Hi, I’m at 15 year old freshman looking to fly for an airline in the future. I’m wondering what the best course of action would be and what you would recommend I do to get to my dream job at a legacy airline.
Brendan,
The best thing you can do is to do well in high school, get into a good college and after college attend a fast track flight training program. We generally do not recommend aviation colleges as they are incredibly expensive and do not offer a backup plan. We recommend to major in something else that you are interested in, such as business, to give your self a backup should aviation not work out.
Chris
Hi Chris,
Thank you for your advice. For my personal situation, my parents have been saving for college every since I was born, and I have enough money saved up to the point of where I may not need a loan for college. Therefore, the expenses aspect of an aviation school would be covered for me. However, if I used this money for anything else, such as ATP, I would have to pay the penalty for it. I believe the penalty is 10% of the money saved. Also, like you mentioned, I need a backup plan, and I could possibly get that from an aviation college. UND, for example, is in the top 5% in the US for their business school. Would you still recommend that I attend a university and then go through a quick program such as ATP, or should I attend an aviation college like UND?
Brendan,
I think it’s past Chris’ bedtime so I’m going to chime in. Where you go to school is a decision you and your parents need to make. UND is a fine school and if you chose to go there and get a business degree that’s fine. Our 2 biggest concerns are A) getting a degree in aviation really doesn’t accomplish anything. First off you’re putting all you eggs in the aviation basket and if for any reason you don’t end up flying (whether it be choice, medical, etc) there’s not much you can do with it. B) You want to do well in college AND you want to do well in your flight training. Sometimes we spread ourselves too thin and one (or both) suffers which is no good for anyone. These are important considerations and only you (and your parents) know what’s best for you and how much you can handle. Just offering some food for thought.
Adam
Brendan,
Only you can make that decision. I am not familiar with the specifics of your 529 plan and cannot tell you how to best spend your parent’s money. What I suggested is the fastest, most economical route, but your results may vary.
Chris