Hey everyone this is my first post here.
I had a question that I hope some of you could answer or help me on.
Some context:
I’m a high school senior looking to become a professional airline pilot. I am a US Citizen but I live outside the US. I was wondering whether to do flight training first or college first. As it stands I have multiple acceptances to universities in the US, Ireland, and India (Mom lives in India, Dad in Ireland). Ideally I would like to go to university in the US but since I’m categorised as an out-of-state applicant, even with scholarships this option is not financially viable, especially considering that I would need to pay 90k+ for flight school in the future.
I came up with an idea that may solve some of my problems and work out financially as well. My Dad and I would move to Florida and I would start flight training there, after 10-12 months I’d go from zero hours to CFI/CFII then go to a regular (not online) 4-year university in Florida. The reasoning for Florida specifically is that I would be able to establish Florida residency in 12 months as a dependent and Florida has the least in-state tuition in the US coupled with the abundance of flight schools to instruct at in Florida. This way I could build hours as a flight instructor part time while in university and by the time I graduate I would have 1500 hours and be eligible to work at a regional airline.
Obviously this plan would only work if my Dad agrees to move but my main question is if this plan would be better than the alternative which is getting a bachelor’s in India or Ireland then moving to the US and starting flight training + 18-24 months of time building?
I know this plan sounds outlandish but are there any obvious downsides or problems I might run into with this plan?
Other things to note:
I have First Class Medical
Parents are US Citizens
I really don’t want to go to college outside the US:)