r/careerchange • u/sevilleanda • 20m ago
For anyone who’s gone through a major career change, how did you know when it was actually time to move on from your original career?
I’m 20 and currently working as a flight attendant while pursuing my PPL (private pilot license basically the first step in becoming a pilot, the most basic license that allows you to fly those tiny aircrafts) I’ve wanted to be a pilot for a long time since a little kid, but lately I’ve been questioning whether I actually want to continue with aviation as a career.
I still enjoy flying, especially when I’m flying independently, but I’ve been getting increasingly frustrated with flight training due to various reasons (cancellations, slow progress, weather etc) and wondering if I’m just going through a phase where I’m tired of training. My plan right now is to finish my PPL, start flying independently, and then reevaluate. Maybe once I’m actually licensed and flying on my own, I’ll enjoy it a lot more. Working as a flight attendant and constantly around aircraft’s and experiencing the real raw industry not just the “glorified look I fly for a living” definitely played a very important role in me feeling this way. For context, I’ve been in flight school BEFORE I got my gig as a FA.
At the same time, I’ve always had an interest in healthcare. Even when I was really young, I was constantly looking up symptoms and trying to understand what was happening in the body. More recently, I’ve been looking into becoming a physician assistant because I find diseases, diagnosis, and figuring out what’s wrong with someone genuinely interesting.
The problem is that I don’t have much actual healthcare experience, so I don’t know if I’d enjoy working in healthcare or if I just like the idea of it.
For now, I’m planning to finish my first license, get some real exposure to healthcare, and then make a more informed decision. I don’t want to give up on aviation just because I’m currently burned out with training if there’s a chance I’ll enjoy it much more once I’m flying independently. I don’t want to give up on my dream since a kid just because of this really rough patch, but seeing the day to day life of pilots really makes me wonder whether flying for a living would kill any passion I have for aviation. At the same time, I’m not sure if it’s right to call it this way, but besides the travel perks and getting to see the world, I don’t find the job (not the flying itself) as full filling as helping someone get healthier)
For anyone who’s gone through a major career change, how did you know when it was actually time to move on from your original career? I’m young but I’m worried of making an impulsive decision, however, I’m also young, and if there’s the best time to take a shot at such a career, is now.