31 yrs old: should I bother?

[Arrowhead]

I posted a similar message on the "Wannabe" forum, but really I want to make sure I hear from professional pilots, not other wannabes.

I am 31 and just got made redundant from my desk job. I have >300hrs (mostly complex single), IMC/night rating, great (and pregnant) wife, good physics degree, nice house with no mortgage, and enough cash in the bank. BUT I really want to become an airline pilot and this is probably going to be the only chance I get in life.

THE PROBLEM is that even though I can afford to pay £50k+ to get CPL/IR/fATPL rated over the coming year, the chances of me then getting a decent job within a couple of years seem remote (at least according to the Wannabe forum) - unless I am randomly lucky.

I really want to find out how/how many other people have trained in their early 30s, and successfully gone on to become professional airline pilots. How did you do it? How should I do it? What are the barriers? What should I expect? Should I just try to go back to a desk job and fly at weekends?

Any thoughts much appreciated.....

[Spartacan]

>>Should I just try to go back to a desk job and fly at weekends?<<

Yes, in a word. I don't think you are justified in putting your family under the stress and strain of ATPL training and the subsequent job hunt. You might achieve your objective but it is your wife an new born who really need your commitment and energy. You would be very luck to get a job straight out of training, Not least one which was close to your present domicile.

I have a young family and the thought of ATPL studies, GFT's IR's, ARB exams (gosh that dates me), SIMs, line training and all the rest with a young baby fills me with horror.

Pilots work harder these days for less respect and more hassle.

My advice? Enjoy being a dad and fly a light aircraft for fun at weekends. At least one day you will be able to take your kid for a ride in the cockpit . . .

[badattitude781]

Hi Arrowhead,

When I was doing my ATPL (integrated) there were several students on my course who were between the ages of 30 and 43. One of them left the course after a few weeks because he found it difficult being away from his family. The other three however continued and now fly for major carriers and have never looked back since.

What I'm getting at is that it really comes down to the individuals.

How does your wife feel about this?
Will you always regret it if you dont give the ATPL a shot?

Good luck

[Arrowhead]

Thanks for these replies (please keep them coming!)

In reply to both these posts, I am lucky in that I have a wife who is hugely understanding and supportive, and financially I do not need to find a job for the next several years.

I will only regret not going for the ATPL/flying career if I thought I had a relatively high chance of succeeding - right now the wannabe forums are so full of doom and gloom.

badattitude781 - where did you do your course??

[Johnny F@rt Pants]

Sonds to me like you have enough money to both cover the cost of the training and then get onto one of the sponsored schemes where you pay for your type rating to get your job, that is of course if you are fortunate enough to get selected. Look at the Easy Jet scheme, and if you can afford it and have the determination to get on, and also the right attitude to accept what will doubtless be many knockbacks then go ahead.

There were several guys when I was training that were in their 30's, some couldn't hack it, but then some in their 20's couldn't either, but others qualified and are flying for a living now.

I would suggest that you do a full time course, that way you will qualify in a year or so, and will still have over 30 years to offer a potential employer. It'll be very hard especially with a new baby, you won't see much of them in the year you spend training, but if it's what you really really want to do then good luck and I hope for all of us that the job market improves soon so that we can start to get the pay and respect we really deserve.

E-mail me if you have any questions, I'll gladly help where I can.

[DanRS]

It sounds like my thinking is in line with yours Arrow.

firstly a couple of facts.

It's not just pilots that work all the hours god sends, and most people get very little recognition in their job.

flying is something alot of us would love to do and having experienced a number of years outside the aviation industry are well aware of the pressures of work the tedium of working in an office and the wish to be able to at least have a go at doing something different and interesting.

Arrow mate if you have this opportunity bloody well grab it with both hands. The last thing you want is to be at the age of 45 blaming your wife and kid for how dull your life has been and that you could have at least tried to become a pilot.

As long as you are aware it might not work out, and will be able to except the fact that at least you tried and didn't waste the opportunity then you have nothing to loose.

just my opinion ;)

Cheers Dan

[Herod]

Arrowhead, if you have the support of a good woman, of course you should go for it. Thirty-one is no age at all, don't let the "you're too old at twenty-five" brigade get you down. I'm fifty-six, been flying since I was eighteen, and it's still the best job there is. Would I do it again ? You bet !! Good luck.

[M.Mouse]

I qualified at 35 and am a widebody Captain with a major carrier. I too had no hope of a job but the market turned shortly before I qualified and so there is an element of luck.

BAs age limit for a direct entry pilot, albeit with experience, hit 49 briefly in the early '90s.

In late '89 a friend who came up through hours building, mail flights in Navajos etc. took a gamble and paid for his own 737 type rating. The well known company that did his training offered him a job at the end of it! A gamble but it paid off.

If you can afford it go for it but do not underestimate the work or the fact that you may be unlucky and never really get the career opportunities that, through sheer luck, have presented themselves to others.

If you want more information send me a private message.

[dolly737]

Hi Arrowhead,
here are 2 extreme scenarios:

Scenario 1:
Ater finishing your training you’re lucky(!) and get a decent (=luck) job with a major carrier (=luck) close where you live (=luck again), earning decent $$$ (...) Figure about 10+ years minimum to advance to captain.

Scenario 2:
a) You’re pressured to take any job (hours) with any company anywhere for minimum money
b) You have to relocate or leave your family behind
c) On top of your basic training you have to pay additional money for your typerating(s)
d) You might have to change companies frequently (see c)
e) After a couple of years you get fed up and quit the whole thing, OR
f) You finally may end up with a major carrier, queueing up at the bottom of their seniority list and still wait 10+ years for a command.

I would guesstimate chances for scenario 2 about 70% considering present economical and political developments. But then again, things can change quickly and, as some posters wrote before, probably the last thing you want is regretting that you didn’t take the chance...

Good luck & happy landings, whatever your decision may be!
dolly

P.S: I know a couple of colleagues who have trained in their early 30s, but that’s a while ago.

[badattitude781]

Arrowhead,

In response to your question I trained at Oxford.
Feel free to send me a private message if you have any further questions.

Thanks

[flyingtomato]

Just a view from someone midway between your position and the airline world. I am 33, was 30 when I made the leap. Was very fortunate to get a good sponsorship, worked hard, made the grades without mishap and still love every minute of it. You do need a lot of luck, I am currently riding the luck roller coaster on a downward trajectory! Uncertain of airline future due to recent well publisized takeover. Not too upset though because I never counted my chickens in the first place. Flying is a bit of a voyage of self discovery, know yourself from the outset and you will know whether you are going to succeed. There are many obstacles on the way, most of them out of the blue, you just have to be prepared to jump over them.
You definately need: unlimited enthusiasm, sufficient funds, self confidence and a supportive wife. You seem to have all of them so luck will probably attach itself to you. Those who started 3-4 years ago have probably endured the worst it will ever get. The next 5 years will be better. Best of luck.

[Willit Run]

You only go around once, make the most of it! The more regrets you have, well, i don't know, i haven't died yet, but I don't want to die with a lot of regrets, shoulda coulda woulda!!
31 is young! Go for it. Its a lot of fun, you may have to do some things that you never thought you would do, or that some snobby pilots wouldn't lower themselves to do. I think you should go for it! Whats that about risk, gain ??? Go for it!!Its only money!!!!! and your dreams!!!

[TurboJ]

At the end of the day, you are a long time dead and you can't take your cash with you.

If you don't give it a go, you will end up regreting not having given it a go.

As for the job front, cross that bridge when you come to it !