Hello Chris,
Thank you so much for reaching out to me.
My name is Anthony and I am 46years now.
But since childhood I longed to be a pilot but I couldn’t have a chance from my Home country, (Uganda)
I am a permanent resident in the US and I feel the same love for the profession.
Do I still have a chance to do it?
As well, I tried to apply for education grant or financial aide but I’ve not yet been successful.
How can I be able to get in this field successfully??
Thank you so much Chris.
God Almighty bless you dearly
This question gets asked often and the answer never changes. As long as you’re realistic about your goals, yes you can still be an airline pilot. If you’re thinking of being a Delta 787 Capt flying to Paris that’s not going to happen.
The thing is mandatory retirement is 65. At 46 if you start training and building your time TODAY, you could be at an airline in 2.5yrs so you’d be 48-49. That would leave you 16yrs to fly. Not terrible but not enough time to really make it to the big leagues.
Long short if you think you’d be happy as a Regional or LCC Capt or a maybe an FO at a Major (maybe) then I’d give it a shot but if not don’t.
Welcome to the forum. Adam answered your question very well, I would just add that if this is something you want to do, you need to get started now and not spend much more time thinking about it.
Adam said it best around 4 years ago here on the forum, I remember well, “the clock is ticking.” If you want to get it started and have a career, you are getting up there in age. 46, rounding your age to the nearest whole, we’ll call it 47 to be safe. It takes roughly 2 - 2.5 years to be a qualified applicant for the airlines, age 50 to be safe. That leaves you with a 15-year career (which can still be a rocking career) in the airlines or wherever you desire.
As for the financial lending side of things, it is common for individuals to need a co-signor when applying for this loan. I recommend giving the ATP Finance Department and/or your personal advisor with financial questions.
Please let us know if you have any other questions, we’re happy to assist.
Go to the link Chris provided. The loan for ATP isn’t an education grant or financial aid through government programs, it’s a personal loan provided by a bank. If you have more questions or need help, reach out to the finance department. They are happy to help!