Rewards of being a pilot Vs. Reality
I am in need of some immediate advice. If you have a minute, please read on.
In order to fully understand my situation, I have to start from about 7 years ago, when I was in high school. Going through high school, my dream was to be a pilot. My plan was to get into the navy and go through their flight training and fly airlines when I get out. As everyone knows, not all dreams become a reality. When I was testing into the U.S. Navy, they broke the news. I had scored high enough on the test to take any job the navy had to offer (including fighter pilot), but on my application I had put that I was color-deficient. The recruiter told me that if I was colorblind I could never be a pilot. I ended up dropping out of high school and picking up a job in a restaurant.
Eventually I got my GED and made good money as a bartender. I tried to go to college but I couldn’t find any career path that I would like to go into as much as I wanted to fly. After switching degrees 3 times I am now on route to become an immigration attorney. I have a job as an assistant for a law firm and make just enough to live off of, but I need the experience.
For my father’s birthday, my mom bought him a surprise acrobatic flight lesson in a T6 Texan. I was to take him to the airport and tell him that I was going for a tour. When we get there and he finds out, he tells them to pull out both airplanes because I was going to fly also. While heading back to the airport, the instructor tells me I should take flight lessons. I had played with simulators for years, so maybe I did well.
Back at the ground I told him that I would love to take lessons, but I think I’m color-deficient so I can’t be a pilot. He tells me that it is not a reason, as long as I can tell what the colors are, it doesn’t matter what I call them.
I came back a week later in the evening and he asked the tower flashed the light gun to see if I could see the lights. Since I was able to distinguish what they were, he told me that this is what I would have to do to become a pilot and it would have no restrictions.
It has been 6 years since I was told that I could not be a pilot, so I know that I’m behind. Just to make sure my nothing else will hold me back, I signed up to take a medical exam in 2 weeks.
If I had found out that I could still be a pilot 6 years ago, I would not be stuck between a rock and a hard place like I am right now. I am expecting my first baby in 7 months, and I am getting married this month. A pilot’s license is obviously a financial burden, but with that aside, my biggest concern is being able to support my family. I plan on taking back my bartending job which would give me the income to go to flight school and get the hours I need for a commercial license. What I want to know is, how long will it take for me to go from a commercial pilot’s license to getting a job to support my family.
If you are a pilot with years of experience, or if you’re someone who just got a job as an airline pilot. I would like to hear your opinion and stories. I would like to be a pilot now more than ever, and it feels like it is so close, but if I waited too long, then I want to know now if this is something I’m going to have to pass up. Any advice is appreciated.