Pursuing a career in aviation

Arbiter419

Arbiter419

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CAucker
Hello everyone,

There were a few threads around here lately concerning careers in aviation, and until this point, I thought I was pretty set on becoming a commercial pilot by attending an aviation college for x years.

My situation is a little bit different than most however. I'm currently working towards my private certificate, and is very likely that I'll have my instrument certification by the end of the summer of '10. I'd then go to this aviation college to...well I'm not really sure. I have a lot of talking to do with the guidance counselors at my school (I'm a senior)

I've always had every part of me set on being a pilot, and it kind of seems to me like commercial aviation is the way to go. Is this true?

Thanks for any insight, I'm really just looking for responses to get me thinking here.
 
Arbiter419 said:
Hello everyone,

There were a few threads around here lately concerning careers in aviation, and until this point, I thought I was pretty set on becoming a commercial pilot by attending an aviation college for x years.

My situation is a little bit different than most however. I'm currently working towards my private certificate, and is very likely that I'll have my instrument certification by the end of the summer of '10. I'd then go to this aviation college to...well I'm not really sure. I have a lot of talking to do with the guidance counselors at my school (I'm a senior)

I've always had every part of me set on being a pilot, and it kind of seems to me like commercial aviation is the way to go. Is this true?

Thanks for any insight, I'm really just looking for responses to get me thinking here.
Click to expand...

Depends.

How do you want the next 10 years of your life to be? If you don't mind being poor, working random hours, and potentially dealing with a lot of debt than aviation is for you.

Once you finally do get established -- would you be ok with starting over again from poor? If so, aviation is for you.

Do you want to fly when someone else wants you to fly to where someone else wants you to fly? If so aviation is for you.

If you want to buy an airplane within the next 10 years and fly around to places you want to fly around...If so -- being a professional pilot is not for you.

The above are generalizations and it holds true for the majority of career pilots. There are exceptions. You can do well..but it is really a game of luck.
 
Jesse forgot one.

Do you want to come out of College owing $100K and work for less than a burger flipper at McDonalds? Then aviation is for you.
 
Wow.

That's an eye-opener.

I'm also (kind of strongly) considering the Air Force for two reasons. One, being I would (hopefully) get to fly. Not too picky about what, just no rotors. Two being that they'd pay for my education.

I have some serious thinking to do in the next month or so.
 
Check out ALL branches of the Armed forces before you pick just one. My nephew got a better deal from the Army.
 
Dean said:
Check out ALL branches of the Armed forces before you pick just one. My nephew got a better deal from the Army.
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Will do, there's actually a career/college fair tomorrow at school, and I'll be taking full advantage of that.
 
You might want to ask Jesse and Dean how much experience they have in commercial aviation before you rely too heavily on what they say about it.

I've been making a living in aviation for almost 37 years, and have never had to flip burgers and McDonald's.

YMMV.
 
I've been making a living in aviation for almost 37 years, and have never had to flip burgers and McDonald's.

YMMV.
Click to expand...

There are exceptions to every rule. :rofl:

BTW, your disclaimer is appropriate.
 
Ron Levy said:
I've been making a living in aviation for almost 37 years, and have never had to flip burgers and McDonald's.
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I never had to flip burgers but I was a waitress at Denny's... for about a month. :D
 
Arbiter419 said:
Wow.

That's an eye-opener.

I'm also (kind of strongly) considering the Air Force for two reasons. One, being I would (hopefully) get to fly. Not too picky about what, just no rotors. Two being that they'd pay for my education.

I have some serious thinking to do in the next month or so.
Click to expand...

Why no rotors? Okay, I joke about sling wings but they're really okay. Well, other than they're always in the way at the airport and in the pattern, and they make a lot of noise, and they're windy, and they vibrate, and they leak, and they drip oil, and they smell bad, and they cost a lot, and they require a lot of mx, and they burn too much gas, did I mention they drip oil everywhere?, and they taxi funny, and they always sound funny when they talk on the radio, and they...

:D
 
I entered Purdue's program with my private and instrument. If you'd like any information on the program here, feel free to send me a message. Right now the AvTech department is in the middle of restructuring the program to accommodate the 17 new aircraft we're taking delivery of next semester and over the summer of 2010 (14 SR20's, 2 SR22's and an Embraer Phenom 100). It's an exciting time, especially with a new department head this semester, the "new vision" is definitely something I am looking forward to here in the near future.

My decision to enter a university flight program largely had to do with the quality of training, increased opportunities, and reputation at Purdue. That said, I am pursuing a minor and more than likely, a dual major in Management (outside of aviation) as not only a back-up, but also as an education I can use to advance in the management sector of the industry.

Best,
Jason
 
not to take over the thread or anything but anyone know how the aeronautical/aerospace engineering field looks? i used to be dead set on flying in the military and im going to finish my application to the naval academy but im just not sure anymore. Same boat as OP,, senior this year and everything kind of fell apart lol. Ive been thinking about the engineering side more and more lately though.
 
Ron Levy said:
You might want to ask Jesse and Dean how much experience they have in commercial aviation before you rely too heavily on what they say about it.

I've been making a living in aviation for almost 37 years, and have never had to flip burgers and McDonald's.

YMMV.
Click to expand...

Ron is right, I am not a commercial aviator, I picked a career that paid better. I wanted more than to just "make a living" But like Greg said, there are exceptions.
 
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Ron Levy said:
You might want to ask Jesse and Dean how much experience they have in commercial aviation before you rely too heavily on what they say about it.

I've been making a living in aviation for almost 37 years, and have never had to flip burgers and McDonald's.

YMMV.
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Ron, you're established. You have hours. That means a lot right now. Now is not an easy time to go diving into aviation with no experience.

My list is the truth. You need to go into professional flying willing to accept a life of what I wrote. It might not happen to you -- but it's happening to a lot of folks right now. If you aren't willing to accept what I wrote then you're lieing to yourself.
 
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It's always been hard to break into aviation. This is nothing new. There are certain people who have impeccable timing and luck and some who hit all the down cycles wrong. It's like a game of musical chairs and you want to have a seat when the music stops. The thing is, you never know whether your seat is on the Titanic or not...
 
Riv-Rod said:
not to take over the thread or anything but anyone know how the aeronautical/aerospace engineering field looks? i used to be dead set on flying in the military and im going to finish my application to the naval academy but im just not sure anymore. Same boat as OP,, senior this year and everything kind of fell apart lol. Ive been thinking about the engineering side more and more lately though.
Click to expand...

Ok, when I was looking into things, I wanted to go into aero engineering, but the early '70s were bad for aero so I went into mechanical engineering looking to go into the auto industry. Of course, about the time I graduated, the auto companies were laying off engineers as fast as they could. So much for that plan.

After working for a utility company for about a year, I ended up getting a job in the auto industry and have been there for more than 30 years.

These things come and go - what is "hot" now may be stone cold in 4 years. Get a degree in what you want and go with it. You may not get into the company / industry right off, but if you stick to it you get there eventually. I've seen a lot of people switch between companies and between different industries.

If you pick something that can play across several industries that helps - aero is tough since you are pretty much limited to aerospace and auto companies. But everyone needs structural stuff - everyone needs control systems, etc. A lot of MEs, EEs etc. working in airplane companies. And after all these years, I am now working on controls for active aero devices at an auto company - go figure.
 
Rotor&Wing said:
The more moving parts the safer I feel. :D
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Just more stuff to fix! ;)

Everskyward said:
It's always been hard to break into aviation. This is nothing new. There are certain people who have impeccable timing and luck and some who hit all the down cycles wrong. It's like a game of musical chairs and you want to have a seat when the music stops. The thing is, you never know whether your seat is on the Titanic or not...
Click to expand...


Hrm...this is an extremely valid point.

My thanks to everyone!
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Ok, when I was looking into things, I wanted to go into aero engineering, but the early '70s were bad for aero so I went into mechanical engineering looking to go into the auto industry. Of course, about the time I graduated, the auto companies were laying off engineers as fast as they could. So much for that plan.

After working for a utility company for about a year, I ended up getting a job in the auto industry and have been there for more than 30 years.

These things come and go - what is "hot" now may be stone cold in 4 years. Get a degree in what you want and go with it. You may not get into the company / industry right off, but if you stick to it you get there eventually. I've seen a lot of people switch between companies and between different industries.

If you pick something that can play across several industries that helps - aero is tough since you are pretty much limited to aerospace and auto companies. But everyone needs structural stuff - everyone needs control systems, etc. A lot of MEs, EEs etc. working in airplane companies. And after all these years, I am now working on controls for active aero devices at an auto company - go figure.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight i was looking at ME too because it covers a little bit of everything. I like the mobility in that.
How important is your degree? as far as where its from? right out of the starting gate are they going to look at someone from MITor Georgia Tech over someone form the University of Florida ?
 
Maybe I should refine my statement a little bit...

I love to fly, and it's the only thing I've ever wanted to do. Ideally, I'd like to have a job that goes something like "You fly plane, you get money." (That's way over-simplified, I know)

Am I limited to commercial aviation? I know there's virtually no real money to be made in GA flight instruction.
 
Arbiter419 said:
Am I limited to commercial aviation? I know there's virtually no real money to be made in GA flight instruction.
Click to expand...
Flight instructing generally doesn't result in much pay. You'll likely be a flight instructor for a few years at some point in your career -- and you won't get rich while you're doing it. A commercial pilots rating does not equal a good paying commercial pilot's job. There are some "specialty" instruction cases where you can make a fair living but you need a lot of experience to do that.
 
Ron Levy said:
You might want to ask Jesse and Dean how much experience they have in commercial aviation before you rely too heavily on what they say about it.

I've been making a living in aviation for almost 37 years, and have never had to flip burgers and McDonald's.

YMMV.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but were you always able to afford burgers at McD's after college?
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Ok, when I was looking into things, I wanted to go into aero engineering, but the early '70s were bad for aero so I went into mechanical engineering looking to go into the auto industry. Of course, about the time I graduated, the auto companies were laying off engineers as fast as they could. So much for that plan.

After working for a utility company for about a year, I ended up getting a job in the auto industry and have been there for more than 30 years.

These things come and go - what is "hot" now may be stone cold in 4 years. Get a degree in what you want and go with it. You may not get into the company / industry right off, but if you stick to it you get there eventually. I've seen a lot of people switch between companies and between different industries.

If you pick something that can play across several industries that helps - aero is tough since you are pretty much limited to aerospace and auto companies. But everyone needs structural stuff - everyone needs control systems, etc. A lot of MEs, EEs etc. working in airplane companies. And after all these years, I am now working on controls for active aero devices at an auto company - go figure.
Click to expand...

For all we know this could be the perfect time to start training for an aviation career. There will be a bunch of baby boomer pilots retiring sometime in the not too distant future and assuming the economy recovers, plenty of other boomers wanting to fly somewhere. Aviation is definitely a cyclic business and if you start a six year plan when things are peaked you'll probably be ready to play about the time things bottom out. OTOH if you start on the path now, the doors might just be wide open when you're ready to step up.
 
gismo said:
For all we know this could be the perfect time to start training for an aviation career. There will be a bunch of baby boomer pilots retiring sometime in the not too distant future and assuming the economy recovers, plenty of other boomers wanting to fly somewhere. Aviation is definitely a cyclic business and if you start a six year plan when things are peaked you'll probably be ready to play about the time things bottom out. OTOH if you start on the path now, the doors might just be wide open when you're ready to step up.
Click to expand...


I think i;m leaning more and more toward the aero engineering side than flying. I love flying but commercial aviation doesnt appeal to me and my other option was the military and im not sure i want that anymore.
 
Riv-Rod said:
I think i;m leaning more and more toward the aero engineering side than flying. I love flying but commercial aviation doesnt appeal to me and my other option was the military and im not sure i want that anymore.
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I'm not sure how you or Arbiter are defining "commercial aviation". If you look around there are many different possibilities other than the airlines.
 
Riv-Rod said:
not to take over the thread or anything but anyone know how the aeronautical/aerospace engineering field looks? i used to be dead set on flying in the military and im going to finish my application to the naval academy but im just not sure anymore. Same boat as OP,, senior this year and everything kind of fell apart lol. Ive been thinking about the engineering side more and more lately though.
Click to expand...

Anyone who is interested in flying or making things that fly would do VERY well to follow, as closely as possible, in the footsteps of Tony Condon. :yes:
 
If you could get Sports book at Caesar's to set the odds (which we all know they wouldn't do because it's a sucker bet) where would they have to be for you to gamble 100 grand (cost of training) and 10 years of your life that now is the time?

gismo said:
For all we know this could be the perfect time to start training for an aviation career. There will be a bunch of baby boomer pilots retiring sometime in the not too distant future and assuming the economy recovers, plenty of other boomers wanting to fly somewhere. Aviation is definitely a cyclic business and if you start a six year plan when things are peaked you'll probably be ready to play about the time things bottom out. OTOH if you start on the path now, the doors might just be wide open when you're ready to step up.
Click to expand...
 
Riv-Rod said:
Thanks for the insight i was looking at ME too because it covers a little bit of everything. I like the mobility in that.
How important is your degree? as far as where its from? right out of the starting gate are they going to look at someone from MITor Georgia Tech over someone form the University of Florida ?
Click to expand...


HOO-BOY... That's a whole 'nuther can of worms. Somewhere here abouts there is a several page thread on just that subject.

Bottom line - it can make a difference when you first graduate at some companies. It may not be right, but that's the way it is. On the other hand, once you have been out there for a while, the school of choice becomes much less improtant.
 
The people I know who own the nicest airplanes are not professional pilots (Greg and Sharon exluded).

I'd say you're better off getting a job that will pay for your flying hobby.
 
HPNPilot1200 said:
I entered Purdue's program with my private and instrument. If you'd like any information on the program here, feel free to send me a message. Right now the AvTech department is in the middle of restructuring the program to accommodate the 17 new aircraft we're taking delivery of next semester and over the summer of 2010 (14 SR20's, 2 SR22's and an Embraer Phenom 100). It's an exciting time, especially with a new department head this semester, the "new vision" is definitely something I am looking forward to here in the near future.

My decision to enter a university flight program largely had to do with the quality of training, increased opportunities, and reputation at Purdue. That said, I am pursuing a minor and more than likely, a dual major in Management (outside of aviation) as not only a back-up, but also as an education I can use to advance in the management sector of the industry.

Best,
Jason
Click to expand...
Most informed flight instructor we've ever engaged was a product of Purdue. Excellent choice.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I'd say you're better off getting a job that will pay for your flying hobby.
Click to expand...
I think people need to decide which it is they want because they are two totally different things. I've found just by reading this board and the little time I spent in the beginning flying as a hobby that the perspective is completely different. Sure, some people fly as a profession and also as a hobby but many don't. In a lot of cases I don't think it's because they can't afford it, but it's a little bit like a mailman taking walk for recreation. Besides, I know pilots with some pretty nice airplanes. One thing people might consider when making the decision to do something else and keep flying as a hobby is the question of whether or not they are going to be successful enough at their other occupation to afford flying and whether or not they are going to have the time. In addition they need to realize that in flying for a living they are not going to be doing it on their terms but on someone else's and it will come with the same baggage that comes with having any other job, perhaps more.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
HOO-BOY... That's a whole 'nuther can of worms. Somewhere here abouts there is a several page thread on just that subject.

Bottom line - it can make a difference when you first graduate at some companies. It may not be right, but that's the way it is. On the other hand, once you have been out there for a while, the school of choice becomes much less improtant.
Click to expand...


HAd a feeling itd be something like that. ill do a search for that thread. I think i can get in to georgia tech but paying for it is another story. Anyways what else is there in commercial aviation other than airlines where you can actually make a decent living? i mean other than charter pilot and Ag
 
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