Hello all, my name is Daniel and I have a few questions if I may. I am highly interested and motivated to becoming a commercial pilot but hesitating a bit due to my age. I am 50 years old and I know that the retirement age for commercial pilots is 65. Questions would be: A) Would it be worth it as I would only be able to fly commercial for 11 to 12 years? And B) What are my options after retirement?
If I make it past the first couple of questions, what would be some steps I could take prior to attending the flight school? I noticed a few other people saying they took some written tests, what are those and where can I acquire the study materials? Also, are Written exams online or in a class? Any help Would be greatly appreciated!
No one can say what’s worth what to anyone else. What’s important is that your expectations are realistic. If your thinking you’ll be flying a 787 to Narita for Delta making $450k a year that’s not going to happen. There’s simply not enough time left in your career. But if you wouldn’t mind being a fairly senior Capt at a Regional or an LCC that’s quite doable. Is that worth it? Only you know what your goals are and what you’re trying to accomplish.
As for life after 65 there are corporate and some other gigs out there depending on your area. What’s important to keep in mind is you’ll be completing for those jobs with other 65yo pilots, except many of them will have been flying for 40yrs with 20,000hrs. So who do you think is getting hired first?
As for your second set of questions, first go take an introductory flight. It’s summer time so it can be hot and bumpy. See how you do and how it feels to be up in a small trainer aircraft. From there, check out the steps to enrollment section on the ATP website. That will give you step by step guidance to applying for the program. Once you get a start date set, you can start thinking about knocking out some written exams. There are various free apps you can utilize to study for those tests. Once prepared you take the exams at official testing sites near you.
Adam & Hannah, thank you for your candor! Honestly, I would’ve been fine making between 120K to 300K up till Retirement but I kind of figured the competition would’ve been really stiff after Retirement. Looks like I still have some serious thinking to do. Thank you very much for taking the time to respond and the info provided! I know time is a valuable commodity and I appreciate yours!
Sorry I’m a few days late to the party here. 50 years ago, starting training tomorrow, you’d be around 53 (let’s call it) when you would be a candidate for the airlines (if that’s the route you went). That would leave you with a 12-year career (retirement age is still 65 - even though there’s discussion about 67). Given that it would take about 2 years to upgrade, if you found yourself in a company that has a flow, 6 years (let’s call it) be able to flow OR stay as a captain at the current airline - you could theoretically have a fantastic retirement and income for those 12 years. First year FO’s are making 6 digits nearly and pay extensions are being renewed.
If you decided to stay at a Regional or LCC as a captain, your QOL and seniority could provide you decent schedules as you near the end of the career you would have.
Do you have any flight experience in a trainer aircraft?
