Thank you for this thread - serves as a reminder why I decided not to pursue this a long time ago.
Any pilots here? (Or in training)
- Thread starter deejizzle
- Start date
Motorcycle Mike
Well-known member
Yep, purely anecdotal, but comes from my uncle who is president of a flying club.
He knows a young guy who went to college to become a commercial pilot. 4 years later and who knows how much money and he got his first job as a flying instructor at the Stratford Municipal Airport making about $12/hour.
Not wanting to work as a bush pilot in the middle of nowhere, he did that for 6 years until he got in at Georgian Bay Airways where he made only slightly more at around $25k/year.
This was all about 10 years ago, so salaries might have increased a bit... but 4 years of college and 10 years of experience to make $25k/year is pathetic. He should have just become a truck driver and made at least double from the beginning.
Of course, there is some luck involved... some pilots do make it to the 'big time', the question is, what percentage just work a lifetime in the 'small time'? I've often heard that the pilots who stand the best chance of getting a good job come from the military because they are the ones with the hours behind them. When I was 18 and considering going the air force route, it was 4 years in RMC and a 5 year commitment after that, and 9 years was too much for me to commit to at that time.
He knows a young guy who went to college to become a commercial pilot. 4 years later and who knows how much money and he got his first job as a flying instructor at the Stratford Municipal Airport making about $12/hour.
Not wanting to work as a bush pilot in the middle of nowhere, he did that for 6 years until he got in at Georgian Bay Airways where he made only slightly more at around $25k/year.
This was all about 10 years ago, so salaries might have increased a bit... but 4 years of college and 10 years of experience to make $25k/year is pathetic. He should have just become a truck driver and made at least double from the beginning.
Of course, there is some luck involved... some pilots do make it to the 'big time', the question is, what percentage just work a lifetime in the 'small time'? I've often heard that the pilots who stand the best chance of getting a good job come from the military because they are the ones with the hours behind them. When I was 18 and considering going the air force route, it was 4 years in RMC and a 5 year commitment after that, and 9 years was too much for me to commit to at that time.
The problem is there are no guarantees of when your big ride will come along. Some get lucky and pick up a better paying ride in a few years and others just happen to forever be in the wrong spot when opportunity knocks. It isn't like a trade apprenticeship where you become a journeyman in 4-5 years and get the pay scale to match. More like a bar band hoping to be discovered.
To start you may end up sleeping in the hanger to make ends meet.
You can work as an instructor to build hours but hours in a C-152 don't count for much.
Not sure how a student loan works if you don't make enough to start paying it back.
Dresden
Well-known member
rmemedic
Well-known member
My teenage years were spent around planes. The awesome neighbors across the road had their own grass strip. I grew up surrounded by people in the "know". They all flew... For fun.
I started flying (unofficialy) at 13, did my ground school at 14, and started going through the hours. I wanted to be a bush pilot, and eventually work up to the big show.
I was accepted to a couple colleges for their aviation programs but couldn't afford to go... glad I didn't.
One of the guys my age that I knew went ahead to being a pro... He's still on turboprops, gone a lot and makes about the same as me... And had a fair amount of debt after school.
I haven't flown much the last few years. When I get the chance I do go up with friends, but it's a HOBBY I will save for when I can't race bikes anymore.
I get bored going up, flying around and coming down. After I had an aerobatic flight, flying was never the same.
I started flying (unofficialy) at 13, did my ground school at 14, and started going through the hours. I wanted to be a bush pilot, and eventually work up to the big show.
I was accepted to a couple colleges for their aviation programs but couldn't afford to go... glad I didn't.
One of the guys my age that I knew went ahead to being a pro... He's still on turboprops, gone a lot and makes about the same as me... And had a fair amount of debt after school.
I haven't flown much the last few years. When I get the chance I do go up with friends, but it's a HOBBY I will save for when I can't race bikes anymore.
I get bored going up, flying around and coming down. After I had an aerobatic flight, flying was never the same.
I've been lucky enough to do aerobatics in gliders and single engined aircraft, the latter with ex and current fighter pilots. I haven't wasted money on a roller coaster ride since as everything has become tame now. I still feel sorry for the pilot after I did my first loop the loop and screamed Yee-Ha into the headset and deafened the guy. He was happy not to have someone chucking up in the plane so we went around a few more times to see if we could pull more G's.
Thanks all for the opinions. I'm pretty set in my ways. I already understood the challenges going into this, and I still wish to pursue it.
To those answering my question, thank you. Downtown airport isn't in my price range, and I hear that you get to make contact with Pearson, and strong radio communication skills is something I look to build.
I'll update once I get the ball rolling, just wanted to see how many riders out there have got their wings.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
To those answering my question, thank you. Downtown airport isn't in my price range, and I hear that you get to make contact with Pearson, and strong radio communication skills is something I look to build.
I'll update once I get the ball rolling, just wanted to see how many riders out there have got their wings.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not if you ride the subway! LOL
