Similar situation
Hey roberand,
Your circumstances are very similar to mine - I'm also 25, and working as an investment banker in mergers & acquisitions. I've always wanted to be a commercial pilot too, and not a day goes by without me watching the aircraft approach Heathrow over Canary Wharf wanting to be up there.
Slight difference, I've a PPL and have been flying since 13, something I do as regularly as possible. I've also been tempted to jack all the finance thing in and try for sponsorship/take out a loan to pay for myself. The issue is the job market/lack of sponsorship at the moment; I'm not too comfortable giving up a well paid job which has huge earnings potential (as has been said above, the salary increases expotentially from now until 35ish) for a career which at the moment is (a) huge risk and (b) relatively low paid. So for the moment, I've resolved to continue to work in the City (which after all isn't TOO bad), continue private flying, and pay for myself when I can afford it and am more finanacially comfortable (I realise this may not be for a decade). I know I'll probably never get to the LHS of a BA 744 this way (which has always been my aim)..but there is so much more to commercial flying, which if necessary you can buy your way into (e.g. I quite fancy short haul, high freq flying). And this way, (1) I'll always have something to fall back on and (2) As much as I've always REALLY wanted to fly commercially, something at the back of mind says "can I really do it for 30 years and still be stimulated by it?" So I guess I'm going for the best of both worlds...if I make it!!!
Tricky situation....good luck with it!! Feel free to PM...
Last edited by easyflyer; 23rd Jun 2003 at 22:10.