I’ve always had dream to be in cockpit and actually fly commercial airline but scared to do it cause. My family. I support three kids And I’m also army reserve does any one have. Advice or anything to push me to actually do this
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Alberto,
The last thing any of us ever want to do is “push” someone to fly (or anything else). All we can offer is some advice and our experiences as people who were in similar situations.
When I started I also had (still have) 3 children, a wife, mortgage, dog, car payments etc. Making the transition to flying was to some degree selfish. While I was supporting my family just fine, I was very dissatisfied with my job and was not very pleasant to be around. The transition also required a pretty big paycut at the beginning and also took me away from my family. Those were the cons. The pros were when I was home I was more “present” and MUCH more pleasant to be around. I was also able to to share my love of travel with my family and took my kids on many fun, cool little adventures which I never would have otherwise. As my seniority increased, I was able to have much better schedules (ie, more time at home) and make more money than I ever have.
A key factor for you is we’re currently in the largest pilot shortage in history. Getting hired is a given and the starting pay has gone from under $20k to $90k+ which makes the whole process far less painful and much less uncertain. That said you will be away from home and you will have to tighten your belt in the beginning during training.
With all the above said only you can decide what’s best for you and yours but I hope this helps.
Adam
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Thank you I appreciate the info I really want do it. Just scared leave kids behind even though I only get them in weekends
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Alberto,
You need to take an intro flight. If you come back saying, “that was amazing. I can’t wait to get started,” that’s the way to start. If you’re already hesitant about wanting to do it, then of course you’ll find many reasons not to. It’s a tough road with plenty of risks.
You need to be all in or all out. There will be sacrifices for you and your family so you’ll also want to make sure you have their full support.
There is financing available for the flight training loan. You can also add some additional cash as a stipend to get you through the unemployment period. Starting CFI pay is tough but now regional FO pay is great. You won’t be hurting for long. Plus there are dozens of tuition reimbursement programs to help cover your training costs so all
Your income as a CFI can go to supporting your family.
Expect to work weekends and holidays as a new FO but with all the hiring movement, hopefully that won’t be for long.
Hannah
Ok I appreciate the information it’s a discussion I’m definitely going to have with my childrens mother. I was looking into the envoy program that American Airlines does and really caught me eye.
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