16 Year Old Aspiring Pilot
Nobody will convince this young man to not pursue a career in aviation as no doubt his hair stands on ends when he hears the sound of a jet engine taxying onto the bay as it did and still does for me and most on this forum.
If I could have you listen to only one thing it would be to have a backup career, a trade, a degree or something. As when, in this career, it goes wrong (happens from the top of the industry to the bottom) and you find yourself on the wrong side of the fence you are completely worthless in the job market. It's an extremely risky career and one that most with young families now would advise to stay away from.
Good luck with it, be prepared to fly in the Middle East or for an Asian carrier. I'm lucky, I make good money and fly a jet with a big company so it worked out for me. For many it didn't work and most of them never recovered emotionally or financially from the dreams of being an airline pilot being crushed. As a 737 Ansett pilot told me on a cockpit visit in the early 90s "this industry chews up and spits out young bright lads like you every day". I didn't listen, maybe I got lucky.
If I could have you listen to only one thing it would be to have a backup career, a trade, a degree or something. As when, in this career, it goes wrong (happens from the top of the industry to the bottom) and you find yourself on the wrong side of the fence you are completely worthless in the job market. It's an extremely risky career and one that most with young families now would advise to stay away from.
Good luck with it, be prepared to fly in the Middle East or for an Asian carrier. I'm lucky, I make good money and fly a jet with a big company so it worked out for me. For many it didn't work and most of them never recovered emotionally or financially from the dreams of being an airline pilot being crushed. As a 737 Ansett pilot told me on a cockpit visit in the early 90s "this industry chews up and spits out young bright lads like you every day". I didn't listen, maybe I got lucky.
In my experience having parents pay for it all won't be really helping you in the long term
Craviatormike, as said previously, Pprune can be full of negativity, only you can make the decision. Each of the posters on here has travelled his/her own road, which is reflected in their opinions. It is a lottery, and not everyone gets to where they would like to be. But that happens in all professions, people come out of uni with a qualification but are unable to gain employment in their chosen field.
Would you still want to do this if you had to pay for it all yourself?
My offspring had a job offer a week or two prior to taking the CPL ride. A case of being in the right place at the right time - the instructor got a phone call from an employer looking for a pilot and he put the offspring up for it. And no, it was not until much, much later that I was to meet the instructor, so absolutely no insider running for the offspring.
All I can say Craviatormike is follow your heart. Having something to fall back on as suggested by others would be nice to have in the back pocket, but then you have a problem, should you lose the coveted medical, of being in the position of trying to gain employment in that field with little to no experience and having to compete with much younger competitors.
Your call, but I wish you all the success in the world, and very much hope fortune smiles on you as much as she did on me.
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You can google every profession for "Don't become a doctor, don't become a lawyer....." and you'll find predictions of gloom.
At the end of the day, the average salary for an airline pilot in Australia is $25000 per year higher than a civil or mechanical engineer, scientist or accountant. A more broadly defined "commercial pilot" earns more on average than an aerospace engineer.
At the end of the day, the average salary for an airline pilot in Australia is $25000 per year higher than a civil or mechanical engineer, scientist or accountant. A more broadly defined "commercial pilot" earns more on average than an aerospace engineer.
sure, others jobs have pros and cons , but :
as a doctor or else, generally you don't pay for work (plus I know that doctors do not struggle to find a job...).
- you need real degree not only a licence. Meaning that there are tons of young who want to be pilot...and it's not difficult to get the licence, just pay for it.
- No need to study 5 years in a harder master.
- no transferable skills... vor, ils, etc are useless once you're out of the job.
(so have a back up plan!)
-others jobs are less subject to (fuel prices, wars, crash etc) whereas airlines are very sensitive.
so we can not compare.
Outside from australia, it's not paradise. Being a pilot is more being a contractor (asia, indonesia...) I know I am under it. Plus you paid a lot to "deserve it". Great...
So the best way is to have a real job and then apply for pilot. In 2015 that's the safest option.
Many give positive things because they are pilot since a long time and have a biased view, or few years. Nowadays, things are different and worse in the near futur.
So I don't say other jobs are better, but let's be honest. Pilot is really a particular job and a way of life (not only a job actually). When you fly, you chose an airport for divert, so the same if you aim this career.
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You ask about the "Medical"
All pilots do a medical exam for initial issue of a licence and an ongoing renewal every 6months, year, or 2 years depending on type of licence or age.
It is worthwhile you doing a class one medical before going very far down the flying route as some fairly minor conditions which you may not even be aware of may be an issue.
Many pilots have medical issues at some point in their life which stops them flying, sometimes permanently.
It is something to consider. It can be a great career, with drawbacks others have pointed out.
Best of luck.
All pilots do a medical exam for initial issue of a licence and an ongoing renewal every 6months, year, or 2 years depending on type of licence or age.
It is worthwhile you doing a class one medical before going very far down the flying route as some fairly minor conditions which you may not even be aware of may be an issue.
Many pilots have medical issues at some point in their life which stops them flying, sometimes permanently.
It is something to consider. It can be a great career, with drawbacks others have pointed out.
Best of luck.
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You're 16 and about to get "young", have fun, and take it easy in school. Education is not everything, despite what they keep telling you 
As mentioned earlier, fly gliders, it's not that expensive, and give you a good understanding of basic flying, and you can solo at a young age. The engine is just a noisy, shaky, polluting thingy in the front that lets you go a little further until you're in a glider again
As mentioned earlier, fly gliders, it's not that expensive, and give you a good understanding of basic flying, and you can solo at a young age. The engine is just a noisy, shaky, polluting thingy in the front that lets you go a little further until you're in a glider again
You ask about what goes wrong for most. Well from my observation, based on pure numbers, it was not leaving home, capital city or not sticking with it no matter how hard it got. Outside of this group is a group that fate decides it will play a trick on. It's the most random thing ever. It ranges from the wrong partner early in the career to a wrong decision on the job. This is an unforgiving, high stakes, high pressure industry so ignore those that pretend otherwise.
I don't want to harp on the negatives, you're 16 and need to enjoy life this is absolutely the most important thing. Doing what normal 16 year olds do will give you balance and that is what you will need no matter what career you choose. Young people that try to live ahead of their time end up trying to recreate their youth. This happened to a mate of mine and it didn't end well. Right now you need to go to those high school parties and have fun.
I flicked the switch at the end of schoolies (yes they had it back then). That switch never got turned off. I knew inside me when the time had come to get serious. This might be after uni for you or after you've worked for a few years it's up to you.
I had a think last night about what I wrote and I concluded that whilst I often recently wished I had taken another path I remembered the reason I didn't. I was 18 and I decided that I didn't want to be 45 and look back and say "gee I wish I gave it a go". At that point I decided that I would NEVER give up no matter what.
So it worked and I'm still proud of my job, my achievements and am moved when I hear my jet taxiing onto the bay. I think I was lucky but at the same time put everything I had into it. It took me years, there was no dream run.
For the record it's not a career I would like my children to take up. Its my opinion that I'll be the last generation of pilots that can regard it as an attractive career.
Good Luck.
I don't want to harp on the negatives, you're 16 and need to enjoy life this is absolutely the most important thing. Doing what normal 16 year olds do will give you balance and that is what you will need no matter what career you choose. Young people that try to live ahead of their time end up trying to recreate their youth. This happened to a mate of mine and it didn't end well. Right now you need to go to those high school parties and have fun.
I flicked the switch at the end of schoolies (yes they had it back then). That switch never got turned off. I knew inside me when the time had come to get serious. This might be after uni for you or after you've worked for a few years it's up to you.
I had a think last night about what I wrote and I concluded that whilst I often recently wished I had taken another path I remembered the reason I didn't. I was 18 and I decided that I didn't want to be 45 and look back and say "gee I wish I gave it a go". At that point I decided that I would NEVER give up no matter what.
So it worked and I'm still proud of my job, my achievements and am moved when I hear my jet taxiing onto the bay. I think I was lucky but at the same time put everything I had into it. It took me years, there was no dream run.
For the record it's not a career I would like my children to take up. Its my opinion that I'll be the last generation of pilots that can regard it as an attractive career.
Good Luck.
