:25

Stay doing the Doctor thing and use the good money you earn there to fund a PPL and get your flying fix that way.

Just curious - the OP said his dream is to be an airline pilot, as opposed to a private pilot. On that basis, how does stopping at the PPL help to achieve this?

There is no flying fix.

There are many flying fixes.

Joelogan

26th Mar 2010, 08:29

Hi,

thanks for your replies.

Yes, I don't think a PPL would be enough for me. I am considering a change of career. I just wanted some advice from people.

Joe

student88

26th Mar 2010, 08:59

If it's something that you want to do, truly from your heart then do it. You only have one life, what's the point in living it with regrets. At least you have a fantastic career to fall back on. I work with 2 pilots, one is a Doctor and one a Dentist. They still work outside of flying. Go for it.

Concorde14

26th Mar 2010, 09:48

Well I’m in a similar position as i have always worked in the finance world since university which paid very well, was secure and relatively enjoyable. However, I left this world last summer and began flying from late last year as I have always wanted to be a pilot and I got to the stage of that despite the risks, it would be worse getting to my forties and looking back thinking ‘what if’. I’d rather go for it and should it go t*ts up, I have a decent career to fall back on.

I’m following the modular route and am taking my time over it as right now its pretty bleak within the Industry, but this way I’m progressing slowly whilst not burning cash at an explosive rate so that I can keep an eye on how the recruitment market evolves over the next few years.

There can be a lot of negativity on this forum, so what I would say is if you can fund the course with the minimum of debt and you are prepared for a long few years then absolutely do it and if it doesn’t work out you can go back to being a Doctor and you will never have the opportunity to look back at think ‘what if’….

All the very best of luck to you!

Regards

Concorde 14

HEATHROW DIRECTOR

26th Mar 2010, 09:50

I'm sure there was (still is?) an AME at Gatwick who also flew for BA..

Airclues

26th Mar 2010, 10:03

Has been done many times, and, as has been said before, you have something to fall back on if the flying doesn't work out.
BA have a pilot who is a qualified anaesthetist. A female F/O with Virgin was a surgeon before learning to fly and is now an AME as well as being a pilot.
Go for it.

Dave

irishpilot1990

26th Mar 2010, 10:41

the doctor who did my aeromedical this year also flies for a national carrier!!!guess the doctor thing is a nice side earner:}at €240 for 25min check up...15 of which was done by assistant nurse.

Joelogan

26th Mar 2010, 10:58

Hi all,

thanks to all of you so much for your constructive comments. It's a huge relief to know that other people have undertaken a similar career choice and have successfully come out the other end as airline pilots. It's also very reassuring to know that some of these people also manage to be doctors as well. I don't want to give up medical practice if I can avoid it, it would be ideal if I could do both.

I understand that it is a long slog and that it expensive and not exactly prosperous economic times for pilots or airlines but hopefully this may change.

Thanks again, everyone for your help.

Joe

XXPLOD

26th Mar 2010, 12:09

Joe

Interesting post. I've had similar thoughts. As a police inspector I earn a decent wage, it's against UK law to make me redundant and I've a phenomenal final salary pension. But... increasingly frustrated with the job and have long harboured thoughts of a career change.

My 'master-plan' having held a PPL for 7 years is that I'm now doing my ATPLs DL, slow-time. When done, I'll do the ME CPL which I should be able to do almost full time with all the leave I get and shiftwork. Then decision time as I think the IR needs a full time brain, so might have to take maybe a month or two of unpaid leave.

So maybe 3 years from now I could be employable. If the market is in a better shape and a job offer is realistic, I'd probably accept the likely 50+% pay cut, take a career break of up to 5 years and follow the dream. If it didn't work out for whatever reason, I won't regret not trying, I'll go back to the security of policing and I'll be equally happy maintaining my ratings with a view to a semi-retirement instructing.

Or, it might just be possible to combine working part-time in the police with a flying job. I'd have to be lucky but I wouldn't say it was impossible.

Halfwayback

26th Mar 2010, 12:13

Joe

Even with your advanced years ( :bored: ) the option of training to be a pilot is certainly a viable one.

Whilst the military do have an ongoing requirement for Aeromedical specialists (not just examiners) and will provide the pilot training to allow practical experience to be gained, I regret to say you are probably a little late. It may be worth a shout to confirm that fact.

This means commercial flying. There are many threads here that will confirm that the the market is dead and there are pilots still being made redundant. Training - whichever route you take - is expensive and the overwhelming advice here is to wait until the recovery is under way.

In the airline I work for, bmi, we have two pilots who are also the company doctors and both are AMEs. It make financial sense for the company doc to do the annual medicals to save the reimbursement fees although of course each pilot is under absolutely no pressure to use the company AME - some are unnecessarily very suspicious of allowing their records to be seen by company employees!

Finally, your age is not a problem; I became a commercial pilot in my mid 40s taking all my ATPL exams in one go - including Perf A. Hard work but it can be done.

HWB

Piltdown Man

26th Mar 2010, 17:17

Joe, what ever you do, don't give the Quacking. By all means learn to fly, but as you learn, observe the instructors at the establishment where you fly. See how they get on over time, especially the senior ones as they'll have the same goals as yourself. See where they go and how quickly. Then have a look at their cars! Then think about what you are going to do.

May I also suggest that take a look in the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia (right down at the far end of the road in Jandakot, past the control tower). When I was there, I found them to be a brilliant bunch of people. They had an excellent club, a first class fleet, friendly members, good instructors. But judging by the way they entertained themselves, the majority would be useless candidates for organ donation.

Tell us how you get on,

PM

(They nicknamed me Vasco when I was there. And I can still remember a "Formal Dress (from the waist up) Party". Brilliant place)

Northbeach

26th Mar 2010, 17:59

Our airline has two previous medical doctors who left their practice to become airline pilots. One is now retired the other still active. I hear they are exceptional to share the flight deck with. Both were happy with their decisions.

You DO NOT need to be an airline pilot to fly like a professional. There is always a need for exceptional instructors who are masters of their trade. You could instruct on the side.

You are probably in a position to purchase your own (or share) aircraft. You could satifsy your desire to fly by flying your own airplane. Being paid by somebody else to move the jet from point A to point B is really doing a similar thing with many more constraints.

Sure the economy is bad now. It was also poor back in the late 70s when I did my training. I doubt it will remain this poor for the rest of our working lives. Training now is not necessarily a bad thing. If the industry turns around you have your ratings. Plus with a depressed economy you may be able to negotiate on training costs.

With your ratings perhaps you could talk some corporate operator flying jets to take you on as a part time first officer. How about part time work for an air ambulence company? With your education and background you would be a strong addition to many different types of flight operations without giving up your medical practice.

The pay cut will be BRUTAL, you may never recover. Being gone half the time soon becomes old, in spite of the fancy jet........

I like what I do. I get great satisfaction from my job. I would not want to be stuck on the ground doing similar things everyday. But if I could match the money I would give serious thought to waking away. It gets old - doesn't everything??

Like the title said, few more thoughts ..... not trying to lobby for a perticular decision.

Wish you the best whatever you decide.

MartinCh

26th Mar 2010, 18:11

I am a 28 year old doctor and have always dreamed of being an airline pilotHmm. That took you a while to think of actually going for it. And that's in country that's God's gift to humankind for various GA flying.
People who're not sure what to do if dreams are not viable, go for business studies :}

Sure, go do your PPL, see how you like it. As some said, there's more to flying professionally than jet job. :ok:

At least you don't need an advice to get at least something of a trade qualification if not undergraduate degree to have a job/career to fall back on.
One good thing - your current income greatly helps in funding training.
Some of us have to scrape savings over years sacrificing personal life and best years. No hard feelings, just a fact.

If you give up on your medical work, I'd say it's hell of a waste of government money. Even the HECs don't really cover all the expense I presume.

If you love flying, take intro flight in helicopter. Compare that to airplane.
It ain't easy getting there, but the roster for heli flying tends to be nicer unless you fancy 6wk on/6off etc for tour jobs in far away places in Asia or Africa.

I love them all, glider, helicopters, planes, will do gyros later on, too.

OTOH, you'd be hell of a catch for impressionable/gold-digger ladies. "Hi, I'm a doctor. Ehrm, I left practice to work as airline pilot these days".. Hmm. Even my cooking and baking skills coupled with heli and airplane flying can't compare. :hmm:

Have fun. Training can be stressful if you can't get past certain exercise for a while, checkrides/skills test, but it's great mastering the machine and feel connected to it (at least in heli).

Geege

26th Mar 2010, 21:10

MIKECR

26th Mar 2010, 21:44

Geege,

Depends on the individual Force as to whether they allow Officers to take up alternative paid employment whilst on a career break. Generally, if it is purely to 'sustain' yourself whilst on time off then it doesnt appear to be too much of an issue.

I took a 12 month career break 3 or 4 years ago to pursue my ATPL's etc. Now happily flying with UK airline....no regrets whatsoever on leaving my previous career.

Geege

26th Mar 2010, 22:11

Something to look into I guess :ok:

JohnnyPharm

26th Mar 2010, 23:06

Think you really need to think about this. I am a pharmacist and did the same thing. Passed PPL, Night, ATPL, hour building and MUlti, IR. Stalled when it came to CPL as it was about two years ago and the industry had crashed so decided to hedge my bets. Stupid really but my ATPL's have now lapsed. TBH doing it slowly didn't work for me as it always took an hour or so to get up to speed after a couple of months lay off between modules. If I were to do it again I would have gone integrated and got it out the way. I sold my house and traded down to a flat and had the cash but just wasn't confident enough to jump in head first, I think if I had it would have worked better.

Gave it my best go and it all ended up going Pete Tong, at least I can sit in my rocking chair and NOT say if only.

Its hard work holding down a responsible job and doing the training.

Suppergenus

27th Mar 2010, 00:33

Joe,

I second the response of flying doctor. I knew of a dentist in Alaska who would fly himself and his nurses to remote villages in Alaska where they desperately needed his quality care. In his plane he somehow had most of what he needed and brought much needed care to these people. I'm not sure exactly how he was getting paid but he lived in a nice house and got to fly all the time. It could be a way to still be a professional pilot but earn a more stable long-term living.

That being said, the only advise I give anyone is not to take advise from me:} You can do anything you like, and you can always change your mind. Its great that you have a specialty to fall back on no matter what happens. I'm an engineer pursuing a CFII (well, okay, I'm just about a PPL right now but I have big plans!!!) so I understand where the drive comes from.

Best of luck!:ok:

James

clunckdriver

27th Mar 2010, 13:12

Please dont buy a Bonanza!

ea340

27th Mar 2010, 14:07

I know of 3 doctors flying for airlines . One of them does my FAA medical needless to say his private practice is almost exclusively pilots

SVENSK

30th Mar 2010, 20:11

JOE,

GOOO FOR ITTTTT! I worked in corporate banking for 5yrs and have a degree in finance. I moved from my lovely country of Sweden to the states and have lived and worked here for 10yrs. Even with all of the thousands of dollars I spent on my education, I have no regrets about pursuing a career in aviation as a pilot. I currently work for an airline in a different capacity but I enjoy coming to work everyday while I continue to pursue my pilot career on the side. you've got one life to live and you're the ONLY one who will get to experience it- not me or anyone else on this forum. There is no perfect job out there- I've learned what you put in is what you'll get out and being a pilot is no different.

Good luck SVENSK! :ok:

Broomstick

30th Mar 2010, 20:31

Hi Joe,

I am also a doctor hoping to change career. Finishing off my PPL now, after which I will do ATPL by distance learning and then build hours towards CPL and Multi-IR. Contrary to many of the posts the escape door out of medicine (particularly specialist medicine) is one way only. The medical profession does not tolerate doubt or disloyalty, so tread carefully! Good luck Joe - it is comforting to know someone else is in a similar position!

madlot

30th Mar 2010, 23:27

To the doctor, Joelogan I say - yep, train hard for the ratings and see where that gets you in a couple of years, using your current salary and fulfilment to see you through that phase, then decide whether to take a risk and leave doctoring to fly professionally. You will in your former profession always have a job and revenue stream to come back to if flying needs to be put down for a while or completely but never give doctoring up right now in this climate.

Treat it as an early career break, a sabbatical if you like, to pursue a long held dream. Brilliant, but keep the current job otherwise as someone has said check yourself in for psychiatric assessment.

To the police contingent who have contributed - I have had the privilege of doing the career break thing from the police and flying professionally and totally recommend it, but again, keep the current job don't chop that pension in. (Try Africa if you really have to do a career break, great place to fly,gaining loads of quality experience)

Now in a few years a new government may start to tax the commutation as they already did with some very senior people in the Met (different contract to you and me though which is why they could I think) and when they do tax it that might be the time to do some calculations and see if it makes no difference to leave at that point, preferably once 25 years done.

In the meantime do the CPL/IR training and see if in a few years when the economy has recovered a bit you can land a part time flying job (try compressed hours, 4 days a week at 10 hrs per day) to get the best of both worlds. Or retire after 30 yrs like someone I know who now flies Learjets for a living, having been a multi IR instructor for several years. Nice, and rather obscene to talk about in front of other mere mortals given our level of job security which is a bit of a rarity nowadays.

The police lot can PM me if you want more info on being paid during career breaks etc - I resigned and had to come back in but nowadays I think you don't have to leave...
Good luck everyone.

Kylie777

11th Apr 2010, 20:10

Hi Joe,
seek out Rob Liddell. He is a doc and pilot and lives in the Perth Area, flying club may know where he is. He became head of AVMED at CASA and was B727 F/O.
Good luck.

bala_murali

25th Jul 2010, 18:47

hi there guys
I joined this forum about 7 months back and after a long time it is nice to see some optimistic replies.
I did read many post in this thread and it gave me alot of hope .
I am basically in the same boat as many people here . Always wanted to be a pilot since my childhood. I am from India.i just turned 25 years this week back. I have done my bachelors degree in Electrical and electronics engineering and have worked i dell computers for 2 years (P.S- i hate my job )I have two plans as of now . I did do my research regarding pilot training for many months .But nothing is going my way . though of taking a educational loan to do my flight training in Canada .But from speaking to people both here and some people i came to know who are in the aviation field i came to a conclusion there there is noway i could end up with a job as a pilot at the end of my training in order to pay up my loans .So here is my plan :

PLAN A- AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE ENGINEERING
To do a course in Ame which i am very much interested in also .But from what i researched there is no masters degree in AME. There is diploma or Bsc(hons). My friends and well wishers told me its would be idiotic to do a diploma course and after finishing my Bachelors degree. But screw them i am not looking for fame or a name that a masters degree can give me here. i want to be in the field that i am interested (Aviation).

Plan B-. MASTERS IN AVIATION MANAGEMENT
I heard many people tell that in aviation everything is about networking. I did have some subjects regarding management in my last year of engineering and they were pretty interesting too. Many did advice me that this would be a better path to take compared a AME's job since geting a license as an AME takes another 2 years after working as a appearance.And also job oppurtunities of aviation management is much higher when compared to AME( Dont know if that true !!:ooh:).And people

At the end i want to become a pilot . I have cleared my class2 and class 1 medicals.The problem is i would be in a huge debt if i don get a job as a pilot once i complete my training. Both PLAN A AND PLAN B seemed to much more affordable than pilot training. I want to study in the field of aviation , get a job in aviation field collect some contact on the way if possible ,slowly but steadily do my pilot training while working.i do know it is kinda of a long shot but its definitely better than living a safe life wondering WHAT if ?? all the time .:confused:
From your experience tell me which would be a better path to take to achieve my dream (to be an commercial aviator)..PLAN A OR PLAN B. .Hope your suggestion would lead a way for me!.
And guys when I HIT my dream shot THE BEERS ON ME :ok::ok::ok: Thanks a million for your time ..Cheers .

rit

2nd Aug 2010, 07:45

I heard that a THAI airways pilot is a doctor and still a doctor. He enter the airline through cadet program so you may consider this way to be a pilot. There are some cadet pilot program now so you can apply for the one you like.

Cheers,
Rit

Van Gough

2nd Aug 2010, 08:11

I then plan to get an instructor job at my local airport (Jandakot) and accumulate some hours in exchange for more money that I can put into various endorsements.

Be aware that it is incredibly competitive to even get an instructor job and there are truckloads of unemployed instructors all trying to get a job at Jandakot as well. There are instructors at Jandakot with a lifetime of experience being made redundant at the moment. Another point to consider is the money instructors make alot of the time is less than minimum wage so going from a doctors wage to less than minimum wage would no doubt be uncomfortable.

I personally think (as someone who has gone through a career change to pilot) that ditching medicine for flying is an absurd prospect. I think if you seriously want to do it, some sort of flying yourself around the outback to service communities as a doctor would be the smartest thing to do. Good luck with whatever you do!

ATP_Al

2nd Aug 2010, 10:10

I'm a 27 year old pilot who wouldn't mind a career change into medicine, maybe we can swap?

Genghis the Engineer

3rd Aug 2010, 06:58

A thought or three.

Aviation is a fantastically interesting and exciting business. Personally, I'd not want to work anywhere else - unless manned spaceflight ever becomes reasonably commonplace, in which case I'll go and do that.

It is also however, a huge and complex industry. Just in flying, there's instruction, air-taxi, emergency flying, test flying, military flying, gliding and ultralights.... ... oh yes, and flying an airliner.

And then there's aviation medicine, maintenance engineering, safety research, airborne science, aircraft design, human factors training, simulator operations - and all raft of management roles.

To the original poster (and others), there's a huge range of aviation jobs there which you may well be already 90% qualified for and get you around flying machines. If you want to fly (and I do, so to me that's perfectly understandable) there are also a huge range of jobs for pilots as well as the money-rich but in many cases lifestyle-poor role of airline pilot.

If you are an aviation enthusiast, there's still no reason to drop everything and suddenly try and train as an airline pilot - and indeed if you've not even got to PPL then frankly that would be quite silly. Get yourself into aviation, learn to fly (something, anything), see where you can move your current professional work into aviation. As you go in that direction, keep the objectives under review and if it stays the right thing to do to become an airline pilot, then go for it.

But don't burn your bridges, and don't take a huge and irreversible single step away from what you can already do. You may yet find yourself a happy airline pilot, or you may well find that you actually have a more fitting vocation within this fantastic industry.

One of the happiest people I ever met was a physician who joined the RAF as a fighter pilot. After getting his wings, he got sent into an aeromedical research job conducting experiments on pilots in the other seat of Hawk jet that he was flying. Surely that's about a thousands times more fun, for example, than being an airline pilot who has thrown away 5++ years of medical training to do a relatively routine job.

G

dogmaster

3rd Aug 2010, 08:05

just look at the ads for pilots, most ask for experienced pilots.
the chance to land a job are near 0.and the job if you get one, are really bad, pay s..t, or sleep in your van...

don't listen guys who tell you to go for it and follow your dream, many don't have a job!
one of my friend tell me there are job everywhere, the funny thing, he can not get a job for himself after 2 years, and live with his mom.

When I ask him why he doesn't take the job , it' s always the same answer:
"oh, i need xxx hours, I need a work permit, need greencard, need this and that, but they hire, they hire..."

so don't be too excited about this career.

blackhawk799

6th Aug 2010, 12:01

Hello joe,
I'm in quite a similar situation like you, I'm 22 now and in 4th yr of med school and intend to do the same as you. Infact i had almost quit med school this yr for aerospace enginnering but my father forced me not to do so. In my opinion you should go ahead for PPL righ away and see for yousrlef how u like it, If u still like it then get yourself on track for commercial flying but dont quit your job untill you're sure to get a job in flying. let us know what did u decide. regards
ssw
P.S. I joined this forum just to respond to your question

humanperformer

6th Aug 2010, 12:40

Hi, I was in the same situation 3 years ago. I finished my fy2 and decided that enough was enough and that I couldn't take being a gp anymore. Gained my frozen atpl this year and through some luck got in with an airline, currently line training on A320.

The main difference between the professions seems to be the hours you work. As a GP I was working 8-4 everyday now there is no pattern ( I don't enjoy the hours as a pilot) and of course the money is far less but then you don't become a pilot for the money.

I do regret making the switch sometimes.....

liam548

11th Aug 2010, 06:51

XXPLOD,

Sir, Can you earn a wage whilst on a career break? Something that I would consider myself, I'm considering a (possible) career change but will look to do my PPL first then CPL after. How I see it the police is too secure a job to resign as like you say it is not like you will be made redundant. I've also just done my Constable to Sgt Ospre exam but fed up with the internal politics of this job, however I'm sure the Airline industry would be no different. I'm 30 yrs old so still want to keep my options open.

ditto. Im also tired of the job and am wanting to change careers. I dont think a career break is an option though and I was thinking that I would have no option but to resign and use the "2 year rule" to re apply if need be.

macs86

23rd Aug 2011, 15:30

Hi all,

I am having quite a tough time with finding the answer to this, which suggests to me that it doesn't get done very often, which in turn I suppose answers my question to some point- but anyway...

I am about to qualify as a Dr, I am also a ppl, training towards cpl. Maybe unlike some others commenting on this forum, I really enjoy medicine (perhaps one day I won't), but I also really love flying. I would really like a career that let's you do both. Can anyone help me put together a list of careers that let you do that, that I can explore further? There have been some suggestions you can do this with the military, although I don't love the idea of signing up for 7 (or whatever) years of my life that I can't get out of if its not for me. Also it seems like I may be over the age limit (now almost 25yo). Others have mentioned airline pilots that also work as AMEs (not sure how they do this, I was under the impression the gmc take your license if you don't work so many hours a week for the NHS, maybe the rules are different elsewhere?). Flying doctors and repatriation medicine may be an option, but I don't know much about how to get into those.

Any info that anyone can give from knowledge, others, own experiences etc.. Would be really helpful.

Thanks all

Poeli

24th Aug 2011, 04:31

Isn't there something out like Flying doctors in Africa? I know there are several organisations which fly in Africa to deliver food and medicins. I think being a doctor would be a big +.
Minimum hour requirement is (I think) 500 hrs though.

Personally I'd stay in medicine, you will certainly earn enough to buy a very nice IFR turbo plane. If you really want to combine medicine with flying I'd look to Africa.

macs86

24th Aug 2011, 11:41

Thanks very much for your reply. I will look into that. I think perhaps doctors pay is a little more in Belgium than UK though. At aprox €22k/year it will take a while of saving before I can afford an ifr turbo!

da_vichy

9th Sep 2011, 05:37

Hey Joe

How far along are you in your career? Are you in an A&E training program yet?

I am also in the same situation, except I'm in my penultimate year of medical school. I also want to be an ED physician!

I have looked into this for a long time. In fact, I was partway through interviews for a cadetship before I decided I needed a stable alternative should the aviation industry decide to fluctuate again.

My plan is to complete my ED physician training, get my ATPL, get an airline job, and then locum for ED whenever my flying roster permits.

It's a very long-term plan but I think it could work!

Good luck!

da_vichy

22nd Feb 2012, 10:04

Any update on your progress, Joe?

liam548

12th Jan 2016, 07:32

Any news from the career changers?

Following my post a few years ago on this thread where I explained I was hoping to go down the path of police to airline pilot, I have just completed my MEIR, CPL in Spain and MCC and JOC here in the UK. I did manage to secure 3 months off work to do this unpaid.

Now back at work while looking for jobs!

hobbit1983

27th Aug 2023, 12:25

Lots of detailed information on cost and time on other threads in this forum. Overall at the moment: you can do it in a year with integrated (full time) training or modular (part time/working in between modules) training. Integrated traditionally costs more (£100k) than modular (maybe £60-£70k these days).

sudden twang

27th Aug 2023, 15:06

I am also an ED doctor who is seriously considering letting my parents down to pursue a career in aviation. Pushed in to medicine from a young age but I can't shake the wanting to be a pilot. Can anyone advise on net cost and time spent? I know it seems shallow but those are the most difficult components to negotiate.

I'm sure pilots have their gripes too but pursuing a career in NHS medicine in the UK is worth neither the time or money. I'm almost certain I would go to the grave regretting not exploring this career.

Kind regards to you all,

Jack

your parents will soon get over it when they’re drinking champagne sitting in F as you fly them somewhere exotic 😂
it’s your life not theirs.
One of my children is a Dr and is thinking of applying for the BA academy.

bafanguy

27th Aug 2023, 15:32

Very interesting subject. There are a couple of people here in the USA with the same feelings: this one linked below and another MD on the same forum who posts as Young MD, a pediatrician with 20+ years experience. I think he's already started flight training someplace here in the USA. My daughter-in-law is an ER doc and has no interesting being an airline pilot but she does admire the roll a union has in giving her husband, my son, pretty good working circumstances

https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/career-questions/144085-f-16-md-airlines-need-advice.html