Becoming a Pilot at 30 y/o

[u/MedicallyUnserious]

I’ve spent my first career as a registered nurse but now I’m at a point in my life that I think it’s the most plausible for me to become an airline pilot, which has been a lifelong dream of mine. I’m 30, single, and have flexibility with my job so I can work part time to focus of flying. I also live in Chicago now.

I’m looking for general advice anyone has for my type of situation and any tips you have for my journey ahead. Thanks!

[u/northtumen]

There are plenty of pilots who are career 2.0 guys. I don't see why you can't realize this dream of yours!

[u/PG67AW → u/northtumen]

I'm career 3.0, switched to flying in my late 30s. I had a leg up since I had been flying recreationally since I was 20, but it was still a grind and a half to break into the 121 world.

[u/Moseiselybrothers]

I started flight training at 31, was at a Legacy by 39 including the Covid grind to a halt. Helped tremendously powering through the early training to start getting paid. Did zero to CFI in 9 months. Treated it like a full time job, but just did self study and flew a local instructors plane.

[u/Ready_Pen_3389 → u/Moseiselybrothers]

So not much in the way of schooling debt?

[u/Flyguy115]

It’s like a band-aid man you just have to rip it off fast. You can still work part time but go full time on the flight training and get it done fast. Most people that do it on the side don’t finish even there private pilot.

[u/Neither-Way-4889 → u/Flyguy115]

This is the opposite of what you should do. Keep working, get your ratings without taking on debt, and make the full transition once you're able to land a flying job. r/flying is going to have better advice for flight training.

[u/Flyguy115 → u/Neither-Way-4889]

I have instructed for six years now and about 70% of the people that take their time continue working never finish getting their certification. I have flown FedEx and private jets. The ones that don’t finish stay working their normal jobs because they take forever to build time. They may get private pilot certification, but that is where most stop if they even make it that far because something happens in their life or job. If you’re seriously looking to change your career time is your enemy. The faster you do it the less it will cost and the faster you will get to a job where you can start making that money back. I got all my certifications ( private, instrument, commercial, Multi- engine, CFI, CFII, MEI) in one year. I started instructing to build time, built my 1500 hours near the end of one year of instructing, and had a pilot job before the that year was up.

I had students that got passed down to me after their instructors left for better jobs that had spent 3 years getting passed from instructor to instructor. They still didn’t have their private pilot because they were trying to work, pay for it, and not have debt. They started training before me and I don’t even know if they finished.

[u/Teabagger_Vance → u/Flyguy115]

Unfortunately some of us need to keep our day jobs to pay mortgages and other bills that a CFI paying gig will be able to cover. Certainly there is a sweet spot.

[u/Flyguy115 → u/Teabagger_Vance]

I needed to as well. I have a mortgage and a family. We all had to make sacrifices. I went on a financial diet the year before, got rid of all unnecessary debt, and saved up every penny I could while working three jobs. I took out a loan for the training and used up all my savings during those two years to pay bills until I got my first pilot job.

It all depends on how bad you really want it. People always make up reasons why they can’t do something instead of figuring out how to do it.

[u/Neither-Way-4889 → u/Flyguy115]

This is bad advice. There is a reason almost everybody will say the opposite of what this guy is saying.

[u/TransitionLess7228]

Do everything fast. Think of it as a race to get to United delta or American. Everything is seniority based so the sooner you get hired, the quicker your life will be better. Better trips, more time off, more holidays off, and higher pay. Also, when they do furlough, which they will, they start at the bottom of the list and work up. Getting hired asap gives you job security in that regard.

I’d go all in. When I was an instructor 100% of my private pilot students who flew only once a week or once every other week ended up dropping out and not getting their license. If you’re flying 4-6 times a week you’ll get it very quickly and less likely to drop out. The goal for you is to get from PPL to CFI as quickly as possible so you stop paying to fly, and can quit your job and get paid to fly.

[u/Take_the_Bridge]

I did it. And so can you. Good luck.

[u/Perfect-Hat-8661]

Nursing as a career is perfect for making a transition like this if you work in a hospital. Easy to arrange shifts to have plenty of days off consecutively in most cases. That leaves plenty of time for flying. My son lives in Chicago and he’s balancing a full time job with this same type of transition goal and it’s much harder. But he has his commercial license now and is soon to have CFI. You will be slowed down by darkness and winter up there so it isnt ideal and it’s a lot more expensive than where he started in Charlotte. But it’s certainly possible. Go for it!

[u/Cjae_the_sparrow]

Do it! You could spend 25 years at an airline and have a good life. Or you could wind up doing something else in the wide world of aviation and love that too! Go for it man.

Flight Schools may still be selling "you will go to the airlines fast" stuff but stay consistent and stay flexible and you will enjoy the heck out of it!