Is it to late

[tsimmns]

Seeing as how as I just turned 31 and reading everyone's stories about how long it took them to "make it" to a good paying job should I even consider getting into flying. Part of me will be doing it for fun, put part of me would really like to collect a somewhat nice paycheck at some point. Opinions?

[Whiteshadow]

Never too late man. But I will say that age isn't the only thing that you have to factor into the equation. You could be 20 years old, and it won't be the right thing for you. Or, like me, you could be almost 40 and it is absolutely the right thing to do.

 

It will never be as simple as a yes or no question, and certainly nobody here can answer that question for you. Only you will ever know if it is right. I'm doing it because, as my wife puts it, I can't do just a "normal job". This is the first time I have ever done something that I truly love, and I've done a lot of different stuff up to this point.

 

I have a situation though where my wife knows that there is no turning back from it, and she understands what it will require before I have a relatively stable job in the future. We have the advantage of going through deployments when I was in the military, so she and the kids understand that I may have to go away for work for months at a time. My kids are older now too, so I am not leaving her with babies all by herself. She has a good job and that allows me to focus on school right now too. All of these kinds of things are what I took into consideration when deciding if I want to make a career out of this.

 

If you can make it work for you, great. There are lots of people you age and older who are just starting to learn to fly. The age thing is nothing compared to all the other stuff I mentioned.

 

Good luck with your decision!

[UH60L-IP]

Seeing as how as I just turned 31 and reading everyone's stories about how long it took them to "make it" to a good paying job should I even consider getting into flying. Part of me will be doing it for fun, put part of me would really like to collect a somewhat nice paycheck at some point. Opinions?

 

No it's not too late at all. Flying has been a "second" career for many for ages.

 

The only question becomes not "how bad you want it" because lots of people want it and ultimately are not successful. The real question is do you have a viable path to achieve your goals?

 

You apparently understand that you will be spending a lot of money and then working for very little money, perhaps for a long period of time, before you get that "good paying job." If you are prepared for that then there is nothing stopping a 31 year old from entering into this field.

[tsimmns]

Thanks for the response and thanks for the military service. I'm almost at 10 years of service in the Air National Guard in Avionics. For you, I think this will be the one thing in life I truly love. I have have work on military bases as a Govt contractor, work retail before I joined the military, and currently run a used car lot that will probably be left in the will when something undoubtely happens to my grandfather. However, none of that stuff makes me happy.

[tsimmns]

I have a plan in place I guess you could say. That plan involves getting my private license and then using my GI bill to help get the rest of my ratings, that is if the GOVT even will allow that once we get through all this shutdown stuff that is happening. I will probably always be able to have an extra job if needed from either running the family business or finding avionics work. The fear is that with so many post on here all I read is about how someone shouldn't start because of the money side and the jobs they get when they can get them suck. For me, I will be more than happy to work in any location when I achieve a rating for just about whatever wage I can and still survive. I'm not expecting to make 6 figures from the get go as I have learned in life, nothing that you want comes easy with anything.

[pilot#476398]

I'm 42, and have often wondered if my age has been a deciding factor in my many rejections, especially when all the other applicants are in their 20s? Someone told me once that his employer was looking for a pilot who was so desperate that he'd do ANYTHING asked of him, and for very little pay! At 42, that's not me anymore!

 

I look at it this way. When I'm in my 50s I should have a thousand hours, so maybe then I'll be able to find an employer who would appreciate an older perspective, so I can retire into a tour job somewhere?

 

If not, I can always just keep flying for fun,...every once and a while!

[UH60L-IP]

Thanks for the response and thanks for the military service.

 

No problem and you're welcome.

 

The fear is that with so many post on here all I read is about how someone shouldn't start because of the money side and the jobs they get when they can get them suck. For me, I will be more than happy to work in any location when I achieve a rating for just about whatever wage I can and still survive. I'm not expecting to make 6 figures from the get go as I have learned in life, nothing that you want comes easy with anything.

 

People have had doomsday responses about entering training for decades. People have also had some inflated views about how much could be made as a helicopter pilot.

 

There is some truth (a lot of truth) to the doom and gloom advice being dealt out. Very few that begin the journey end up working a career as a helicopter pilot (military excluded). The fact is that many, if not most, will give up either during training or soon after becoming a CFI. That does not mean that it is an impossibility because hundreds do it every year. But it should be very clear in one's mind.

 

Secondly, flight schools often inflate the earning potential of helicopter pilots. There are those that make a six figure salary doing it, but there are also people making a six figure salary in the fast food industry - it is not the norm. Making that kind of money will not come easily, or quickly. A moderate middle-class income for the foreseeable future, after your time building jobs, is more realistic.

[Goldy]

Seeing as how as I just turned 31 Opinions?

31?? Holy Crap that's old! Geez that only leaves 34 years until most people retire, and I know many pilots in their late 60's and 70's....so that only leaves 39 years of flying left in your life!

Run, Hide! Take a job fixing typewriters....but do NOT get into flying now. It's all over for you.

 

But if you do fly......fly safe!

 

Goldy

[Wally]

It's never- EVER! too late to do what you want to do.

You have to decide if it's better to try and be forced to quit flying to continue to eat (that's not failure, that's survival) or never try at all.