I am currently a junior in college and am working towards a Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. With that being said, I have been considering the idea of attending flight school (possibly ATP) upon graduation and I would like to ask a few questions before going any further with this.
Although I still have two years of school left, the time has come for me to make some serious decisions about my future. I am also considering law school and will have to begin working towards that very soon if I choose that path. But then again, I have taken an introductory flight lesson at a local airport and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I appreciated the orderly nature of planes and airports, and it is worth mentioning that I do tend to thrive in such highly structured work environments.
I am not paying for my undergraduate education, but I will have to take out a loan for flight school. So my first point of concern is financial earnings and job stability. I personally know a couple of pilots and I am well aware of the pilot shortage. But the actual pay scale for regional airlines and tuition reimbursements from ATP seem a bit confusing. I know it varies a lot, but what can I really expect to make as a regional first officer (salary+bonus)? Would the return on investment be worth it if I start from zero hours?
I just want to have a decent, unbiased idea of what to expect from becoming a pilot. I have heard some people say that I will be making less than a McDonald’s employee, and I have heard others say that there is a high demand for pilots and now is the perfect time to pursue a career in aviation. I know this is a lot, but any advice or insight would be much appreciated. Thank you all very much for your time.
Problem comes when you start talking about “returns on investment”. As with any investment nothing is guaranteed or written in stone. If your career follows a somewhat normal track and you eventually end up at a Major as a Capt making over $350k I think most people would agree that would be a solid return. But what if you don’t? The fact is not everyone can or should be an airline pilot. I have no reason to believe you wouldn’t be successful and no it’s not rocket science but it does require a certain amount of skill, intelligence and coordination. Bust enough checkrides and that could seriously affect your career path. Do something really stupid (either professionally or personally) and that too could derail things. Finally you could do everything right and for some reason you simply might not get the nod to the Majors. While most are successful many are not. If that were the case only you could decide if it was a bad return? I started older and frankly never thought I’d make it to a Major. I was fortunate that I did but really I would’ve been fine (albeit not living as well) had I not. I have a job that I love and that made the investment worth it for me.
Adam, thank you for sharing. I?m start flight training with ATP in November at the Fort Lauderdale location and I wanted to have an idea if I still have a chance to make it to the the majors. I know every case is different but I was a little
concerned since I?m starting a little late.
Return on investment can be difficult to quantify as there are so many variables in a pilot’s career. That being said, airline pilots at the majors can easily make $200k or more per year, so that is a pretty good salary in my opinion. There are of course some meager years in the beginning, but that is the same for almost any profession. Check out that article that I wrote, it will really help you to understand airline pilot pay.