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notawannabee · January 16th, 2007, 14:55

I have only a simple suggestion, and I have struggled with taking the leap into more ratings and possible career in aviation myself.

Last night I structured a " career plan " in two scenarios. One was being a pilot and the other is my usual desk job. I did a year by year analysis / comparison of pay between each profession. I did this in 5 year increments until I am 60 ( I am currently 34 ).

I make in the 40-50k range now and gave myself a top salary of 70k if I stay in the same line of work. If I chose the flying route ,I also took into account lost wages during training and interest on the SLM loan. I estimated a normal career progression in my industry and averaged the regional / majors pay scales for 10 airlines. I gave myself 4 years to make captain. It would be at least 3 years before I could bring home the same pay I do now.

OF course the aviation industry is constantly changing, but if it were to stay similar to what it is today, the salary on the aviation side really begins to catch up.

In my crystal ball for my situation :

years 1-10....aviation.....376,636 take home pay
years 1-10....desk..........411,569 take home pay

*in this calculation, I did not include the training loan of about 40k at 10% interest. This would amount to 471.60 / month payments for 180 months for a total of 85,000 !!!

The next 15 years look pretty good..assuming all variables hold ( I know they never do)

In this time span at 100.00 / hr take home pay is 937,360 take home on the aviation side and 797,280 for my current career.
I have hesitated taking the jump for 5-6 years now and keep looking back at the what if's....but you never know. Then again I am married and have 2 kids...my wife has a good paying job, but I still need to bring home a minimum of 1500.00 / month to keep things as simple as they are.

Enough about me, in your situation.....cash is nice to have, and you can even make it work for you. BUT, correct me if I'm wrong....the SLM loan has variable interest....and we know where interest rates are going...up.
I would consider paying for as much as half or more of training cost on your own. I have some good mutals that are doing in the 10-15% range and that's it. It's a balance..and I'm sure you are taking all this in consideration.

January 16th, 2007, 14:55	#8
notawannabee Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 217	Re: Joining in the fun.... I have only a simple suggestion, and I have struggled with taking the leap into more ratings and possible career in aviation myself. Last night I structured a " career plan " in two scenarios. One was being a pilot and the other is my usual desk job. I did a year by year analysis / comparison of pay between each profession. I did this in 5 year increments until I am 60 ( I am currently 34 ). I make in the 40-50k range now and gave myself a top salary of 70k if I stay in the same line of work. If I chose the flying route ,I also took into account lost wages during training and interest on the SLM loan. I estimated a normal career progression in my industry and averaged the regional / majors pay scales for 10 airlines. I gave myself 4 years to make captain. It would be at least 3 years before I could bring home the same pay I do now. OF course the aviation industry is constantly changing, but if it were to stay similar to what it is today, the salary on the aviation side really begins to catch up. In my crystal ball for my situation : years 1-10....aviation.....376,636 take home pay years 1-10....desk..........411,569 take home pay *in this calculation, I did not include the training loan of about 40k at 10% interest. This would amount to 471.60 / month payments for 180 months for a total of 85,000 !!! The next 15 years look pretty good..assuming all variables hold ( I know they never do) In this time span at 100.00 / hr take home pay is 937,360 take home on the aviation side and 797,280 for my current career. I have hesitated taking the jump for 5-6 years now and keep looking back at the what if's....but you never know. Then again I am married and have 2 kids...my wife has a good paying job, but I still need to bring home a minimum of 1500.00 / month to keep things as simple as they are. Enough about me, in your situation.....cash is nice to have, and you can even make it work for you. BUT, correct me if I'm wrong....the SLM loan has variable interest....and we know where interest rates are going...up. I would consider paying for as much as half or more of training cost on your own. I have some good mutals that are doing in the 10-15% range and that's it. It's a balance..and I'm sure you are taking all this in consideration.