Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

FormerHangie said:
Paul Newman came to racing later in life, I think he was about 45 when he started. He said, "everyone has 20 years (of racing) in them, it doesn't matter which 20". Come to think of it, my first race was in 1976 and my last in 1997, so I guess he was right.
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That’s encouraging. Ken Miles was older when he got into it as well, so maybe I’ve still got time. Now if only this shop would get finished...
 
dmspilot said:
No, it isn't.
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I dunno, there's about twice as many active doctors in the US than there are commercial/ATP pilots, and no one says medical school is a walk in the park.

Even at this point in my life, it would be quicker for me to go back to school and get my MD by the time I get the equivalent money flying for FedEx or UPS.

Unless of course you want to count being a line guy "breaking into the aviation field." I guess I could get a job as a janitor and break into the medical field.
 
2016-2019 was a really easy time to get into the 121 world. 25 hours of multi, a pulse and ATP mins were all that was required for any regional. My class at Delta had 23, 24, and 25 year olds in it.
 
Velocity173 said:
At 50 ft most of the time, we didn’t have much use for center. I suppose it was all fixed wing traffic.

Still think I met you one day at Kirkuk. Took a tour of tower. Male sup and 2 female controllers were working at the time.
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I had three female sups and one male. No other females so it probably wasn’t me
 
EdFred said:
I dunno, there's about twice as many active doctors in the US than there are commercial/ATP pilots, and no one says medical school is a walk in the park.

Even at this point in my life, it would be quicker for me to go back to school and get my MD by the time I get the equivalent money flying for FedEx or UPS.

Unless of course you want to count being a line guy "breaking into the aviation field." I guess I could get a job as a janitor and break into the medical field.
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When I said aviation was easy to enter, I was talking about entry level jobs. That's why they're called that. It's in the name. I can't see anyone considering FedEx captain (or FO) an entry level position.
 
dmspilot said:
When I said aviation was easy to enter, I was talking about entry level jobs. That's why they're called that. It's in the name. I can't see anyone considering FedEx captain (or FO) an entry level position.
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Have you spoken to any millennials or later generations? Of course that's an entry level job, and don't forget to tell them how good they are at it... Especially ATC... "THAT was a GREAT landing, captain! Please turn off at the last taxiway...."
 
dmspilot said:
When I said aviation was easy to enter, I was talking about entry level jobs. That's why they're called that. It's in the name.
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By that measure, just about any field is easy to enter. Go to school for XYZ and you start out with an entry level job, go to a flight school and get your ratings and you get an entry level job. Pretty much par for the course if you ask me.
 
RyanB said:
By that measure, just about any field is easy to enter. Go to school for XYZ and you start out with an entry level job, go to a flight school and get your ratings and you get an entry level job. Pretty much par for the course if you ask me.
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An “entry level” Doctor job requires a lot more work than an “entry level” burger flipping job. They’re both entry level. That was his point.

Sadly some “entry level” pro pilot jobs also pay lower than the burger flipper job, especially if your time has any value.

And it’s so cyclical. The “pilot shortage” years now are gone for a while. There were even rumblings of “Street Captains” at a handful of places there for a while.

Aviation is downright odd.
 
RyanB said:
By that measure, just about any field is easy to enter. Go to school for XYZ and you start out with an entry level job, go to a flight school and get your ratings and you get an entry level job. Pretty much par for the course if you ask me.
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I'm sure it's true for some and not others, but I'm not an expert on every possible career field.

By now I'm not even sure what my own point is, other than I originally wanted to try to help, but myself and others asked for more detail about your situation and you declined to give any so I'm done with this thread.
 
At 29, started down the road of trying to become an airline pilot back in late 2000. Solo'd in a 172R at 13hrs then 9/11 happened and the husband of someone close to our family died in an aviation accident building time after CPL dropping skydivers. Had a newborn at the time (just like our family friend who had died) and the wife was no longer thrilled with my preferred career path. Decided to press pause on the dream and ended up with just over 27 hrs TT. After 20 years the interest in aviation has not faded and I've kept an eye on the skies as I waited for the kids to get older and the opportunity to start training again to present itself. The time now seems to have finally come and I'm considering starting flight training. I've had a pretty long and decently successful career in tech as a program manager and now trying to work out the feasibility of a career change at 50 to pursue becoming a regional airline pilot. My wife is supportive so as crazy as it feels it is worth some research and thought. So, not sure yet if I'll just be prepping to start PPL with the goal of earning my IFR or whether something much bigger is lurking out in the future.

In hindsight, while it would have been tough to navigate the whole post 9/11 time period, it still feels like I should have just gutted it out and stuck with the training but at a slower the pace.
 
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