Hello, Can a 47 years old woman start a pilot career, is it too late ? can a woman is accepted in Airlines as airline pilot in 50 years?
Since, when I was 22 years old, I always amazed to become pilot, due to my immigration it took many years to become a US citizen and also stepped back from pilot career by taking care for kids & their education. Now, that I am free and I can start looking after my passion to become pilot.
What are the pros and cons to start a career as airline pilot at 47 years
right now, I am getting a salary of $110K in IT software industry, but wants to pursue my 2nd innings of career as pilot due to passion.
even if I get selected as a regional pilot, will I get paid same as what I earn $110K now? or will I be at risk of losing current decent pay , or as a woman it would be risk to start a career all over again in 50’s ?
will a menopause be an issue for woman to be a pilot in 50’s during First medical exams?
I thank for the valuable info on these posts, appreciated for your suggestions
Good morning—
I am sure you have worked your way through the FAQs on this forum and found this resource written by our resident expert emeritus Adam:
I have seen pilots in their 50s in my new hire classes at the regional, Part 91/135 and my major. In 3-4 years you can make it to a regional and be close to replacing your current income. It happens and can be done but with many caveats. Primarily, we rely on good health to keep our careers going. Losing the 1st class medical can happen to anyone, but is more likely as you get older. If you end up in a situation where your medical is gone, the investment of $100+k and associated lost income will be very difficult to recover. For any specific questions, a local AME is a better resource than this forum. Second, there are opportunity costs associated with changing careers. It’s the potential advancements in your present career you may miss, possible investments not made, retirement account depletion, etc. It’s not just the loss of income during the first years of your career but also loss of quality of life. You will likely never see another holiday season at home and adjusting to living half of your life on the road is a lot more difficult as you get older.
So, if this is a career you’ve spent your entire life dreaming of, it may very well be worth it for non-monetary reasons. Otherwise, getting a PPL and an instrument rating to let you occasionally rent an aircraft and go flying may be a wiser financial decision.
Welcome to the forum, we’re glad you’re here. Quick summary of my answer: 47, too old? No. Is the clock ticking? Yeah.
Realistically speaking, you’re 47 years old, let’s assume 48 to make my numbers and theory a bit easier. Starting your training now, you would be ATP eligible if you completed the ACPP, instructed immediately following, by 50. That would give you a rough 15-year airline career, whether you stayed as a regional captain (holding decent seniority) or decided to pursue a major/legacy and jumped through the hoops there, you probably aren’t going to see a widebody captain (maybe it could happen one day?).
First year first officers right now in the regionals are making nearly $96/hr. (queue the older generation pilot phrases - “back in my day”) and most regionals are minimum guaranteed at 75 hours a month. This figure correlates to $7,200 gross (base pay) a month, this number also does not factor in trip per-diem (non-taxed) and OTG (over-time guaranteed pay). Companies such as mine (Piedmont), at 750 P121 hours, you’re offered captain’s pay which would be YR2 or YR3, $157.25 (if I remember off top my head, I’m YR3 pay [which is slightly higher] at Piedmont), which would increase your gross base pay $4,000 more a month. While the regionals don’t offer as large of a 401k contribution/match to the legacies, you can still be aggressive if you’re also looking to build a decent retirement.
As per the medical, I recommend reaching out and consulting an AME:
Please let us know if you have further questions, etc., we’re here to help. Also, have you completed any introductory/discovery flights in the past? I think to solidify your passion, you should reach out to a local school and ATP, completing introductory flight(s).
You’re welcome, please let us know if there is anything else you may have or interested in. If you get to do a discovery flight, let us know how that goes!
I’m in the process of moving to career 2.0 - if you want a detailed list of costs, I’ve kept a detailed log of my costs for each license/certificate that I can send you
As Brady said, never too late but time is of the essence here! If you start soon, be a at the regionals by 50 you could still have 15 great years of flying. The only caveat is, keep your expectations in check. With that amount of time left, you could have a great life, making great money as a captain at a regional airline. Or you could go for a major airline but sacrifice seniority along the way.
Pay for regional pilots is better than ever. You might not make exactly $110k first year, but more like $95,000 on average first year. After that captain pay rates are around $150k. The time you’ll need to plan and budget for is the 9 months you will be unemployed going through the program as well as the remains 15 months or so you will be making minimal CFI pay ($30k-$40k). It’s not ideal but it’s only temporary!
The first thing you should do is set up a tour of the nearest ATP location and a discovery flight. If you are still interested in chasing this dream you can follow the enrollment steps to get started!
Another question, what if not selected into Regionals ,will all my finances kept into training will be wasted? or do I need to keep trying for Regionals ?
until then, do I need to figure out how to survive with my livelihood at 50’s
it is possible to please suggest as how much would it total cost for Pilot Training until we get into Regionals
Self study total cost - ?
School based Training Cost - ?
Sorry for being specific, since trying to get an idea at this 47 years of age, as a woman whether would it be risky to put my life savings into pilot career or is ok to pursue with the pilot career (need to figure out back up plan if fall part from pilot career plan)
If you don’t make it into the regionals, there are other flying opportunities available. Can you keep trying for the airlines? Of course! But there are other flying jobs available, and may even be more rewarding for you personally. I know people who fly charter jets, people who fly medevac, people who fly cargo feeders (that take packages from main hubs to smaller communities). Some people end up being lifelong flight instructors, which may be a way for you to have a flying career alongside your IT career without totally changing paths. I encourage you to do a bit more research about flying and what the opportunities are as a pilot. Some of them pay well, others not so much. But how much do you want to fly? How passionate are you about flying?
Cost can vary, ATP publishes their price. Can you save money by going to a local airport mom and pop shop? Maybe, but I would say it could go either way unless you have very good guidance on how to avoid costly pitfalls when navigating that path. Knowing what I know now I can probably get everything done cheaper than what I spent at ATP but when I went to ATP I didn’t have that knowledge yet so I’m not sure I would have spent less money.
That being said, ATP’s fixed cost is only fixed if you can complete the program as planned. The success rate is high but not everyone is ready for the rigor and pace of the program.
Is it too late is often asked around here, and the answer is usually no. It’s possible to achieve anything if you put your mind to it. However, you have to be very honest with yourself on whether you are ready for this type of program. I went to ATP when I was 42, and I had to work a lot harder than my younger classmates to achieve the same results. And the training doesn’t stop, every new airline, new jet, or even just the annual recertification at my airline is a continual test on my aging brain that’s about to turn 46.
When was the last time you did a year long your-job-is-on-the-line kind of intense training? Are you ready to continue this type of high intensity training once you get to the regionals in your early 50’s? I’m not saying if you specifically can or cannot do it, but make sure you are asking yourself these questions now, before half your life savings are spent.
Are you taking a big risk? Absolutely. But only you can decide whether it’s worth it. I can say personally for me it has been worth it, and I hope you will end up with the flying career you have always wanted.
Hey Hannah…I’ve made it through commercial. Multi is on the schedule for next month. Im just over 1/3 done with the hours, but it was ~47k from 0 to commercial @ ~260hrs
That’s fantastic news, congrats on getting up to your CMEL ride. What multi are you flying at your local 61 school? I know Piper Seminole’s are typically the trainer; however, I know a few schools to use the Aztec and/or Duchess, if they’re available, some use the Baron here or there.
Are you planning on getting your CFI to build your time or looking at a local gig?
Thanks! For the multi, I’m going to head south to Florida and complete in Ft Lauderdale since Ohio weather is shot for the next couple months. They use a Duchess.
My plan is to stay at current gig (financial planning) until career 2.0 is ready
Nice, I’ve never been in a Duchess before, but I’ve seen a few. As for the Ohio weather, I can relate, being from the northeast, as well. Totally understand about waiting until you’re fully ready to commit.
Please feel free to keep us posted on how things proceed.