Best ADVICE for young pilot

[Jim SC]

Hey guys, first post.

I was searching for some advice (positive or negative-just make sure it's advice and not flames) for becoming a professional pilot. I am really interested in it, but am discouraged because of the stiff competition; i feel like trying to get into Medical School instead.

A good question to help you answer my question is:
If you were 20 yrs old, and wanted to be a pilot, what would you do differently than you did originally to get where your're at now?? Anybody suggest the USAF?

Thanks a lot for your helpfulness. James

[PeteB]

That's a wide open question you've asked there...

I suggest you scan the forums and get a general feel for some of the issues related to pilot training and getting a job after you've completed that training. Have a read of the post 'what hope for low hour pilots' - reading between the flying insults - you can see that it's a difficult career to get started in.

Getting to the stage of actually looking for a job is even more difficult. Consider the many, many thousands of pounds (dollars in your case) that it may cost you just to get the basic qualifications. Consider the impact that that financial burden will have on your life. - I think you get the idea, my point being that you have to be completely sure that aviation is THE career that you absolutely have to be in - if you're not entirely sure, maybe it's not for you.

Having said all that, and assuming you've made the decision to go for it - your options are: sponsored flight training (Almost non - existent), USAF (lots of commitment and lifestyle decisions that I'm not going to comment on), and finally, for many the only option, self sponsored.

All of these options have, I'm sure, been discussed at length on many occasions, just do a search on the forums for whichever you're interested in.

I'll leave you with this:

When I was deciding if I was really prepared to go for it or not, I sat down one day at work, and thought to myself 'right, pretend you've decided you're not going to do it, you'll never fly professionally - what now?'. I realised there was only one option for me. It's a good way to judge if you really want it....

[slim_slag]

I am really interested in it, but am discouraged because of the stiff competition; i feel like trying to get into Medical School instead.

Practicing medicine gets pretty boring after ten or so years. The tenth case of "Little Johnny and his sore ear" that day becomes very tedious. Most of the people I know who went into flying jets are pretty bored working on an automated flight deck after ten or so years. Both jobs have their moments, but they are mainly routine.

(Though getting either trade to admit this to an outsider is like squeezing blood from a stone - too many inflated egos in both :D )

Go to med school, make a scad load of cash, then buy yourself a real plane and fly for fun - not for money.

If you want to fly jets, and I see you are in the US, you can drop a load of cash and go to Embury Riddle or some similar place. You can also 'self improve', get your CPL and CFI, and build hours. I would imagine/hope that by the time you are attractive to the airlines, this competition you talk about will have mostly disappeared. I wouldn't join the military, but others most certainly would.

Why not go get your private licence and see what you think?

IMO :D

[Leaping Frog]

First poster, greetings.
You can borrow cash secured on your parents property and pay the bank your share of the debt burden, like a mortgage, Nationwide and Ab.National, bothe sympathetic to this arrangement. You get wonga, your folks can also release capital at the same time if they wish to take a trip around the world or something.
If you have two sets of parents or more, great! good luck.:D

[suddentwang]

Jim SC,

You will find many standard answers to your dilema on the beginning of a career in aviation. I won't add to those but I want to offer some advise for the long term commitment you may make.

Lifestyle tends to be pushed to the background as you hungrily persue the passion you most likely will feel for your new profession. But spare a thought for years ahead, when you may be married with kids and all the factors attached to that situation.

I had a "job for life" in Australia until 1989 and then left for overseas and progressed very nicely without much regret. But the family issue became very importatnt after my family grew and pressures mounted in areas I had paid little attention to before. So now the problem is getting back home to settle for the sake of my family (and myself). And that is proving extremely difficult.

Just be careful in your decisions along the way especially if a apparently long-term job comes up early in your career. If you leave your home market, circumstances could conspire to make your return later in life very difficult.

I have loved this career and would not have had it any other way. But, be sure to understand, that the days of the big bucks are over (in general) and in 10 years the flying job will not keep you in clover. The recent big pay rises in the US majors are a mirage because the airlines can't afford them. The unalterable trend for wages and conditions for the airline pilot is down. But if you want a job that keeps you satisfied for 40 years, flying is the one (if you can find the right employer).

Good luck.

[the_chairman]

Hi there, a mate of mine started med school and half-way through became very discouraged and wanted to pack it in and pursue his dream of becoming a pilot, but since he had already done three years he was finally persuaded to think it over a bit longer - the solution = he applied to RAF who have agreed to take him on as a medic AND provide basic flight training. He won't actually be required to fly in service, but i guess if one day he decides to leave the military he can join civvy street either as a doctor or as a student pilot with some handy experience under his belt. And he gets to be near some pretty cool machines that most civvy pilots wouldn't touch.

Don't know if USAF can offer similar schemes/sponsorships but worth asking. Both careers require alot of dedication & determination & realistically you do need to choose one path. Suggest you do some asking around current proffesionals before you decide - Happy searching :)

[VFE]

At the end of the day mate you either want to be up in the sky or you want to be down on the ground with the rest.

I am really interested in it, but am discouraged because of the stiff competition

If this is the case I think it would be best to try something other than aviation if you want a blunt yes/no answer. ;)

Good luck,

VFE.

[Jetdriver]

Aviation

It is a difficult, frustrating industry to succeed in.
It frequently requires a near open ended financial commitment.
It requires a consistent and high standard of medical fitness.
It comes with absolutely no guarantees.
It has a very high rate of attrition.
It is intolerent of failure.
It requires a very high degree of personal commitment.
It requires luck.

For some people all the drawbacks still are outweighed by the desire. The risks are worth the difficulties.

My one piece of advice would be that if you are not sure or not dedicated to the pursuit of Aviation as a career then it would be wise to consider other careers. The competition ( just read these forums) is enormous and even then the drop out rate for all the reasons listed ( and more besides) is high !

On the other hand if you accept the risks and luck is on your side then it can be very rewarding and well worth going for.

[Crashlanding]

My advice, I started flying at 21 but didnt realy start studying for the ATP`s till last year now 26. This was because I was doing my degree. Being honest I wish I could have had the correspondance material to do while doing my degree so that I could have finished that much faster.

Apart from that doint give up on the end goal

[G-LOST]

Don't let anyone talk you out of it - the only judge of whether this career is for you, is you. Go to an airport, sit at the end of a runway, look at the planes and reflect on things. If, after a couple of hours, they still seem more interesting to you than the job you should be doing at that very moment, then there's your answer. It worked for me.

[Capt L]

Why not go for a Trial Flying Lesson?

You will either hate it or love it, and your question will be answered! :D

[skysheriff]

if you are american, you can go for the national guard, you can even fly F16s in the national guard (on week-ends only) and combine it with a regular full-time work during the week.

[redsnail]

Ok, it sounds like you are a bit worried about the future of flying.
Degrees aren't the be all and end all.

Some suggestions for others too.
You can become an aircraft mechanic either by an apprenticeship or via the services. I'd get the A levels etc.
You'd get paid to train and your skills are a valuable commodity. Most of the time, engineers earn a lot more than pilots. (Only in the Jet world does it go the other way).
I don't know many unemployed engineers (I don't mean aeronautical ones) and if they are, it isn't for long.
While you are working in the industry you'd certainly get to know about it and how to go about getting flying qualifications. Another advantage is that the ATPL techs aren't nearly as difficult because you are familiar with the systems and so forth.

If I could have done this, I would have.

[Jim SC]

Thanks all. I'll keep looking into it.