Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas_Toyman 
I have concerns though.
What is the right school to go to?
Can I really get the training and experience I need to be a FO on a regional jet w/in 3 or 4 months?
I was making a little over $51k last year in my IT job. I've been told due to my age (41 as of yesterday), that I would be making a little higher pay as a 1st year pilot and have better opportunity. Would anyone say this is true?
I have heard you don't make much money as a first year pilot. What about the following years?
Anyway, I was thinking I could go to flight school during the day and get an after hours help desk job for some sort of income while in training.
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Very legit concerns you have. The right school is up to you. You will have to do the research and decide what best fits you and your financial situation. Starting with zero time and being in the right seat in 3 to 4 months is possible, however myself and most everybody else on this site would recommend flight instructing for a while (builds invaluable flight experience and decision making skills), and even flying part 135 freight (though you will need 1200 hours to do so). Many people bypass these two activities because at some airlines you can be hired with 300 hours.
As far as the pay thing goes, just because you are older does not mean you will make more money the first year. First year pay, well, for lack of a better term, sucks, at pretty much every airline. Second year pay is usually a pretty good increase from first year pay. I wouldn't count on making 51K until you upgrade to captain at your airline, and that can take anywhere from 2-5 years on average (depends on what airline you work for).
When you go to flight school, be careful getting an after hours job, because 1) you will need to study, a lot, and 2) you need to sleep sometime, and to fly, you need to be on top of your game, wide awake.
Hope this helps a bit.