Aspiring pilot looking for some advice.

[jeff210]

Hello aviators,

I am currently in high school and highly considering flying for a living. Aviation has always been my passion; making a living out of it would be a dream come true. Reading about the low starting pay, terrible working conditions, and the difficulty of getting an airline job has been really demotivating. If everything goes as planned and flight training goes smoothly, I'll be looking for my first job in 2028. Will things improve by then? Is it worth going for? Are the sacrifices worth it? I know money isn't the most important aspect of a career but I've also heard of many leaving the industry and going for another job. I've had a few brief conversations with real-world pilots and the advice I got is pretty mixed. I would like to gain a better understanding of what to expect and if I should nope out of it before pouring my money into flight school.

Sorry if I missed anything, I'm pretty new here.

Thanks in advance.

[frog]

It's a cyclic industry so by the time you're ready to work, it could have crashed and took off again...who knows.

And yes, the first 5 years are typically difficult.
But if you enjoy it, it's worth it. And the earlier you get in, the better it is.

[Bede]

Don't listen to the whiners. Is starting pay low? Yes. Are the working conditions terrible? Depends who you work for. This is the same for every job in every career path. Everyone has a story about their friend's nephew who learned to program computers and makes $250k at FB. No one mentions the guy who makes $50k struggling to code the back end for some dumb website. Same goes for the trades. No one talks about the guy who used to be a plumber but now he's at Home Depot because his shoulder is worn out from the manual labour.

The truth is there's no better time to get into aviation. The experience required to get a job is fractions of what it once was. When I was hired at Jazz 17 years ago I had 4000 hours including a sizable amount of multi turbine PIC. There days, Jazz is hiring flight instructors with 1000 hrs.

[TrilliumFlt]

After 33 year of commercial aviation, through numerous "ups & downs" I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I say if it your passion then get on with it and don't look back at the naysayers.

[rookiepilot]

Discover whatever you find so fascinating you’ed happily do it for free as a hobby, every day, and find a way to make that your career.

The secret to that, is to know yourself, your gifts, abilities, passion, and talents.

[digits_]

Do it, but only if you have a backup so you can leave when necessary or when your priorities change. It will make you a safer and happier pilot.

[co-joe]

I would never talk anyone into this business, and nobody could have talked me out of it. That's the level of determination you need to make it.

[vanislepilot]

What year of high school are you in? You'd be surprised how fast you can get working. I started my PPL the summer before grade 12 and got my first airline job less than 5 years after graduating. That includes covid crap.

If you want it bad enough, it's very possible. Student loans always help.

[Bug_Stomper_01]

Get your private license first and see if you actually like it. Yes things in Canada are very soft right now and you should have backup education as someone else said on this thread. Is it an awesome trade? Yes, but you need to be prepared for years of crap pay and work / living conditions before you make a decent wage flying. This is definitely a cyclical career and in the past decade there’s been more peaks and valleys than the previous decades I’ve been in this. The world is crazy right now and it’s affecting every career, but in reality aviation is the first to get chopped when things are tough and the last to get going again when the economy corrects itself.

Bottom line, you need steady income and a steady career, aviation in Canada does not afford that reliably right now. If I could give anyone in high school advice passionate about aviation, I’d say get your private pilots license (fixed and or rotary), but put your university degree first and foremost.

[Bede]

but put your university degree first and foremost.

I'm not going to say that's bad advice, but I worked with a captain years ago with a grade 10 education. His favourite line was, "while you were in school I was building seniority." Probably not great advice, but I loved the line.

Something to think about too: "having a back-up" isn't much of a back-up. No one will hire you without recent experience in that field, especially anything to do with engineering or IT.

[Bug_Stomper_01]

but put your university degree first and foremost.

I'm not going to say that's bad advice, but I worked with a captain years ago with a grade 10 education. His favourite line was, "while you were in school I was building seniority." Probably not great advice, but I loved the line.

Something to think about too: "having a back-up" isn't much of a back-up. No one will hire you without recent experience in that field, especially anything to do with engineering or IT.

I don’t exactly agree with what you’re saying. A degree is not nothing, engineering is something that can be done part time as a side hustle as well, there’s lots of contract work for mechanical engineers out there and in fact most are contract right now. Either way, my 2c is to have a second career, “back-up” isn’t good syntax for the message I was trying to convey.

[static_invertor]

I have a degree, but I'll give you my two cents.

It's meaningless in aviation, except for the human resources computer at Air Canada that sorts applicants using a script.

Flying an airplane is not abstract job that requires conceptual thinking. You're not writing position paper. The level of math required is basically grade 3 adding and subtracting.

You're just operating a machine.

It's actually pretty much a labor job - and that's how management often treats you.

The most important thing is your personality... I don't care if you have a Phd or Grade 2.... after 11 hours sitting in a closet with you do I want to shoot you... that's what matters.

[digits_]

but put your university degree first and foremost.

I'm not going to say that's bad advice, but I worked with a captain years ago with a grade 10 education. His favorite line was, "while you were in school I was building seniority." Probably not great advice, but I loved the line.

Something to think about too: "having a back-up" isn't much of a back-up. No one will hire you without recent experience in that field, especially anything to do with engineering or IT.

If you are planning on staying in aviation 'forever', then a degree might not be very useful for that career. But having a backup gives you the option of walking away from shady operators or from commercial aviation altogether if your wife or kids start complaining.

I think most pilots, including myself, got into commercial aviation with the idea of 'I'll do this forever!', but reality catches up quickly though, and people change.

Recent experience is important to find a job. But doing things part time is possible for a lot of jobs.

Note that the backup doesn't necessarily have to be a degree. If you're a handy fellow or have an entrepreneurial spirit, those can all be legitimate alternatives or additions to your pilot job.

If you do decide to go the aviation route, think about those things for a moment though. Being 'stuck' in a pilot/airline job might eventually pay off financially, but it can wreak havoc on your health and personal life. Getting through the sucky part is much easier when thinking 'I'll give it one more year, and if I don't like it, I'll go back to XXXX' vs 'Dammit, this sucks, can't believe I've got to suffer through this for another 30 years!'
Mentally, that's a huge difference.

[Bede]

but put your university degree first and foremost.

I'm not going to say that's bad advice, but I worked with a captain years ago with a grade 10 education. His favourite line was, "while you were in school I was building seniority." Probably not great advice, but I loved the line.

Something to think about too: "having a back-up" isn't much of a back-up. No one will hire you without recent experience in that field, especially anything to do with engineering or IT.

I don’t exactly agree with what you’re saying. A degree is not nothing, engineering is something that can be done part time as a side hustle as well, there’s lots of contract work for mechanical engineers out there and in fact most are contract right now. Either way, my 2c is to have a second career, “back-up” isn’t good syntax for the message I was trying to convey.

When you're talking about mechanical engineers doing contract, are we talking about a fresh university engineering grad or someone with experience and a PEng?

[Bug_Stomper_01]

I'm not going to say that's bad advice, but I worked with a captain years ago with a grade 10 education. His favourite line was, "while you were in school I was building seniority." Probably not great advice, but I loved the line.

Something to think about too: "having a back-up" isn't much of a back-up. No one will hire you without recent experience in that field, especially anything to do with engineering or IT.

I don’t exactly agree with what you’re saying. A degree is not nothing, engineering is something that can be done part time as a side hustle as well, there’s lots of contract work for mechanical engineers out there and in fact most are contract right now. Either way, my 2c is to have a second career, “back-up” isn’t good syntax for the message I was trying to convey.

When you're talking about mechanical engineers doing contract, are we talking about a fresh university engineering grad or someone with experience and a PEng?

Either or, I have seen both, there is work out there for engineers of varying degree of education / experience. Indeed and LinkedIn are flooded with engineering jobs I keep getting notifications for. Just my 2c, trying to offer up what I would do starting out in 2022 as an aspiring pilot.

[Bede]

That's fair. I know a couple of people who have engineering degrees and were out of the field for year to do something else/raise children. Neither could find work after 15 years out of the profession.

[Bug_Stomper_01]

That's fair. I know a couple of people who have engineering degrees and were out of the field for year to do something else/raise children. Neither could find work after 15 years out of the profession.

That’s a little different, out completely is not the same as staying active partially.