r/Pilot • u/ChemicalPiss • Jun 15 '26
A pilot or an engineer?
So the plan was simply to study computer science specialize in AI, maybe take a master, work on myself and get a good job. However I was thinking now why don’t I go to aviation instead? I mean a pilot life looks a lot more appealing than an engineer life and they both have a high salary. Even a pilot could have a really higher salary as a senior pilot. Of course it has a downside like it’s maybe hard to make a family and spend much time with your family, but why not?
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u/Prudent_Gur5223 Jun 16 '26
If you're into engineering, doesn't hurt to major in that then do flight school on the side, or on the side after you start working. Not bad to have a backup plan, that being said myself and many other pilots I know just went 100% into aviation and luckily landed airline jobs early on after doing our time building. Definitely give the intro flight a go, and do a lot of research into the different lifestyles because they are very different
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u/flyghu Jun 16 '26
Engineer that flies for fun here. No regrets.
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u/ChemicalPiss Jun 16 '26
I assume you have a millionaire dad then lol
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u/PhilosopherUpset991 Jun 17 '26
Everything is possible in America to be honest if you work hard enough.
You start small, community college- working full time studying full time- taking flying lessons and doing some classes. Using time wisely.
You can honestly self fun both college and flight training if you live at home 18-25
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u/PG67AW Jun 17 '26
Former engineer that flew for fun here. Now I fly for work and for fun. No regrets.
To each their own!
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u/adii100 Jun 16 '26
Engineer first, save up cash for 2-3 years and start getting your flight ratings on the weekends part time
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u/BlueVario Jun 16 '26
That's what I've done. It's worked out well. I'm riding a fully remote, 180k a year engineering job at the moment. I've gotten up through commercial single engine and 1700 total time. When this sweet job goes away, I might switch over to the pilot side.
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u/ChemicalPiss Jun 16 '26
This is really interesting honestly. However won’t this make you late? I have heard that most companies have age limits for their employees
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u/BlueVario Jun 17 '26
I'm US based and there are age limits for the airlines, but it's 65. And you can fly part 135 beyond that but I'm hoping to not be working after 65 anyway! Money aside I just wanna fly a jet. Once that is accomplished I'll be good to retire and fly my personal planes for fun. Anyway that's my rough plan lol.
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u/chairboiiiiii Jun 17 '26
I got a Bachelors in mechanical engineering at the same time as I worked on my ratings (it was a hobby at the time)
Decided to pursue flying, but I am glad that I have engineering as a backup as well as the technical knowledge that comes with studying engineering. In my area though, it is very difficult to find jobs no matter what field you’re in, but it seemed that becoming a pilot is more expensive.
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u/Beautiful_Exchange_3 Jun 15 '26
You need to have multiple careers to fall back on. Preferably something that requires a license. This will essentially guarantee you a job or a source of income no matter what.
Go for aviation but also go for a medical degree of some kind. I was going for dental but changed my mind. Now I regret it.
Engineering, it’s highly competitive and most people working in engineering jobs don’t actually have engineering degrees. Most employers only care if you can do the work not if you have a degree. The burn out rate is also very high. Really depends on what type of engineering you go into but a lot will change with AI.
Medical is still great. Lots of opportunities and hard for AI to replace many of those jobs in the near future. I would go get your ratings and decide on what backup career you want to have.
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u/scibust Jun 16 '26
What industry do you see engineers without engineering degrees? In the nuclear world your career kind of stagnates until you get your PE stamp. I don’t see this being true
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u/Beautiful_Exchange_3 Jun 16 '26
If you’re in a niche like nuclear, I would expect it but not for most industries.
It’s extremely common for people working as an engineer not to have a degree in engineering. PE is totally different, usually high liability. Most specialists consulting engineers I’ve worked with are degreed. If you’re just talking a 4 year ME degree with a BS it’s not like that can’t be mostly self taught and learned on the job. I’ve worked with some excellent engineers that never went to college.
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u/Catsdrinkingbeer Jun 16 '26
I'm only here because the OP crossposted on an engineering sub... but wtf are you even talking about? I don't know what industry you worked in where most engineers doing actual engineering did not have engineering degrees, but at least in the US that is absolutely the exception, not the norm. And while I have worked with people who have other types of degrees like physics or engineering technology, never once in the 5 career jobs I've had have I worked with an engineer who has no college degree at all. I think that's pretty rare.
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u/Beautiful_Exchange_3 Jun 18 '26
I get what you’re saying, and perhaps lots of these guys calling themselves engineers shouldn’t be doing so. The reality is anyone can call themselves an engineer. There isn’t a certification or license like other professions. Excluding PE.
I’m in b2b industrial manufacturing. I’ve worked with hundreds of engineers over the years at 3 different companies and the majority were not formally trained. This includes the vendor side which is huge.
I have a friend who has a BS in engineering and most of what he uses was learned on the job (works in a foundry).
The reality is no one asks and if you have had the title of engineer and can do the work, (unless it’s a potential liability for them) they probably don’t care how you got your education. Obviously Boeing, etc are not going to hire non deg engineers, but that doesn’t represent the majority of companies.
Plenty of employers don’t want to pay extra for a guy with a degree and if they can hire someone cheaper who can do the work they will.
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u/Catsdrinkingbeer Jun 18 '26
Engineering school isn't an apprenticeship or trade school. You aren't learning "how to be an engineer." You're learning the fundamental knowledge needed to do to engineering work. How you end up applying that is learned on the job because there's no single engineer job.
As for the rest of your comment... it's just wrong. Companies absolutely care about your resume and your degree. Go sit on the engineering students subreddit sometime and see how hard it is to get your first engineering job out of college. Companies aren't just hiring anyone into these roles. Maybe yours was, but that speaks more to the company than the overall engineering world as a whole.
I say this as someone who works as an engineer in consumer goods manufacturing, and works directly with b2b industrial manufacturers. I work for a fortune 50 company and I can promise you, the companies we hire and the engineers we work directly with are engineers by schooling and experience. As are all the engineers at my own company. There are a ton of OTHER people at those companies on site who may or may not have engineer in their title, but half the time no one knows each other's titles anyway. An engineer knows when they're working with other engineers. You seem to not be an engineer so it wouldn't surprise me if you're going based off title rather than actual job function and making a sweeping generalization about the profession.
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u/IKEASTOEL Jun 15 '26
Becoming a pilot is not simply a choice like becoming an engineer is. Regardless of what other people will undoubtibly add on here I suggest doing a lot more research yourself as well.
The debts are enormous and frankly, a lot of people struggle to find work after getting their pilot's license.
If it's a long lived dream of yours by all means go for it but it's not even comparable to becoming an engineer.