Yes, Another Career Changer Question.....

[JEP]

.....bear with me for a minute.....

I have been around JC for some time now and read many a Career Changer threads....One thing I have not picked up on was when the decision was made.

At what point did you finally, say 'screw it' (for lack of a better term) and go full bore to knock everything out. Was there a point when you said it's now or never? And if there was that point, what brought you to that? Age, desire, current job, etc.......?

[ComplexHiAv8r]

Making the jump is VERY hard, as you well know. Multiple things get added to the equation as well including spouse, kids, etc. You will have to give up some things if you want to make the jump (thinking football, not the spouse/kids!). Support from family is a big help also (just keep playing that song....you know the one)

You know my story, its hard to walk away from a buisness that has some decent perks, but just keeping it moving forward is the plan at the momment.

Grass getting browner there???

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by JEP

.....bear with me for a minute.....

I have been around JC for some time now and read many a Career Changer threads....One thing I have not picked up on was when the decision was made.

At what point did you finally, say 'screw it' (for lack of a better term) and go full bore to knock everything out. Was there a point when you said it's now or never? And if there was that point, what brought you to that? Age, desire, current job, etc.......?

Mine was sorta easy - I had a predetermined time line (my ETS date), but I could have (and almost did) stayed in longer.

Since the timeline method worked well for me, maybe others could try and give it a shot.

Pick a date, and stick with it. Try your butt off to save money, get ratings, build time, but no matter what, stick to the date!! Once the date comes, quit your job.

There will ALWAYS be excuses! Money, family, benefits, etc, etc. Whatever. If you really want to affect a a change in your life, just do it.

No, seriously, just do it.

Wanna see a good example of how it can be done? Check out EastbayK's husband. (I don't think he posts.) Less than 2 years ago he was no where near being a professional pilot, today he flies for XJET.

[pedro]

I'm not really much of a career changer. I'm 24 and work for a great Internet company(think domain names and the Super Bowl). the potential for growth in the company is high and I could have a very good career, especially considering how much I make here WITHOUT a college education.

I don't remember exactly what sparked the interest in flying again for me, maybe it's me wanting to have a meaningful career that *eventually* will have a high earning potential. Maybe its because I watch the corporate jets fly in and out of Scottsdale Airport all day from my cubicle.

What I do know is that THIS WEBSITE is part of the reason why I'm stickin with it. The encouragement (and discouragement) from everyone here really prepares you for whats ahead. I also really want a captains hat

[SteveC]

I stuck my toe in to test the water, then one leg, then finally jumped all the way in.

My story is probably unusual because I had been flying for almost 10 years as a hobby (and for work travel) prior to deciding that flying was more fun and rewarding than what I was doing as a career up until then. Most of the guys that come to JC wanting to career change don't have 1,000+ hours built up already. But, it just goes to show that there are many different paths.

When I finally decided that I wanted to switch to flying full time I concentrated on finishing building hours to 135 minimums and began networking. When I hit the 1200 mark a local charter outfit put me to work on a part-time basis flying twin Cessnas. After a year of burning all my available vacation time on flying, they offered me a full-time position so I quit my *real* job and made the switch.

[skidz]

Originally Posted by JEP

.....bear with me for a minute.....

I have been around JC for some time now and read many a Career Changer threads....One thing I have not picked up on was when the decision was made.

At what point did you finally, say 'screw it' (for lack of a better term) and go full bore to knock everything out. Was there a point when you said it's now or never? And if there was that point, what brought you to that? Age, desire, current job, etc.......?

I said screw it about 7 years ago, but the money said "whoa, mister wait a minute here...and how exactly you gonna do that?" So I joined the Navy. (insert top gun theme song here) It was cool at times, I got to work on airplanes, on the carrier deck, started college, got my private and now I'm really saying "screw it" and as soon as I finish college in few months I will be all over it, got my gibill ready to roll, I'm expecting no less than blood sweat and tears...ok and maybe a beer or two ...but don't worry I'll update you guys on the progress. I've read some of the stories from other guys here and that gave me a real boost (thanx ready2fly+some others I didnt remember) Who knows maybe I make Doug's front page one day

So...screw it! I'm in!

[skidz]

Originally Posted by JEP

And if there was that point, what brought you to that? Age, desire, current job, etc.......?

I was thinking a minute or two whether I should answer this and how and I figured I'll just say it. My story is quite complicated but as long as I remember I was impressed by the airplanes. The problem is, I was born and grew up in Croatia so there is 0.0001% prospect of doing something like this. The pilots overthere are selected few with big pulls. On top of that when I was finishing high school the war broke out, I had to do the mandatory Army service + I was drafted for 4 months or so, my desire to go to college was severely affected by the whole thing. After the war I met my American wife and decided to come to the States, I was 27 and right after coming to the States I realized that my unrealistic dreams could actually become a reality. I was excited about it. Unfortunately, even for the American born people the flying is still out of the reach of many. I decided to enlist in the Navy and take it a step at the time. It has been a great ride so far, I became an American citizen, I got my Private pilot license, I did everything I wanted to and all I can say God bless this country and everything in it. I love it.
Now, I know I can make it, I do have some worries though. I wonder if my foreign origin will negatively affect my ability to compete with others. Other than that, I'm a game for anything. I have no criminal record, currently waiting on security clearance from DOD, been through FBI checks and all that for the green card and citizenship so ... there you have it, if I make it it will be a great American dream story I think...till then, keep reading my posts and thanks for flying "skidz air"

[gcman6]

I am still in the process. I am lucky enough to have a very flexible job and so I can fly pretty much anytime of the day I want to. I'm just changing careers gradually, working to pay for flying.

[LoadMasterC141]

Well I would not say I am in the "Full-Bore" stage just yet. I was inches away from doing that and stepped back to reality. Patience is a virtue, just not usually a virtue of mine, so I am amazed I am fairing well doing it this way. Eventually though, the full plunge will take place.

As for the "when did I know" part, well I kind of always knew I guess. Being brought up in a family of miltary pilots, I always wanted to be one. I thought my world ended when my eyesight went outside the uncorrected mins in college. From that point, I never considered the civilian world because A) I wanted to be a military pilot and B) The cost was outrageous to me. I figured I could mediate my burning pilot desire by being successful in another career, making lots of dough, and having lots of toys. Well, I don't even make 6 figures yet and I got to a "comfortable" lifestyle with lots of toys and extra money. It took me getting to this point to realize how much of my life is actually spent at a job I hate to have this though. That was the moment I KNEW I had to give the pilot thing a go, or I would never forgive myself.

[skidz]

Originally Posted by LoadMasterC141

It took me getting to this point to realize how much of my life is actually spent at a job I hate to have this though. That was the moment I KNEW I had to give the pilot thing a go, or I would never forgive myself.

How far did you get with flying? I always like to say flying is the best thing you can do for money and it doesn't have to be commercial flying. I think even if I make it as high as the Dreamliner or a380 doesn't matter because I will always get a blast buzzing around in c172...you gotta love it....

I see some people on jc that are asking whether they should fly or not or whether they have a chance for a career and if not then they won't even try...that's all crap, if you like it you do it, if you make a career... good, if not, so what? Why making it so complicated? dang it, just fly

[LoadMasterC141]

Reference other posts in this career changer area...I just finished my PPL and am moving into the IFR rating now. Your right, 172 or A380(though I obviously have no knowledge of the latter) flying is a blast!

[eastbayk]

Originally Posted by Ian J

Wanna see a good example of how it can be done? Check out EastbayK's husband. (I don't think he posts.) Less than 2 years ago he was no where near being a professional pilot, today he flies for XJET.

OK, so 11 days later I just realized there was a reference to me here...

Yes, 2 years ago he had about 10 hours TT and a burning lifelong desire. Basically I got tired of hearing him talk about "someday when I'm a pilot" without seeing him make any progress at it or even fly on the weekends. So I told him "S$%^ or get off the pot buddy, 'cause I'm tired of hearing about someday". He about ran the car off the road in shock. 4 months later we moved cross country for training.

For us it happened to be the right time and combination of things. He had topped out at his job. We couldn't get by in the area we were living in on the salary he was making. He was 34, still young enough to have a good career ahead but felt like he was getting too old to make the change. We had retirement and home equity money we could cash out to pay for training. And most of important, it was the right time in our lives to make a major change. He had always wanted to be a pilot, but the starter wife had balked at any job that required him to spend the night away from her (he also had to sacrifice career dream #2, the law enforcement officer for her). I'm more of an absence makes the heart grow fonder kind of gal.

We talked about staying in CA and doing the training on evenings and weekends, but with both of us working we would have never seen each other. We decide to take the ripping off the band-aid approach. The year he was in training/instructing was hard, but it was only a year. Dragging it out indefinetly would have driven me nuts and been harder on us, both financially and emotionally. So we just bit the bullet and went for it. Yeah, there were a lot of naysayers that we had to deal with, but we kept at it.

And as Ian said, now he's an FO for Xjet. Who has never posted on JC. CaptainBob is another career changer who made a sucessful transistion.

K

[wrxpilot]

Originally Posted by JEP

.....bear with me for a minute.....

I have been around JC for some time now and read many a Career Changer threads....One thing I have not picked up on was when the decision was made.

At what point did you finally, say 'screw it' (for lack of a better term) and go full bore to knock everything out. Was there a point when you said it's now or never? And if there was that point, what brought you to that? Age, desire, current job, etc.......?

Well, that's a hard one JEP. I honestly don't know how to answer that. Every since I started flying, I knew this was what I wanted to do. But it was still a hard decision... Mostly it was difficult for me to remain focused on my non-flying engineering job (which paid the bills) while I worked towards my ratings. So many times I just wanted to say "screw this" and get some loans and just get it done. Not to mention how frustrating it was to make so many sacrifices outside of work to get my ratings done.

Somehow I stayed the course, and I quit my "real" job at the end of May to move from Colorado to south FL and work on my CFI. I passed my CFI x-ride on July 5th and have been working as a CFI since. So far it freakin' rocks - I love the job. It is so nice to finally have a job I like!!

So what's this tough part I spoke of? Well, it was pretty easy to say I was going to quit my job when getting my CFI was years or even just months down the road. My target date shifted back a couple of months, which allowed some breathing room. But in April I was on track for a may departure from the engineering world, and it finally sunk in that I was going to be qutting a $60k/yr job with great benefits and appreciative management (but low job satisfaction) for a a crap pay, un-appreciative managment job (but with GREAT job satisfaction). Honestly, it was/is scary. But I figure it's better than wondering "what if?" the rest of my life.

Already I've been lucky enough to have a great student (a houseswife with 4 kids of all things) that has really made me enjoy being a CFI. If I continue to have students like this, it'll be worth it. Good luck.

[JJS]

I was similar to those above wherein I had a good job that paid all of the bills and then some, great benefits and a descent QOL. However, I sat at a desk everyday staring at a wall and a picture of a C172 cockpit and wanted nothing more to be in the sky. I started taking lessons and eventually got my ppl. I graduated from college about 6 months later and decided that if I didn’t make the leap then I would get stuck in an engineering job and always be wondering what if. Now don’t get me wrong, engineering is a great field and I always have it sitting on the backburner, but being an airline pilot is what I have always wanted to do.

I quit my job in December and took a small vacation to go to MSP to see the fiancée. I started my instrument rating in mid February and finished it at the end of Feb. I moved to Arlington at the beginning of March and went to Skymates to do time-builing and comm/CFI. I finished that up by the end of August and the only reason it took me so long was because I dragged my feet on the time-builiding part. I instructed for about 6 months and took a job with Colgan and I am currently enjoying first year FO pay. The best thing I can tell you is that when you decide to make the jump make sure you have some money saved up to compensate for the loss of income and get the training done as fast as you can. Like IanJ said, you just have to do it. You can always go back and get another job that’s as good or better than the one you have now because you have the experience in the field which is huge. Good luck with your decision. If you need help with anything or just want to shoot the bull about flying I live in Minneapolis so just shoot me a PM.

JJ

[Chewie von Nubbins]

When it really hit me? When the lightbulb went off with all of the bells and whistles?


When I had supper with Captain Bob and Jtrain. That was when I could clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel. What it is that all of the ratings and CFI'ing and stuff is all for.

As long as I don't steal an iPod along the way in an airport...I could very well have my very own tiller one day. That is the 5 year goal! But, before all of that nonsense, I got to finish up the IR and CMEL/CSEL. I'll be there very shortly though...very shortly.

[NW_Pilot]

I'm not there yet either. Still at my suck ass job as a building contractor and can't wait to get back in the air.

I decided to be a pilot when I was about 5 or 6 and wound up getting suckered into construction for the last 23 years I started my training in '99 and got my PPL '00, flew a bunch of hours started my IR and had to put flying to the side for a while.

I need to finish my IR/CSEL/CMEL/CFII that ought to keep me busy for a while. Hopefully some oppurtunities to fly full time come my way soon.

[ComplexHiAv8r]

Originally Posted by NW_Pilot

I'm not there yet either. Still at my suck ass job as a building contractor and can't wait to get back in the air.

I decided to be a pilot when I was about 5 or 6 and wound up getting suckered into construction for the last 23 years I started my training in '99 and got my PPL '00, flew a bunch of hours started my IR and had to put flying to the side for a while.

I need to finish my IR/CSEL/CMEL/CFII that ought to keep me busy for a while. Hopefully some oppurtunities to fly full time come my way soon.

This sounds very familar for some reason, except engineering instead of construction. PPL in '99