[USER]

Considering a career change, looking for some input.
I worked for 15+ years as an electrician, left that field about 2 years ago.

My partner is a high income earner so I’ve been tending to the house and kiddo.

Starting to feel like I want to go back to work, but this time I have the freedom to pursue something that I’m excited about, that might have a bit of a barrier to entry vs something that pays well with a low barrier.

I’ve always been fascinated by aviation. I’d really like to pursue a career that has me flying planes. At 37 years old, I’m not expecting to be able to build a career to the point that I’m the guy flying the fancy widebody jets on long haul routes to the best destinations.

I’d just like to find a niche that has me flying a plane, making some money, with a decent schedule.

Are there any pilots here?

Any insights to be shared about the industry?

Is it unreasonable at my age to try and get into an aviation career?

[Steven]

The biggest barriers are on the front end. The cost of flight training would probably be $75k.

A break down would be as follows:
—Private Pilots License is $10k to $15k and is 50 hours

—Instrument Rating is $10k to $15k and is 50 hours

—Commercial Pilots license is another $15k and is taken at 250 hours total time

—Most people become flight instructors and that is another $5k or so

—The multi engine license can be done at the beginning or the end and that can cost $5k to $10k depending on the hours needed

-I assume you want to work for the airlines which is the easiest way to get time flying jets and gain real experience.

You will need 1500 hours of flight time to apply to the airlines. Most people earn this time as flight instructors.

The commitment to do all this is probably 3 years.
Best of luck.

[Jason]

I make my living flying. The ‘barrier to entry’ is the cost for certification. If you’re not a pilot now, you can spend a year, and at least 50k getting to the point of being able to be employed as a flight instructor.

By a year.. I mean a year of lots of study.

Decent schedule?? As a flight instructor you will fly when the weather is nice.

It’s not unreasonable to get into flying as a second career.

HOWEVER.. if you have a family and kids, the amount of commitment to get trained (both money and effort) then work the lower paying jobs to get the hours you need…. may seem unpalatable.

[Tom]

Listen to “the pro-pilot playbook podcast” for different ways to go about this process.

[Author]

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