Hello Alicky!
After 16 years in the Cockpit I might give you some advice. If you like it, you consider it, if you don't, well, then I guess you will go over it.
Till now I had a, let's say, busy and troubled career. Starting as a YOUNG (I was 23 at that time and it was young!!) FO at a good carrier in Europe, after earning my 4th stripe decided to see other places and moved down under.
After the crash of the old beauty I was forced to come back to Europe, making my way thru good and sometimes not so good companies. Some of them crashed, some other just were not worth it to waste more time with them.
As there are always up and downs in airline business(and of course in GA) sometimes it`s easier to get a decent job, sometimes you just need to take was is remaining. Unfortunately right now it is still a time that you have to search a good job with the magnifying glass...
What I want to say :
- 30 is nowadays pretty old to start thinking becoming a pilot (no offence, just my observation) as newbees nowadays often sit with 19 or so at my right side. Don't like it , really, but it is a fact. Must be a lot of rich daddies or mummies around, don't think banks give their money to a 18 year old to become a pilot
.
- you are fine being a woman in aviation nowadays, no problem
- even QR(I had the "pleasure"
to work for them once) is employing women, so do all (as far as I know) Middle Eastern carriers(yes, even Saudia)
- right now is a bad time to start(but it is always bad, isn't it
) a aviation career. People often are forced to pay for their typeratings and sometimes even Linetraining, that's just not right. Is a doctor or a florist paying instead of getting paid(even if the salary is low) during their first years?
- as I menioned already, I did this job more then 16 years and I am getting very tired of it. Away all the time(if you work for a low cost you might be one of the lucky ones being at home nearly every day), getting paid peanuts, living mostly in ****ty hotels because we need to save money, etc. etc. Fact is, the industry is in a big downturn, the job is boring as EVERYTHING is regulated to dead, if you are not doing a deadly safe approach and being stabilized latest in 1000 ft you will meet you FSO and most likely your MFO on your off day
.
It might be still a dream for a lot of people to become a pilot, but i is not anymore a dreamjob(someone above mentioned the term "taxidriver" - that will fit because that's what f
ing airlinemanagers made out of us. Still able to handle this baby in all emergencies, but hey, who cares).
So, my advice, think very well before you waste lots of money, time and maybe your life in chasing some dreams that might be gone already a long time ago...
Good lucky anyway