Is getting a pilots license worth it?Is it a good career path? I am looking into getting a PPL/CFI credential nowLooks like certified flight instructors make like $60 an hour and it costs like $10k to become one. takes about 4 months to do. the government might be able to cover up to $7000 of it I believe. so it would end up costing maybe $3000
>>32547121It is worth it to better yourself but the hours are probably flight hours so, you wouldn’t get much beyond an almost acceptable pay. The cost is unbelievable cheap. It is likely that it is factored that you attend school and train your underclassmen as you gain levels above. Hours are credentials. It is sorta a pyramid scheme. 3k may seem like a chunk but it is nothing when considering that you can have that for the rest of your life. When you get in the loop, there are plenty of ways to make more. I am not a pilot myself but I have been around a lot of aircraft and shot the bull a few times.
I'd check the actual market conditions carefully. Post Covid a lot of airlines cleared out pilots and I know someone who was training to become a commercial jet pilot and had the rug pulled out from under him because of it. I'd wager a lot of low experience jet pilots have pivoted their career to things like training and light aircraft.
>>32547121>Is getting a pilots license worth it?depends, niece of mine tried to get hers and she was allowed to pay all her tuition and go all the way through flight school then be denied at the very end before getting her license because she'd "attempted suicide" as a teenager. In her case the attempted suicide was literally just dumping a third a travel size bottle of aspirin in her mouth with some cocacola and calling 911 in a bid for attention but that didn't matter, she can never be a pilot. In fury her father tried to figure out anything else that might bar you from being a pilot and if you can't legally own a gun or you have had *ANY* domestic dispute, whether innocent or guilty, you cannot. So if you fit into any of those don't waste your time and money, otherwise why not.
>>32548196>Thanks Obama.This was not a thing very long ago. Now it is 1984 up in this bitch. Not that Bush did not incompetently pave the way. I can’t believe US anymore.Not OP.
>>32547667>>32548099>>32548196>>32548273can you tell me more about the career options and how long it takes to start making money?Basically, would using the government grant to get a PPL be a waste of my fucking time? It's only $7000, and I'd have to spend like a year working full time and like $50,000 out of pocket to get to a point where I could make money flying, right?
>>32550473You cannot charge money with a ppl. You need commercial rate or something. Check the table of contents for the federal aviation regulations. It is mostly about racking up hours, you get from training others and you can join flying clubs and get up in the air for cheap or free. You can make unofficial money, trading or bartering.
>>32550566>You can make unofficial money, trading or bartering.tell me more about this? is it possible to make a living and pay rent with a pilots llicense?
>>32547121Sure. If it's something in demand in your area and you're happy with the pay, then it's worth doing. Assuming you have the money to do it without taking a loan. Taking a loan for education is always a bad idea.
Well I have my private. Cost more like 15k here in the states. You'll need your Private pilot license, instrument rating, commercial license all before you can get your CFI certificate. (Instrument rating is legally not required but no place will hire you and you're impractical). All in all lookin more like 60k+. CFI is no way of living. It is more commonly used as a stepping stone in a pilots career to help build hours before they go onto their more long term careers, such as corporate or airline pilots. Unless you're contracting as a CFI and not working for a flight school, you're not making 60 and hour and its not all day, it'll be based on flight time or time given instruction. (Usually pretty close in numbers). Reddit has a great page. (r/flying). Any more questions ask in there but sometimes they aren't too quick to help people and would rather say just read the sub. Idk what your end goal is. If you want to be an airline pilot I'd start soon. The best time to cut a tree was 10 years ago, the next best time is now.
>>32550885If you live in the wilderness.
>>32551132I don't want to be an airline pilot, I have a bachelors in mechanical engineering and would rather do something with that (becoming a pilot seems like a lot of work for barely any payoff compared to what I can get now) The program I am looking into is called the WIOA grant program. It gives money to currently unemployed people to do various types of training programs. I think 95% of people in the program use it to get a CDL. But a PPL is also an option that virtually nobody uses. the program requires that you show proof of increased employability after completion I think. Not sure. I most likely will try and do this anyways since ~$7000 off a PPL is a pretty good deal.
>>32547121>>32551132Also a PPL here. I think the cost largely depends on location and how long it takes you to complete it. Expect to schedule 3-4 flights per week at 3-4h per flight if you want to make good time. A lot of those will end up getting cancelled due to weather, depending on where you live / the season. Don't start until you have your time and energy essentially blocked out enough that you won't have to take unnecessary breaks. Also, it'll help if you start working through the ground school material beforehand; most of the time (unless you're doing like a uni program) you'll need to get this yourself anyways, but it's not terribly expensive. Gleim's pretty good, and it was under the cost of a single flight. As for careers, I never wanted to do it as a career, but I did look into it somewhat just for the hell of it. If I wanted to do commercial flying, it'd either be as a part-time hobby (bush pilot sort of thing) which isn't particularly lucrative, or more seriously as an airline pilot for a shipping company. As a shipping pilot (FedEx, Amazon, etc.), that's about as chill as you can get as a pilot. A much longer path to getting that sort of rating than just a PPL to be sure, but that's probably where it's at. I'd just go to Uni for that if that was the goal.
>>32551132>>32552058to get a PPL only takes 40 hours right? that's like 5 days of flying for 8 hours a day. is it not practical to think I can finish it in like 3 weeks?
>>32552102No, it is not practical. You're right it technically only takes 40h of flight time to have enough for your ratings, assuming you learn everything instantly the first time you do it and need absolutely no time practicing before your CFI signs off on your skills and sends you off to your checkride. Also, as mentioned you will almost certainly not be able to fly 5 days per week, at least consistently. Cancellations happen all the time, and as a pilot in training weather can be a substantial impediment. I'd say blocking out a summer for training time is more reasonable.
>>32552182sorry for the ignorant question - what about learning flying is so difficult? Could you put it into the context of driving a car? is learning to fly more about muscle memory, similar to driving - making sure you do a set of actions in a specific order in a small amount of time, stuff like that?or is it more about memorization of regulations/rules that is difficult?
>>32552223>or is it more about memorization of regulations/rules that is difficultNta. Yeah, hours mean experience, of course. There’s maintenance inspections and starting procedures. Pilots need to know plenty about weather and how to properly use the radio. Regulations. It is not difficult. Just not something you can learn in five minutes.
>>32552223It's a lot more involved than learning to drive. When you drive, a lot of things are automated for you - there's no direct control over what's going on behind the scenes. To control speed when flying for instance, it's effectively a ratio of throttle and pitch. There are a lot more things to consider with everything you do, and if you're in complicated airspace it can be a lot to take in all at once. Small mistakes are more consequential (though my instructor was a bit of a hardass admittedly). If you're unsure of something, you generally can't stop or slow down to think about it. The procedures are more complicated as well: knowing what you need, when you need it, how to communicate with the tower, control stations, other pilots, etc. Also, when you're driving you don't need to do things like planning, scheduling, pre-flight checks, getting permissions to enter certain airspace, setting your radio, transponder, and other equipment, getting codes, etc. The closest you come to doing any kind of calculation in driving is checking if your fuel gauge is too low, but you can just stop for gas if that's the case.
>>32552295>>32552311thanks for the detailed answers anon. I will post an update on getting a PPL in a little bit if you wanna see how I am doing. I'd like to try finishing it quickly. Government provides like $7000 over 4 months I think
>>32548196>telling the truth on your medicallol. lmao. >two time felon with prison time>multiple psychiatric residential stays throughout adolescence and early adulthood>rehab three times>congenital heart condition only picked up on a ultrasound study>Vasovagal spells>Have had PPL for 7 years nowJust don't fuck up a taxi or otherwise get the FAA looking at you closely. Don't drink and fly.>But that's $250,000 fine or 5 years in federal prisonYeah the most American thing you can do is tell the government to suck your dick. If you don't have the balls for that get your LSA or just be a part-103 fag boy.
>>32552630Dead and cold John Denver messed things up for everyone around the time you are speaking of, didn’t he? I am a lowly mechanic but the faa only knew what I told them and knowingly approved me on evaluation, all full of morphine. How would a no credentials fag get into 103/exp? From what I understand, one could hop in and let her rip but, that’s not a great idea, right?
Well I'd say pilots have a pretty good work/pay ratio. They only work at most half of the average work year. Most senior captains at airlines are breaking 500k a year. The thing is it took years to get there. A starting first officer at a regional is around 100k a year. Not sure what options you have lined up, but there is definitely a payoff to be an airline captain. I'm all for you going and getting your PPL. If anything you can turn it into a hobby. I just think having your end goal as a CFI should be rethought as that's more of a stepping stone job in the pilot world. There are many other career paths though. Youtube would be your friend in this situation they can go over in-depth salaries and work/life balances of different jobs. Keep us posted on your journey!
>>32552630Menace to society. Hope you don't fly in any populated areas.
>>32554859If that were true, he would not be here.>>32547121Much of any opportunity you could make of it depends on your willingness to do what others would not in unspeakable places like Alaska, the gulf, the Dakotas. Hauling fish or archeologists, crop dusting or something.
>>32554881>Hauling fish or archeologists, crop dusting or something.why do you act like these are war crimes lol? >unspeakable places kek
>>32557626A lot of times, they are.
>>32550973>Taking a loan for education is always a bad idea.education loans are really good anon they don't require you to start paying them back until you get a job, and the interest rates are super low
>>32558774lol yeah remind yourself of that when you've paid off the value of the original loan 3 times over and still owe on it.
>>32558781unless you are a giga retard this doesn't happen. I already told you they are great loans, basically as good as mortgages
>>32559038current student loan interest rate for a 4 year undergrad degree is around 6.5% current interest rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is 7% the 30 year mortgage is the greatest financial instrument for wealth creation ever created while the student loan program isn't as good it still is basically free money you don't have to pay back until getting a job
Do not become an instructor unless you have a passion for teaching. Students deserve someone that wants to put effort into training them, not just a right seater there to build hours and leave.Aviation is a very difficult industry to get a good job in - expect the first 5-10 years of your career to have very modest pay.If an airline job is your goal, familiarise yourself with airline seniority as it also has a huge impact on your career and future earnings. For instance, you could be a 737 captain and move to another airline as a first officer - effectively going backwards - because of seniority.The hours can also be brutal so a supportive family is a must, or no family at all works best.
>>32547121It's a miserable lifestyle but with high return yield of money and pussyYou'll never have to worry about getting laid again
>>32559267interesting...
>>32558781>regurgitating what you saw on tik tok>not looking up how much the interest rates are>not working out what it would cost OP.So OP is looking at 10k max and a 6.53% to 8.08% interest rate (which would occur yearly.) Which he wouldn't have to pay until he finished his program at which point it would acrue $808 per year ASSUMING he was delinquent and didn't pay it, or just paid interest.He could pay it off in 5 years if he pays $47/ week, or 10 years for 28.05/week.I dont disagree that people way fucking overboorrow and get themselves in trouble. These interest rates get killer if you end up taking like 250k-300k in loans.But at the same time, much like you're doing right now; *they didnt do the math*. That it ultimately *their* fault. If you know you're going to be paying a student debt your entire life with oppressive payments, you should probably be looking into cheaper better options for yourself. College/university is not the be all end all of success.Like dude it isntbeven hard. That's called "critical thinking". When tik tok tells you someone paid their debt 3 times, DO THE MATH AND FIND OUT WHY.
>>32562284Oh this is also assuming no grants, no savings on his part, no subsidies, no nothing, for which their probably are if there is a demand in the field or a foreseen shortage.
>>32562284It was a general comment on student loans in the US, which are undoubtedly a debt bondage scheme to keep you permanently bought in and economically fungible. 10k's not going to ruin your life, no. Just don't waste it by not finishing what you started.
>>32562284agreed anyone taking out 200k in student loans is a brainlet anyways, 90% of these people are retarded feminists getting gender studies masters degrees, no normal person is doing that
bump
>>32568994Why?
>>32569308because its my thread and I will bump my thread. I posted it because I wanted people to see it. I want to get more responses.
>>32569317You should say something like that instead of adding non value. Contribute to your own shit.
>>32569534True, I normally don't like just commenting bump, but thread was about to archive. Are you a pilot anon? How often do you find yourself flying planes if so?
Might be worthwhile if your flying cargo or stay around long enough to do passengers in a larger plane.With all the drones, shipping costs forcing alot onto sea freight and the like you'd better be very keen on it. I'm likely older than you buy I'd unlikely ever consider getting legally registered as a pilot unless for touristy sized aircraft. I've flown using technically non aircraft and under instruction of a proper pilot.
>>32569556I am an airframe and powerplant mechanic. I know a little about aviation but could maybe only fly if I had to. Not a helicopter tho. That is difficult. It is all mostly paperwork.
>>32568994Fine.
