Doctor to Airline Pilot
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