A career in aviation out of reach?

Airline Pilot Questions & Answers
1

Hello, my name is Mike. I am 29 years old with no college education and I only have a G.E.D. Aviation has been a passion of mine forever. I am a warehouse employee scraping by with 2 small children and a wife. It is time for a change in life and I want to pursue a career in aviation, however I don’t want to waste my time.

I don’t make a ton of money and I’m not looking into this path to get rich.

I’m looking for some insight. Firstly (I know this is quite a common question) am I too old?

Are there programs to help financially reach my goal without putting my family on the street? How would I continue to work my 9-5 job barely making it as it is and pay for flight school etc…? Not to mention the time restriction I would be on with my current job.

What should my first course of action be? Who can I contract to get a foot in the door In the right direction ? Would I be wasting my time? Heartbreaking if so…

-Mike

2

Mike,

At 29 you’re no where near too old and I recommend you take a look at our FAQs for answers to most of your questions. Unfortunately the financial aspects of flight training are often the biggest obstacle perspective pilots face. Flying airplanes isn’t cheap and I’m not aware of any financial programs (other than loans) that will help. Also training part time while working can be very inefficient and often costs much more in the long run. If as you say you’re “barely making it” I can’t imagine where you’d find a spare $3-400 a week for lessons or taking 9mos off for training full-time?

As I said you’re no where near too old so perhaps you can tighten your belt and work really hard for a couple of more years and get yourself and your family in a better situation financially. I’m sure that’s not what you want to hear but again the money part is often the hardest.

Adam