Originally Posted by
VariablePitchP
Very good post. And the point about the space job is sadly probably true. Get yourself a few thousand hours in the military, fly all sorts, become a test pilot. Then, assuming you have the masters in Aerospace engineering, you can apply for the job alongside everyone else with that and more on the CV.
Not to downplay your goals but you don’t want to feel like you’ve not achieved something if you don’t get there, a 747 captain (or future equivalent) should hopefully be an incredible achievement enough in itself!
Good point about paying the instructor as well. You’re the customer, they’re the supplier so feel free to speak up for yourself. Get to your third instructor though and it might not be the instructors...
Thanks VariablePitchP. I will take note on the third instructor
If I were to go back to my school, I would hold out and wait for 1 or 2 instructors there that I know we would understand each other. As I sais, students talk. My jokey 'failing' and become a 747 pilot was sincere, I would love a job flying airliners (or maybe even huge freight planes, it is gaining more appeal for some reason... flying for the world food programme?).
I have an 'you got to be in it to win it' attitude towards any sub-orbital or spaceflight beyond that, guessing/extreme speculating there are 300k airline pilot jobs and 300 space related pilot jobs today, that could be 400k and 200k in 25 years and would suck airline pilots into the space pilot industry (assuming it develops). If I were 26 with a PHD from MIT, it could still be an extreme long shot. But who knows how things will develop, new fuels, new materials, new physics... [insert point about predicting the internet, smart phones, a functional use for electricity]. If a sizable industry did develop and I have closed the option off today then I would be kicking myself in 15-25 years. More likely, I will look back at this post of dreamer but hopefully it should be looking back from the cockpit of an airliner !