What do you think?

[Centex402]

I have always had the dream of being an airline pilot but... I have had my current job for 12 years and get paid decently with job security. My wife supports whatever I do, but, to walk away from $70,000+ to make $20,000 at a regional and be in an unsure enviroment makes me question my desire and stay where I am. I like my current employment but flying is my "home". I was thinking about buying a plane and lease-back to a local FBO so I could fly more regularly and not be strapped for cash. I can go to ATP, a local FBO, etc. to get ratings and time built but being 34 years old it's time to make a commitment and I'd like your opinion on what you'd do. Not to say that money isn't an issue but I could get the additional training without problem. I have about 2 years of salary saved so there is a cushion with $$$. BTW my TT is 110 SE with complex endorsement. I mention the money because some people will ask and it makes things clearer on the general perspective.

[Tram]

What do I think?

Don't do it....

Well.. maybe.. I dunno... depends...

How old are you?
How much more can you make at the current job?
Will the current job support you into retirement?
Can you see yourself doing your job forever?

I *HOPE* to one day make more than $70K and have 16-18ish days off month... I think if I can do that.. It'll be worth it..

[madmax]

If you don't mind your current job and can see youself sticking around, I would suggest buying a plane, that way you still have a good job that pays well and you can fly your heart out. But when you get tired of flying (or fail a medical) you can still support your family!

[Centex402]

Originally Posted by Tram

What do I think?

Don't do it....

Well.. maybe.. I dunno... depends...

How old are you?
How much more can you make at the current job?
Will the current job support you into retirement?
Can you see yourself doing your job forever?

I *HOPE* to one day make more than $70K and have 16-18ish days off month... I think if I can do that.. It'll be worth it..

I'm 34 and almost topped out in salary. The job will support into retirement and I can do the job until I either die or get to the age of 42 which will be 20 years until retirement. Thanks for the comments

[Centex402]

Originally Posted by Centex402

I'm 34 and almost topped out in salary. The job will support into retirement and I can do the job until I either die or get to the age of 42 which will be 8 more years until retirement. Thanks for the comments

[Crockrocket94]

Sounds like you should get your CFI ratings and do it on the side

If you dont want to take a major paycut, just work on the ratings for a while and fly as a side gig.

You like to fly, teach other people to fly!

BTW look into Skymates near Austin.

Go see either Chris or Josh. Both are good guys!

[flying_ME]

Originally Posted by Crockrocket94

Sounds like you should get your CFI ratings and do it on the side

I second this... get your CFI ratings, keep your good paying job, and teach part time. Let your students pay for your pleasure flying and still be able to support the family with the non-flying job. I've been lurking a long time here and it's been said many times; it's not always beer and skittles when you try to turn your passion into a job (paraphrasing of course).

[jtrain609]

Erm...Skymates is in Arlington, not Austin! It's a wee bit of a drive up to Dallas.

[Itchy]

I urge you in the strongest possible terms to *not* quit your day job.

[beechpilot84]

Honestly I think you should stay at your job. As suggested just contiune your training and get go to CFI. Teach on the side and weekends and just have fun with it.

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by Tram

I *HOPE* to one day make more than $70K and have 16-18ish days off month... I think if I can do that.. It'll be worth it..

I know many regional captains who do just that. ^^

To the original poster. Only you can make this decision for yourself. Great to get advice, but only you know what would truly make you happy. It is very possible to match your current salary, as a regional captain. It may take some time, depending on how long it takes you to upgrade, but it isn't a $20K/year job, forever. The downside would be the instability of the airline industry. It sounds like you have a stable job now.

If you do make the jump, I would work another year, in your current job, and save as much as possible into a "flying account". Use that money to train at a local FBO. I am currently doing just that, and plan to have no debt from flight training. I think that is the best way, regardless of what career you are training for, as compared to having $50K in debt. It will make it ALOT easier, starting out in a career, if you aren't worried about paying back a loan.

Best of luck in whatever you decide!

[mtsu_av8er]

I think it depends on what you want.

Personally, I LOVE flying for an airline. It's not just the flying ; it's the challenging schedule, the variety of the daily challenges, and the different people that I get to work with. It's more than just the flying, although that is a big part of it.

Flying for an airline means days away from home, relatively low pay, living out of a suitcase in [sometimes] crummy hotels, eating on the go, and working with multiple personality types on a daily basis. If you are driven by such a lifestyle (as I am), then no other job can offer that with the addition of being able to fly awesome airplanes.

If you're in it JUST for the flying, with no desire to live on the road for over half of your life, then keep the day job and fly on the side for fun.

As I've said, I love pretty much everything about flying for an air carrier - I don't do it for the scrilla. Some people don't see it that way.

[Centex402]

I have read topics of all kinds for the past couple of years on this forum and it seems that everyone is respectful in their opinions whether they agree or disagree. I appreciate the PM's and honesty here. Doug, you set a good example and I think I speak for most, if not all, that this is a unique place for us to express thoughts and have (mostly ) level headed people give their suggestions.

I raise my glass to the fellow JC'ers and if any of you make it to the AUS-SAT area let me know. Drinks are on me.

[Chief Captain]

A lot of people have suggested being a CFI, but what if you want more out of flying? What if you want the big shiny jet? Honestly, you have to follow your soul. If flying is all you think about, you'll have to take the pay cut, but it won't stay there forever. It'll take you a while to regain your earning power, but you say you're maxed out. You can max out much higher than that if you're in a cockpit.

Another thing you have going is experience. Most people who want to make the career change have no flight time. You're already half way to your commercial.

Now I won't say to follow your dream if it means loosing your money, cause money is very important, but here's the way I look at it- I can keep my current career, and on my death bed, I'll have lots of money that I can't take with me, and I'll die wanting to fly, or, I can loose some money, and die knowing what it is to fly. Who knows, maybe you can take the memories with you, but the money definitely stays.

[ElyJs]

I am worried about getting by on a regional salary...but I have never made that much money. I am accustomed to living off that kind of money (I spent 2 summers of college living in a tent ). I could not imagine going from 70k to 20 or 30k. Just the same way that I don't think many people that make 120k a year could go back to living off of 50k.

QOL is relative and your QOL at a regional will be significantly different. I really like the CFI idea. Being a CFI gives me a huge amount of personal satisfaction. Giving someone the gift/privilege of flight is amazing. In my area (Colorado) it seems the majority (or at least a lot) of CFIs do it part time to supplement there income (kinda) and to keep flying.

Americans are good at spending everything they make .

-Jason
www.flyboulder.com

[30West]

[quote=Crockrocket94;794991]Sounds like you should get your CFI ratings and do it on the side

If you dont want to take a major paycut, just work on the ratings for a while and fly as a side gig.

You like to fly, teach other people to fly!

quote]

This is a great idea, get the CFI and commercial and do something fun like flying skydivers, or CFI on the weekends. You dont have to fly a shiny jet to enjoy aviation. Actually I have found that the amount of fun you can have in an airplane is inversely proportional to its size. CFIing was alot of fun and very rewarding. Knowing what I do now, there is no way Id walk away from a good nonflying career at 34 and get into a poorly paying(for the most part) unstable industry where you are going to spend alot of the time away from the wife and kids. One of my copilots just missed his baby girl's first steps while we we sitting on hot call in NJ..do you want to be that guy?

[moxiepilot]

Originally Posted by flying_ME

I second this... get your CFI ratings, keep your good paying job, and teach part time. Let your students pay for your pleasure flying and still be able to support the family with the non-flying job. I've been lurking a long time here and it's been said many times; it's not always beer and skittles when you try to turn your passion into a job (paraphrasing of course).

[mhcasey]

Originally Posted by Centex402

I raise my glass to the fellow JC'ers and if any of you make it to the AUS-SAT area let me know. Drinks are on me.

OK I'll claim that offer! And if you want to start flying, I'm a CFI/II in Austin. Give me a shout.

[surreal1221]

This is a no brainer to me.

You keep your well paying job, purchase a plane and fly recreationally.

The End.

Best of luck.

[jtrain609]

I've got to admit, while I'm only a kid, I got into this gig when it was A LOT cheaper to learn how to fly. When I started out in 1998 you could rent a Cessna 172 for $55 an hour and an instructor for $20 no problem. Avgas was $2.00 a gallon and I think mogas was about $1.00 a gallon.

By the time I got around to flight instructing in 2006, you couldn't rent an old 172 for under $100 an hour and I cost my students $40 an hour, and we weren't even the most expensive gig in town!

I don't know if I could justify spending the kind of money it takes to become a pilot now. I enjoy the heck out of my job, but I'm also only 25 and I don't have any kids yet (wife's coming in September). I'm not sure I could in good conscious walk away from her to train for 6 months, then make $10,000 a year as a flight instructor, THEN make $19,000 a year, first year at a regional. That's a heck of a lot to give up to MAYBE make $45,000 your second year at a regional...if you don't lose your job.

[SeanD]

Originally Posted by mtsu_av8er

I think it depends on what you want.

Personally, I LOVE flying for an airline. It's not just the flying ; it's the challenging schedule, the variety of the daily challenges, and the different people that I get to work with. It's more than just the flying, although that is a big part of it.

Flying for an airline means days away from home, relatively low pay, living out of a suitcase in [sometimes] crummy hotels, eating on the go, and working with multiple personality types on a daily basis. If you are driven by such a lifestyle (as I am), then no other job can offer that with the addition of being able to fly awesome airplanes.

If you're in it JUST for the flying, with no desire to live on the road for over half of your life, then keep the day job and fly on the side for fun.

As I've said, I love pretty much everything about flying for an air carrier - I don't do it for the scrilla. Some people don't see it that way.

I honestly think Lloyd is that pilot who peaks out of the terminal window at his chariot for the day and gets giddy every time. Am I right or am I right .

[EatSleepFly]

Maybe I missed it, but do you have kids?

If not, and as long as your wife is supportive, I say go for it if it's what you really want to do.

If you do have kids, I happen to think that ditching a well-paying job to plunk down $60k or whatever it is now for ratings to get a job that MIGHT pay $20k your first year is wildly and ridiculously irresponsible and selfish.

(And this is coming from someone who doesn't have kids, doesn't want kids, and pretty much doesn't even like kids.)

However, it gets done all the time. Sometimes with good results, sometimes with ugly results. I guess it's up to you whether to roll the dice on your kids' future. I don't have a whole lot of respect for those who do, but that's just me.

[wheelsup]

The happiest pilots I know were guys that made good money out of college and bought up houses and apartments to support their career change. They are flying now but if they lost their job it wouldn't mean the end of the world.

If you're worried about the $$ aspect consider that within 3 years of hitting the regionals you'll probably be right around the same figure money wise, +/- 1 year unless you get unlucky.

[Centex402]

Thanks for all the replies, good, bad, or inbetween.

[Realms09]

Originally Posted by jtrain609

By the time I got around to flight instructing in 2006, you couldn't rent an old 172 for under $100 an hour and I cost my students $40 an hour, and we weren't even the most expensive gig in town!

I don't know if I could justify spending the kind of money it takes to become a pilot now.

Jtrain brings up a good point regarding the increased costs of general aviation of flying as it relates to an investment in a career. Let me mention the flip side. How often and what do you need to fly to satisfy the pilot inside you? 100 hours a year? 200? How much will that cost to maintain each year? As time marches on, increases in flying cost make it a more difficult side-hobby to sustain at a satisfying level.

If you need those 200 hours of time behind the yoke/stick to feel complete, then perhaps a professional flying career could be more economical once you reach the regional captain level. The caveat is that there is no definite timeline to achieving that pay grade.

That does not, unfortunately, remove the stability problem, time away from home, etc.