Expert: D. Norkus - 4/6/2004

Question
Hello my name is James Mackinlay currently living in Charleston SC I am 42 years old and a private pilot with about 3000 hours of PIC.

Also I have my insturment rating and of the 3000 hours of PIC about 250 hours are actual IMC.

My question is simply this Im I to old at 42 to think about a career in flying and if not what would be the best way to go about this.

Getting all the endorsements needed MEL,Comm I will be able to do and are working on them now Im I wasteing my time and money?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

James Mackinlay  

Answer
James,

If you truly want to make a career change, then it is certainly possible to do it. No 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. As George Eliot said,

"It is never to late to be what you might have been."

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 an airline pilot, but the reality is often not what they expect.

If you started building multi experience now, it would take some time to build the 300-500 ME hours required by the airlines necessary to apply for a job. (1500TT with 300 ME is the common minimum post 9/11, but many applicants are better qualified.) Figure at least a year, maybe two, to get your ME time from zero to regional minimums.

If you land a regional job in the next year or two after that, you will have 16-17 years left of your career. Don't expect to make it to a major carrier. If it happens, great, but don't count on it. (Carriers like United, Delta & 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 age 60 (the mandatory retirement age) with 15 years of seniority (if you got hired at age 45) you would probably be making $60k-90k/yr as a regional RJ captain. Starting out as a new hire First Officer you can expect to make less than $20K-22k/yr for the first few years and maybe you will see $25K by your 5th year. As a First Officer on first year pay, I take home $1200-1600 per/month and I can tell you that ain't much to live on! Having all other bills paid of and a supportive spouse/family (especially financially) sure helps.

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.jetcareers.com (has a career change forum)
http://forums.flightinfo.com

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

In your situation, perhaps the Delta Connection Academy (www.deltaconnectionacademy.com) or the Mesa Pilot Development program (www.flightcareers.com) may be worth while if they can provide you an interview with their affiliate carriers via their training program. Seeing as you have substantial experience already, they may accept you for far less that what new students pay. (Or perhaps not at all.) Check and see.


Good Luck
Dottie