Should I become a commercial pilot?

I

Inkoosikas

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Inkoosikas
Hello,

I wanting the opinion of some of the more experienced pilots out there on what I should do.

A little background information about myself: I am currently 24 years old, I am almost done with a bachelors in Mathematics and have been considering continuing on to get a masters in engineering. I currently live in Fairbanks Alaska and I do have my private pilots license and about 60 hours of flight time.

I am really starting to lose interest in continuing on to get an engineering degree and am starting to seriously think about getting my commercial pilots certificate and starting to work as a pilot.

I am wanting to know if you more experienced pilots and those of you who are up to date on how the pilot industry is doing would recommend or consider this to be a good idea? I am aware of the requirements to get my commercial pilots certificate and that it can take a little while to get started as the flight time requirements to get a job are high, but I am wondering if you think this would be a good time to get into flying as a career also considering that I am 24?

I am a fairly fast learner, I got my pilot certificate at practically exactly 40 hours and completed it from start to finish in 1 month while working, so I think I could get my commercial certificate fairly fast.

Any input you folks might have would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!
 
First, let's distinguish between commercial pilot and airline pilot. Reading between the lines, I believe that you mean airline pilot. Backing up a step, if you get your commercial pilot certificate you will be able to fly for money (duh) and there are plenty of air taxi jobs in Alaska. Living costs are higher up there so maybe you will gain more in flight hours and experience than you will in greenbacks.

The path to an airline pilot position has been made considerably steeper, both in flight time and in dollars, because of the Colgan crash in Buffalo. Get out your copy of the regulations and read from 61.153 to 61.160.

My recommendation would be to get your degree, get a well-paying engineering job, and fly recreationally.

Bob Gardner
 
Hope you like eating bread and water for a few years.....! :yes:
 
bobmrg said:
First, let's distinguish between commercial pilot and airline pilot. Reading between the lines, I believe that you mean airline pilot. Backing up a step, if you get your commercial pilot certificate you will be able to fly for money (duh) and there are plenty of air taxi jobs in Alaska. Living costs are higher up there so maybe you will gain more in flight hours and experience than you will in greenbacks.

The path to an airline pilot position has been made considerably steeper, both in flight time and in dollars, because of the Colgan crash in Buffalo. Get out your copy of the regulations and read from 61.153 to 61.160.

My recommendation would be to get your degree, get a well-paying engineering job, and fly recreationally.

Bob Gardner
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Good advise. He has a math/engineering aptitude. He should finish that before playing around with aviation, which is more like an acting career without the big bucks.
 
Get your degree first,then your commercial while your in a paid position. Then you can try comm flying part time to see if you like it.
 
Well the airlines are one of MANY options, a option which isn't even in my top 5.

Lets also keep in mind this guy is living in Alaska, and has flown up there as a PPL.

If you have any contacts it won't be too hard to get into a job flying in the backcountry up there. There are also more then a few people up there flying twotters and vans who make more then the airline zombies and are home every night, I've also seen some postings for govt jobs, flying for parks or police etc which ain't to shabby.

Is it a great time to get into the industry, its not going to get any better, it's not going to get any cheaper, so yeah.

Currently I make good money, have a secure job, sweet sched, single pilot ops, good bennies, I'm home every night and live in a sweet town. This industry is what you make of it.

I'll say its harder to be successful in this industry then most conventional careers, but if you have a brain on you, can think outside the box, and have a passion, as in eat, sleep and breathe this stuff, you'll do fine.

Only concern I have is you asking the question. When I got into this I didn't ask, it could have been the worse time in the world to get into it, I was still going to do it and kick azz, non negotiable. If you don't have that attitude it might not be a good idea to go down this path.

As far as waiting and getting your degree first, if you want to work as an engneer do that first, if you want to work as a pilot do that first. One nice thing nowadays is its not that bad earning a degree online, our company pays a ok chunk of change for education, in our down time quite a few of our pilots are getting their BAs and MAs just because they can.
 
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What James said. If you have to ask the answer is no. If you are going to do it anyway full speed ahead.
 
Financially, you'll likely do much better following your original plan. But money is only part of the life equation.
 
Art VanDelay said:
Why not join the Alaskan Air Guard and get them to send you to flight school ?
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What he said, at least look into it. If you decide the civilian route, which is what I did, then I would encourage you to pursue it. I graduated with an engineering degree but didn't want an office job. Went the aviation route and it has worked out well for me.
 
Flying for a living and flying for fun are not the same. Try to figure out which you are most interested in and go from there. I know too many working pilots who don't have the joy anymore.
 
jnmeade said:
Flying for a living and flying for fun are not the same. Try to figure out which you are most interested in and go from there. I know too many working pilots who don't have the joy anymore.
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Well, I would not fit that description. I can't think of an earthbound job that would give me the days off to pursue other aviation pursuits as an airline job does. Nor can I think of one that gives me free passes to travel to air shows all over the world. And when I'm at "work" I'm still flying.
 
jnmeade said:
Flying for a living and flying for fun are not the same. Try to figure out which you are most interested in and go from there. I know too many working pilots who don't have the joy anymore.
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I know a few pilots that have walked away also. They said they were just glorified bus drivers, and sitting there on auto pilot for hours on end was killing them.
 
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Alaska is a good place to build flight time. I was there 7 years and flew 6000+ hours. I made a lot of money as well. Have you spent any time living in a bush village?
 
Thank you everyone for all of the input! I do think that I will probably forget about the engineering degree for now and finish working on my commercial certificate. I am going to finish up my BS in Mathematics as I am only 1 semester away from completion but I will start working on my commercial certificate ASAP.

I do know the difference between a commercial pilot and an Airline Pilot and I personally do not have much interest in becoming an Airline pilot at the moment. For me Money is not really a huge motivator in life as long as I am not homeless and starving.

I do actually have quite a few connections in the aviation industry up here as I have been flying quite a bit with different instructors and my family owns 2 remote cabins that can only be reached with float/ski planes so we have made some good friends that fly us out there as well as the fact that every one of our neighbors owns their own plane :p


Zeldman said:
Have you spent any time living in a bush village?
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No, I have not actually lived in one of the bush villages but I have visited quite a few and as I mentioned above we do own two remote cabins and I have spend a good bit of time out at them.

Again thank you all for taking the time to help me out.
 
Finish the degree and the comm certificate. You get to fly and have a backup plan if that doesn't work out like you hope.
 
Inkoosikas said:
I do actually have quite a few connections in the aviation industry up here as I have been flying quite a bit with different instructors and my family owns 2 remote cabins that can only be reached with float/ski planes so we have made some good friends that fly us out there as well as the fact that every one of our neighbors owns their own plane :p
.
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Let us know how it goes, something tells me its goin' to work out just fine for ya though!
 
LDJones said:
Financially, you'll likely do much better following your original plan. But money is only part of the life equation.
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With the starting salary for engineers between $60K-$70K it may be a long time before you get near that flying for a living.

I'm a big fan of doing what you love but one thing to consider.... stay out of debt and live frugal and you can easily afford to own your own plane as an engineer. That's what I did and I'm on my third airplane.
 
Having your own recreational airplane and flying for a living are two totally different things. Both have pros and cons associated with them. If you are only looking at the probable amount of money you will make during your career, engineering might be the better choice. However, I know working pilots with engineering degrees who either claimed to have disliked their engineering jobs or decided they would need a more advanced degree to be competitive if they went back. None of these people returned to engineering AFAIK, even though their flying careers had some rocky points.

Any career you pick is going to have its pitfalls, not only because of the field itself but because of who you might happen to be working for at the time.
 
Art VanDelay said:
Well, I would not fit that description. I can't think of an earthbound job that would give me the days off to pursue other aviation pursuits as an airline job does. Nor can I think of one that gives me free passes to travel to air shows all over the world. And when I'm at "work" I'm still flying.
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My father would agree.
 
Yeah it sucks working 9-11 days a month while traveling around the world.
 
As a 62 year oldfart engineer and a 400 hour pp, I say go for it. You don't want to end up my age wishing you did.
 
You've certainly received a variety of responses to your query.
Here's my 2 cents worth:

Go for it. Get your commercial pilot's license, then take whatever flying job you can get. Don't stress over the money. If you need to fly for the money, you're kidding yourself. You should be flying for the love of flying and nothing else. Fly as much as you possibly can, then get a side job to help pay the bills. Fly for free if you have to, just for the experience and because it's what you love to do. Eventually, you will find a way to make an honest living in aviation. In the meantime, do whatever it takes to fly.

My grandfather told me before he died: "If you don't love what you do, go do what you love." The best paying job in the world isn't worth your time unless it's your passion. If your passion is engineering, then by all means get a degree in engineering and make the big bucks. But if your passion is flying, go fly.

What will you someday want on your tombstone?
"He made a bunch of money while he was alive" or
"He lived doing what he loved".
 
craigvince said:
You've certainly received a variety of responses to your query.
Here's my 2 cents worth:

Go for it. Get your commercial pilot's license, then take whatever flying job you can get. Don't stress over the money. If you need to fly for the money, you're kidding yourself. You should be flying for the love of flying and nothing else. Fly as much as you possibly can, then get a side job to help pay the bills. Fly for free if you have to, just for the experience and because it's what you love to do. Eventually, you will find a way to make an honest living in aviation. In the meantime, do whatever it takes to fly.

My grandfather told me before he died: "If you don't love what you do, go do what you love." The best paying job in the world isn't worth your time unless it's your passion. If your passion is engineering, then by all means get a degree in engineering and make the big bucks. But if your passion is flying, go fly.

What will you someday want on your tombstone?
"He made a bunch of money while he was alive" or
"He lived doing what he loved".
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Thank you :) this is more or less they way I have been thinking about things and how I like to look at life.

Engineering was something that I thought/think would keep me from dying of boredom but when I think of doing that for a living over flying a cringe.

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to answer my question.
 
I am an engineer. With an engineering degree (assuming you pick a field that gets you a job) you will earn far more over the course of your career than you would as a pilot. Pilots spend most of their time making little money and don't really make the good money until late in their careers if even then. Engineers can make 6-figure salaries straight out of school.

That said, if you hate engineering you'll suck at it. Then again, if you have a math degree then you are probably not going to hate engineering.

Because I have been blessed with good jobs and disposable income over the years, I have been able to own a couple airplanes and fly for leisure, which is a WHOLE lot different than flying for a living. I actually bought my first airplane, a Cessna 172, right out of college at age 24. I had a car and instead of buying a new car like all my engineer friends, I bought an old airplane. It was a 1966 C172G bought in 1996.

I had the exact same thought as you at the exact same age. It just makes no economic sense to forego an engineering career in favor of aviation... unless you know you'll suck as an engineer or unless you just place a super high premium on having your butt up in the sky as much as humanly and mechanically possible.
 
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Inkoosikas said:
Hello,

I wanting the opinion of some of the more experienced pilots out there on what I should do.

A little background information about myself: I am currently 24 years old, I am almost done with a bachelors in Mathematics and have been considering continuing on to get a masters in engineering. I currently live in Fairbanks Alaska and I do have my private pilots license and about 60 hours of flight time.

I am really starting to lose interest in continuing on to get an engineering degree and am starting to seriously think about getting my commercial pilots certificate and starting to work as a pilot.

I am wanting to know if you more experienced pilots and those of you who are up to date on how the pilot industry is doing would recommend or consider this to be a good idea? I am aware of the requirements to get my commercial pilots certificate and that it can take a little while to get started as the flight time requirements to get a job are high, but I am wondering if you think this would be a good time to get into flying as a career also considering that I am 24?

I am a fairly fast learner, I got my pilot certificate at practically exactly 40 hours and completed it from start to finish in 1 month while working, so I think I could get my commercial certificate fairly fast.

Any input you folks might have would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!
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Do Not Fail To Complete Your Degree! If you want to be a pilot and make real money, you will need it anyway, without it there is a barrier to the best jobs. You may also decide at some point that the shine has worn off the aviation industry (or you can no longer pass a Medical), and need to do something else, the degree may stand you in good stead there.
 
Henning said:
Do Not Fail To Complete Your Degree! If you want to be a pilot and make real money, you will need it anyway, without it there is a barrier to the best jobs. You may also decide at some point that the shine has worn off the aviation industry (or you can no longer pass a Medical), and need to do something else, the degree may stand you in good stead there.
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I am going to finish my Mathematics degree no mater what I do, I would just rather get my commercial pilots license over an engineering degree on top of my mathematics degree.
 
Inkoosikas said:
I am going to finish my Mathematics degree no mater what I do, I would just rather get my commercial pilots license over an engineering degree on top of my mathematics degree.
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If you are not interested in engineering and want to complete school with a Bs in Mathematics and a CPL/CFI and start going for the pilot gig, sure, why not. You'll have plenty of free time to work on post grad stuff incase you want the Mathematics degree to be useful later outside it being your sheepskin for the airlines.
 
I'll concurr with the DO BOTH statements...

I wish I had gotten a ppl decades before. But I did the engineering degree, Worked for several companies. Then started my own company.

It really Sucks having to maintain your own airplane. :)
 
Why do you want to be a professional pilot?

I always ask this when this question comes up. I have found that those who are passionate about flying fair much better in the long run than those that answer differently.
 
Being in AK here is a plan. Finish your math degree and start teaching public school math. Summers off to be a bush pilot. No idea how AK treats public school teachers and the idea might not seem cool, but as a life plan could be sweet.
 
brian];1533002 said:
I'll concurr with the DO BOTH statements...

I wish I had gotten a ppl decades before. But I did the engineering degree, Worked for several companies. Then started my own company.

It really Sucks having to maintain your own airplane. :)
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I know several pure math people that dislike engineering, they just aren't interested in the practical end of it. Once the theoretical is worked out, they lose interest in the minutia of detail whereas the natural engineer thrives on the mastery of detail. Luckily the disciplines can be complimentary and cooperative.
 
petrolero said:
I am an engineer. With an engineering degree (assuming you pick a field that gets you a job) you will earn far more over the course of your career than you would as a pilot. Pilots spend most of their time making little money and don't really make the good money until late in their careers if even then. Engineers can make 6-figure salaries straight out of school.

That said, if you hate engineering you'll suck at it. Then again, if you have a math degree then you are probably not going to hate engineering.

Because I have been blessed with good jobs and disposable income over the years, I have been able to own a couple airplanes and fly for leisure, which is a WHOLE lot different than flying for a living. I actually bought my first airplane, a Cessna 172, right out of college at age 24. I had a car and instead of buying a new car like all my engineer friends, I bought an old airplane. It was a 1966 C172G bought in 1996.

I had the exact same thought as you at the exact same age. It just makes no economic sense to forego an engineering career in favor of aviation... unless you know you'll suck as an engineer or unless you just place a super high premium on having your butt up in the sky as much as humanly and mechanically possible.
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How long have you also worked as a full time pilot?
 
petrolero said:
I am an engineer. With an engineering degree (assuming you pick a field that gets you a job) you will earn far more over the course of your career than you would as a pilot. Pilots spend most of their time making little money and don't really make the good money until late in their careers if even then. Engineers can make 6-figure salaries straight out of school.

That said, if you hate engineering you'll suck at it. Then again, if you have a math degree then you are probably not going to hate engineering.

Because I have been blessed with good jobs and disposable income over the years, I have been able to own a couple airplanes and fly for leisure, which is a WHOLE lot different than flying for a living. I actually bought my first airplane, a Cessna 172, right out of college at age 24. I had a car and instead of buying a new car like all my engineer friends, I bought an old airplane. It was a 1966 C172G bought in 1996.

I had the exact same thought as you at the exact same age. It just makes no economic sense to forego an engineering career in favor of aviation... unless you know you'll suck as an engineer or unless you just place a super high premium on having your butt up in the sky as much as humanly and mechanically possible.
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Using a huge brush there aren't you? :rolleyes:

Plenty of people have had very rewarding careers in aviation.
 
RotorAndWing said:
Using a huge brush there aren't you? :rolleyes:

Plenty of people have had very rewarding careers in aviation.
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Plenty of people haven't and many of them use this board to gripe about it. I'm using the average. Feel free to compare the salary profiles.
 
I taught a few engineers to fly, they tended to take longer to solo and had a heck of a time learning the flare.

Does that mean all engineers have a poor feel for flight?



I make decent money, have a very large amount of time off, and on my days off I still enjoy flying, how many professions can you say that about.

Funny thing I don't feel I've worked a day since I got my CPL.

Follow your heart, the money will follow.
 
You guys seem to have trouble with the concept of "on average." Good thing you didn't become engineers. :D

To be fair, I don't know what kind of pilot he'd be either. If he has a high aptitude and ability maybe he'd be an above-average pilot, who knows? But he stated that he is finishing a BS in Math so I know he's got the raw materials to be a solid engineer.
 
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