Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonB  WRONG!
Take it from someone who did follow the money: it's not worth it. I grew up always wanting to be a pilot, but also wanting to live "very comfortably". I pursued a career in I.T. and have been quite successful, but I am absolutely MISERABLE. I can honestly say that I'd rather be living in 2 bedroom apartment (one bedroom for each kid; wife and I will sleep on the couch) and living off noodles than work another day in I.T.
I'm knocking on the door of 30 years old, and I'm going for it (provided I have no issues getting a 1st class medical).
Life is too damn short to wonder "what if". Hindsight is always 20/20, and we all complain that we don't have that luxury. That's not true. Look around you. Look at guys like me. I went down the "safe path". The safe path is balls. If you don't like what you're doing and you can't look yourself in the mirror, you won't enjoy a single penny. Trust me. I've chased hobby after hobby trying to make myself happy. It simply doesn't work. I watched my dad go through the same thing and he never did anything about it. I finally woke up and decided I wasn't going to make the same mistake.
So it sounds like you're young... early 20's I'm guessing.
It only gets harder as you get older.
If you truly love flying and want to make a career out of it, I advise pursuing it at all (legal) costs. If you have to go into debt and dodge bill collectors for the next 20 years while you build time and earn seniority, then do it. If you don't do it, you will HATE yourself. |
Yeah, I'm 24, so I really can't put off anything much longer. I'm about 50/50 between becoming a pilot and going into law enforcement. I'm trying to get into federal LE, which is a long process. The issues with being a pilot right now are the money, long time away from home, the amount of time it will take me to become a pilot from right now(no hours), and continuing to live at home in my 20's. My issues with LE are sort of similar, like the money(although some positions do pay quite well) but retirement is usually decent, the amount of work hours, and the risks of the job. Both positions are very interesting to me, which makes it even harder to choose...