Expert: D. Norkus - 3/24/2004

Question
I'm a 40 yr old with a 20+ year computer background.  I'm currently unemployed as my former employer took a technical direction that I was not willing to follow.  I'm a private pilot with just over 100 hours.  Flying is a passion that goes back to when I was a small child as my father flew 747's with NWA.  I'm looking for a job that would involve aviation so it would be in combination with my passion and not seem as much like work.

Would I have a realistic chance at making a career as a pilot?  I have the money to pay for training so that is not the issue.  But I would not want to invest the time and money chasing an unrealistic dream.

What other careers might involve aviation that I could realistically pursue at this point in my life?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

John.


Answer
John,

If you truly want to make a career change, then it is certainly possible to do it. Not matter what your age, if you really want something, you are only going to end up older and still be wanting it if you don't pursue it. For some people happiness is more important than security or money. However, you must be realistic about what you can expect out of flying as a career if you do attain it. Many people dream about becoming a pilot, but the reality is often not what they expect.

If you started now, then it will take a few years to get the ratings and time necessary to apply for a job. Figure at least three years to get rated and land a time building job to get the flight time required to meet regional minimums. You will have less than 20 years left till mandatory retirement. If you have 16 or 17 years left of your career, you can also expect to make less than $20K/yr for the first few years and maybe you will see $25K by your 5th year. Don't expect to make it to a major carrier. If it happens, great, but don't count on it. (Carriers like United & American don't expect to recall all their furloughs and begin hiring again for well over 5-7 years.) Captain at a regional carrier would be your most realistic option. At 15 years, you might see $60k/yr as a regional RJ captain. Attaning the level your father had in the industry would not be realistic! The industry has changed so much in the past few years. That old glamorized high pay, lot of days off, globe trotting lifestyle has been severely cramped. It simply isn't what it used to be in the 80's & 90's, nor will it ever go back to that post 9/11.

Check out my page about pilot careers and the links at bottom for the 'big picture' of what changing careers would entail:

www.geocities.com/av8trxx99/FAQ.html

In addition, yours is a popular question at the message forums on these boards:

www.studentpilot.com
www.jetcareers.com
http://forums.flightinfo.com

Go there are and read the replies to the career change threads. All forums are searchable by keyword.

As far as other careers, the aviation field is so varied, I can't really give you anything specific as far as non-flying jobs. I suggest you check out the Air Jobs Digest as food for thought. Maybe there will be some positions that spark your interest where you can apply what you presently do, yet still work in aviation:

http://www.airjobsdigest.com/

Good Luck
Dottie