[SnareMV17]

Hello everyone,

I've been reading through these forums for a few months now. Back in October/November, I decided to make being a professional pilot my goal. I'm 25 years old, without a college degree, and live in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.

I tried to talk good old mom into co-signing on a loan to get me into ATP back in October, but cooler heads prevailed and she vowed to co-sign on a loan to any academy I chose AFTER I get my college degree. So here I am, working on my Bachelor's in Aviation at San Jose State University. It will be a few more years before I'm done, as I just started full time in the fall. I'm almost done with my first full year!

The original plan was to attend ATP, but since I started looking, ATP's price has jumped 10k. Since I've been reading these boards as well as a few others, I've since decided to look at other options. San Jose State's flying club, the "Flying Twenty", rents it's planes for $75/hr and instructors for a max of $25/hr for students, faculty, and alumni. I just recently decided to look into doing some of my training there. Perhaps at least for the PPL.

So here I am, without much money, working on a degree, and in the middle of a recession in both the industry and the economy. Where the heck do I go from here? The ATP dream is quickly fadeing and I need some help and guidence. Anything you guys can offer up would be wonderful. Thanks!

Chris