A little background - I am a 32 year old wildlife biologist with a bachelor of science degree and tens of thousands of dollars of debt left to pay on my student loans. While the career path I have chosen has certainly been fulfilling, the loan investment for the degree hasn’t quite panned out financially as I would have hoped. My financial goal is to be debt-free and to someday own a home. For that to happen something is going to have to change! I have an excellent credit score (just under 800), a few flight hours, and an FAA Medical Certificate.
It has always been a dream of mine to learn to fly, and now it’s starting to look like a realistic way to achieve my financial goals as well. My question is this: For someone starting at virtually zero hours, how long does it take the average successful ATP graduate to pay back their loans?
I understand the answers to this question will vary, but given the relatively set course (School > CFI > Commercial > Regional > Major) I feel like it is something that could be roughly calculated. This is a question I wish I would have asked during my first round of education, because the answer would have been “never”! Answers stemming from personal experience are of course welcome as well.
My loan was a fifteen year loan, I paid it off in seven years. Many people chose to pay theirs off early, some wait and pay on them the entire length of the loan, it really is a personal preference. Check out this article I wrote about pilot compensation, perhaps it will help to answer some of your questions: What Do Pilots Really Earn?
I also have a 15 year loan that I will have paid off in 13 (6 more years to go). I too am trying to be debt free and to buy a house. It has been challenging, especially the first few years.
Getting help from ATP’s Tuition Reimbursement Program was game changing. The details of the program are on ATP’s website.
Thank you for responding to my inquiry! Chris, that article you sent is extremely helpful. It’s good to know that, if I choose to continue down this path, there is indeed a light at the end of the debt tunnel.
Absolutely there is an end to the debt tunnel. It can take hard work and dedication to pay a loan off early, but it is certainly possible. Once that is done, I think airline pilot wages provide a pretty comfortable standard of living.
Hey brand new here wanted to ask what is the actual total amount needed for ATP Flight school it basically says $84,000 on their website but I’m being told that it ended up being closer to $150,000 can someone give me exact recent numbers please?
Scroll down the page until you see the unchecked boxes. Check off all the boxes that apply to you and your total cost will be calculated at the bottom of the list. That should be as close as you can get to the most accurate estimate.
The price of the training is $84k. When you see big numbers that’s really about covering your expenses for the 7mos you’re in training. The total amount you’ll need depends on your expenses. If you’re single living at home you’ll obviously need alot less than someone with a mortgage and 3 kids. Make sense?
Christian,
Also keep in mind that with loans, the principal you take out isn’t the same as what you pay back. When you add in interest, that adds a significant chunk of money you’re paying back over time… it would be best to check with Kirk in the finance department for accurate numbers based on your financial state… but on average, most loans of students I heard (and mine as well) started at about 8% interest rate. After a few months I got it reduced to 3.5%.
-Hannah
Hey all. 38 years old and have been wanting to get into aviation since I was 16, but money was always an issue.
Found out that you could take out a loan to pay for flight school. A bit flabbergasted at the thought, but I’ve been around long enough now to understand what that debt means, and how it spells opportunity.
I applied to Sallie Mae with my wife as a co-signer, and was approved for a $119,000 loan (we need a little extra to pay my mother-in-law for child care for our six month old.) Ignoring the 1.375% variable rate they extended, I am considering the 4.25% fixed rate, paying the $25 while in school. Should keep some of that debt at bay. I’d then like to continue that until I can begin flight instruction with ATP, then I want to switch to interest payments until I’m hired by an airline—aiming for part 135 with Empire Airlines. If I read their website properly, they’ll take a part 135 caravan captain with around 1200 hours, so long as I can satisfy all their requirements. Going to need to put in quality instruction time and really curate some desirable hours.
Talked with a friend of a friend of my Dad’s who is a commercial pilot over the phone just today (the day I got approved for the loan.) He’s a charter pilot, and has been for ten years. He offered me some nuggets of advice and with those were some strategies to have a stronger flying resume. I’m taking them to heart.
I’m cautiously optimistic. Haven’t signed on the dotted line yet; this is a very large amount of potential debt. I live in Portland, and the weather here sucks. If ATP says 18-24 months, I think I’ll just tack on another 12 months for good measure. Already had my introduction flight moved to this weekend.
Well, this is my welcome post, I guess. I look forward to talking with you guys some more
Welcome to the forum and it sounds like you’ve done your homework and have a solid plan. Well I’m a good fan of being conservative, I think adding an additional 12mos may be overly pessimistic. The program takes 7mos and then you’ll need a good 18mos on average to get the 1500 needed for a Regional. If 1200 is your goal for Empire it’ll be less.
You don’t mention when you’re looking to start? Sooner is obviously better than later at 38. If you’ve got the time you definitely want to start working on your writtens.
@Adam Will probably be starting in April, though may start sooner depending on life factors. Have a six month old we have to pad the ol’ bank account for
@bcsolom yeah it was a pretty nice rate to see. If I paid the full interest payments, it’d only be 3.75% but man, that’s a lot of scratch to cough up to hold the interest at bay, when I am hoping to be making 35k+ a year in three years. Could start chunking the interest away once I start to settle into income.
That is a great interest rate, thank you for sharing the details with us. It sounds like you have a good, solid plan figured out. I am curious though, why Empire Airlines?
I am currently a courier for FedEx Express. I’d love to fly cargo, and EA does just that. Plus they are the feeder for FedEx, so perhaps someday I could work for them if I do everything well at EA.
Is that unusual to work for cargo? They pay $57k out of the gate 1200 TT part 135 with 24 months to transfer to part 121 FO then 12 months to upgrade to Captain.
4.25% is an exceptional rate. Mine was above 9. Good for you!
I browsed Empire’s website to confirm your understanding of their 135 Captain hiring requirements and yes. You are correct. And yes, Empire is part of FedEx’s Purple Runway Program, if your end goal is to eventually fly for FedEx that’s one avenue.
Congrats on the baby btw! As long as you have a good support system that allows you to focus on your studies you’ll be just fine.
I’ve lived in Seattle for about 5 years now. I know how inconvenient the PNW weather can be. The vast majority of the pilots I’ve flown with did their training in SEA or PDX. It’s not going to take you an extra 12 months to finish the program. I think the longest I’ve heard was a year total, but that’s the exception, not the norm. 8-10 months is common. Check those estimates with the CFIs in Hillsboro.
Thanks for introducing yourself! Super jealous of that interest rate. I still can’t get over it. That’s better than the rate I refinanced my loan to. Keep up the good work!
Do you know of any loans that don’t require a co-signer? I’m only 19 so I don’t have a long enough credit history and unfortunately no one I know has good enough credit to be eligible to co-sign.
