Hi everyone! I am interested in becoming a pilot! Currently, I am working for Lockheed Martin on the F-35 with a great salary and my bachelors under my belt. Upon completion of my Masters degree from Texas A&M in 2023 I am wanting to pursue my dream of being a pilot and flying for a living!
I am married and have two young kids (2 y/o and a 7 month old). For those of you that had a family while training + worked full time, what was your experience and what advice do you have for pursuing this career field?
Thank you for the insight and I look forward to speaking with everyone regarding this topic.
Successful flight training depends heavily on consistency. This is why the military and the airlines train their pilots daily and this is why we recommend full-time flight training. Each skill builds on the last and the fewer lapses there are the faster you’ll progress.
The downside is many of us have lives and it can be challenging to put those lives on hold, particularly with small children at home.
That said it can be done but there’s no question it will depend on support and understanding from your family. Not just during training but until you build seniority at an airline that means being away from home and missing holidays, weekends, dance recitals, ball games etc etc etc. The positive is pilots get blocks of days off and there’s little to no homework, so when you’re home you’re home.
Best advice I have is discuss with your spouse and go through the pros and cons. It’s the greatest job on Earth but it will definitely require some sacrifice.
Are you sold on completing your masters degree? If flying is what you want to do that could be put off. The masters isn’t required by the airlines. You may want to search this forum a little to look into seniority. The quicker you get the training the quicker you get to what Adam mentioned. I am guessing you are working in Forth Worth area. ATP has a few locations that you should look into. Go take an intro flight to make sure you want to pursue this before making any decisions.
To successfully become a pilot really takes a full time commitment. If you have the ability to give yourself full time to training, then by all means, it can happen. I do think this will be difficult with such small children though. You will really need a strong support network in place.