Career advice please -Thanks in advance!

[psr]

I'm 34 years old with no previous aviation experience (forum members commence eye rolling now.) I took a helicopter ride a recently and haven't been able to get the obvious off my mind - I want to fly and get paid to do so. I'm searching for a new career and this is one of the options I'm exploring that I can't imaging being dissatisfied with.

 

Please know that I am grateful for any advice you can give me. My questions are:

 

1: Considering the total cost involved I won't have the $60,000+ until I'm 36 which means I likely won't be able to begin looking for a job in this field until 38 or 39; if I do this I want as many certifications including instrument rating - everything i can get to be desirable to employers. Am I too old to pursue a career in helicopter aviation? (and correct me if my math is wrong in the above planning)

 

2: If I do pursue this, will the job market be saturated with over-qualified military pilots looking for civilian work? (flight schools seem to say no to this question, but of course they want students/money).

 

3: From what I've gathered so far, industry standard directions to success are to become a student, get your private and commercial license, then become an instructor to get the recommended 1500-2000 hours needed for higher paying jobs. Right now I'm reading that instructor jobs are extremely hard to come by and even then the pay is tear inducing. Do you see the industry picking up in 3-4 years?

 

My brother-in-law is a pilot for Continental Airlines and is quite negative about my interest in becoming a helicopter pilot. He's pointing out the above negatives and then some and suggests I take interest in fixed wing, try to get on with an airline which means high pay down the road and flight benefits. He says it's much cheaper that helicopter training and that the learning curve isn't quite as difficult. Problem is, the thought of playing on my laptop for 75% of the time I'm in the air doesn't seem as fun as piloting a helicopter.

 

Again, I really appreciate any input from you guys on here. I'm extremely excited about the possibility of this, but I don't want you to hesitate to rain on my parade; I need honest answers!!

 

 

Thanks a million,

 

PS

[r22butters]

In an attempt to give positive advice , when I was training, there were two guys who were both forty years old, so at thirty-four, you are just fine.

[apiaguy]

It's a pipe dream...

listen to your bro-in-law or get out of aviation all together.

[psr]

so i've gotten a ' get out while you can. you will fail' and ' it's never too late to try'... i've come to the conclusion that it's best for me to go back to my real job and continue to save money and slowly work my way towards getting my cpl with instrument ratings and if in time the job market is booming and commercial pilot positions are abundant i'll quit despising my job and start enjoying my job .

[Wally]

"1: Considering the total cost involved I won't have the $60,000+ until I'm 36 which means I likely won't be able to begin looking for a job in this field until 38 or 39; if I do this I want as many certifications including instrument rating - everything i can get to be desirable to employers. Am I too old to pursue a career in helicopter aviation? (and correct me if my math is wrong in the above planning)"

 

You wouldn't be "too old", at least as far as potential employers are concerned.

 

"2: If I do pursue this, will the job market be saturated with over-qualified military pilots looking for civilian work? (flight schools seem to say no to this question, but of course they want students/money)."

 

I don't foresee a huge increase in military trained pilots entering the market.

 

"3: From what I've gathered so far, industry standard directions to success are to become a student, get your private and commercial license, then become an instructor to get the recommended 1500-2000 hours needed for higher paying jobs. Right now I'm reading that instructor jobs are extremely hard to come by and even then the pay is tear inducing. Do you see the industry picking up in 3-4 years?"

 

The compensation for entry level helo pilots will probably not improve much in the next decade or so. If you're "widely employable", the trend is towards better pay.

 

This is a small market, the difference between 2 pilots seeking a position, and 3 looking at the same seat isn't significant for a marginally qualified job seeker.

The astounding thing to me is that new helicopter pilots do find a way to keep body and soul together while building experience and becoming employable. The student/instructor/employable pilot scheme of career progression is pure ponzi scheme, yet it works for a few driven individuals.

 

In a few years, somebody will be filling the seats of 3 of 4 pilots at my base. Those 3 seats are occupied by a 62, 60 and a 58 year old. The youngest of the 4 of us is mid-40s. My best guess is that we're on the high side for average pilot age, but not exceptional in the EMS industry in that the vast majority will be mid-40s and better.

As to the fixed wing/airline option, my program has a fair few airline pilots flying for it. Fixed wing is a much bigger segment, but airlines fail, furlough and otherwise make that a tough career, too.

[kodoz]

I'm 34 years old

Hopefully you're established in another career already. Rein in the fantasy of giving it the boot the day you get your CFII done. You'd be better advised to keep one foot in your old trade while waiting for your chance in aviation, and never completely leave it behind so you have a back up when times are tough.

(flight schools...want students/money).

You are correct.

standard directions to success are to become a student, get your private and commercial license, then become an instructor to get the recommended 1500-2000 hours needed for higher paying jobs. Right now I'm reading that instructor jobs are extremely hard to come by and even then the pay is tear inducing. Do you see the industry picking up in 3-4 years?

"standard direction to success" = virtually the only way to get from low-time to career pilot. If you do not get hired as an instructor by the school you trained at (less than 1 in 5 students will), then you are screwed. For every CFI that makes it to 1000 hours and leaves, the school has to enroll 5 students--that's the type of pick-up that has to be present for "success". At this point, any instructor who's employed is probably crying less about their pay than those of us who are not instructing.

 

Your first and only concern (if you have financing lined up) should be how you will get from 200 hours to 1000 hours. If you don't have a solid plan for this, your chances for making it are very, very slim.

My brother-in-law is a pilot for Continental Airlines and is quite negative about my interest in becoming a helicopter pilot. He's pointing out the above negatives and then some and suggests I take interest in fixed wing, try to get on with an airline which means high pay down the road and flight benefits. He says it's much cheaper that helicopter training and that the learning curve isn't quite as difficult. Problem is, the thought of playing on my laptop for 75% of the time I'm in the air doesn't seem as fun as piloting a helicopter.

My ________ is a ________ for __________ and is quite negative about my interest in becoming a ____________. He's pointing out the above negatives and then some and suggests I take interest in _________, try to get on with an ________ which means high pay down the road....

 

I was in science and took an alternative career path, and I've kept in touch with my friends who have stayed in or left science. Of all of them that I've seen, the only career path that I'd recommend is stay-at-home mom. Yeah, a couple of them "made" it as scientists, some of them made it in alternative careers. All of us had a hard road to get there, and only a few of us would say it's been worth it or would recommend science as a career right now. You have to do what you think is going to work for you.