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Want To Be An Airline Pilot- Folks Disagree and I'm Questioning Myself Too

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by dolfan94, Aug 2, 2010.

  1. dolfan94

    dolfan94 New Member

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    Dont know if this is the right place for this.
    Well. Im 16. Have awesome grades and could go to a good college if I want to. Until now I wanted to study medicine or law. But the pilot job really interests me. Do we have any pilots here? My parents dont like it but they'll let me do whatever I want. But I'm questioning myself now. I dont want to spend too much time away from home and my future family. I dont want the wife cheating on me since Im away from home either.

    Do you guys know any pilots? How is the job like?
     
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  2. opfinistic

    opfinistic Braaaaains!

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    I have no idea. But you're 16 years old. You have time to figure things out, and more than likely you'll change your mind another 10 times before you go to college.
     
  3. anlgp

    anlgp ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A

    Don't let anyone or anything hold you back.

    If you don't believe in yourself who will?

    It took me a long time to realize that.
     
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  4. dolfan94

    dolfan94 New Member

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    I know Im 16. Im entering my junior year of high school, but you can take a "career path" sort of in high school. Like if you want to be a doctor, you can take an anatomy class, or if you want to be a lawyer, you can take a debate class. Not a big deal, but I want to sort of set myself in the right path. Although I agree with you, I will probably change my mind about 30 more times. Although when I wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer I had doubt, but now I feel like its the right job for me. The only concern is the time away from home.
    I am realizing that. Its just that if my parents don't want me to be this, they must have a reason why, and we've discussed this, and their reasons why are legitimate. Mostly the same concerns that I have, plus other stupid ones. But I won't let them hold me back, and my parents have told me they would support me whatever my choice
     
  5. opfinistic

    opfinistic Braaaaains!

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    What would you do every day if you didn't need to worry about money?
     
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  6. alen1

    alen1 New Member

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    That's a great question for anyone looking for a career.
     
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  7. dolfan94

    dolfan94 New Member

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    That's a question we all answered in school on the last day, and we got some pretty funny answers. Honestly, I think that as of right now, I would become a pilot. But Im so ignorant about the job that I don't know. Im really good at business, but its not something that I would like to do every day. It stresses me out. Its a question I'll have to truthfully think about and be honest to myself about it
     
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  8. opfinistic

    opfinistic Braaaaains!

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    Whatever it is try to go that direction in your life. Even if it's not feasible as a career, find something that brings you close to it and makes you happy. Too many of us made poor decisions when we were young and have lived long enough to regret them. Don't let that happen to you. :up:
     
  9. dolfan94

    dolfan94 New Member

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    Yeah. I can imagine. One of my favorite hobbies is sports. So every thing I do, I try to associate it with sports. Like if I do medicine, it would be sports medicine, etc.

    But thanks for the advice. Its really helpful! Keep it coming!
     
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  10. Lab3003

    Lab3003 Golden era

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    Be a pilot. Have lots of sex. Everything else will figure itself out. If you don't, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. If we don't dream, then we're no more than ants; moving from job to job without purpose or happiness. I moved to another country to fulfill my dreams, and I don't regret it for a second. That's what's great about your 20's, you have the time to screw stuff up and still recover.
     
  11. opfinistic

    opfinistic Braaaaains!

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    :pointlol:
    Between my last post and this one we paint a bleak picture for the lad!
     
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  12. Pandarilla

    Pandarilla Purist Emeritus

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    My uncle is a pilot. It's a cool lifestyle in your 20's. It does put a strain on your marriage and raising your children. Good income but you might have to wake up at any given moment and fly. He told me that with the technology nowadays all you have to do is take off and land, the rest is just punching in coordinates. He ultimately did it because he couldn't cut it as a Doctor.
     
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  13. Pauly

    Pauly Season Ticket Holder

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    Airline pilots get paid a lot of money because they have to be able to make crucial decisions in a crisis. 99.9% of the job you could train a monkey to do, it's the 0.1% that is where the crucial bit comes in.

    If you really want to fly try the airforce, or air arms of the other military fliers. The flying is much more exciting and rewarding, but the financial rewards aren't the same.
     
  14. Finsanity

    Finsanity New Member

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    If you are serious join the air force and see if you can make it as pilot. If you fall short that's ok because you still come out a better man and better prepare with the skills you learned.
     
  15. TokyoFishFan

    TokyoFishFan New Member

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    How's your eye sight?

    Are you in good physical shape?

    Family health history?

    Look for possible disqualifiers.

    If you can find a job that's not "like work" all the time when you do it, then you'll know.

    Any job can hurt a marriage if it's put above the marriage. Sometimes it's necessary (i.e. long overseas routes), sometimes it's not (i.e. puddle jumper routes). It's all about the sacrifices you want to make.

    Focus on your career first. A lady will come along later and then you can work it out.
     
  16. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    I have a slightly different take than a lot of people. I say find something you LIKE and make it a career and save the things you LOVE for fun.

    No matter the career, there are always aspects that take the joy from it. Whether it be dealing with bosses or clients or just the daily rut. Even porn stars call what they do work. Keep what you are passionate about free from all that.

    I view it like this, you have 3 sets of 8 hours in a day. 1 set is spent working, another is spent sleeping. That leaves only 8 hours a day for you to do as you please. That is even knocked down by commuting, eating, bathroom, dressing, etc. If you don't save what little time you have everyday for things that qualify as a passion then there's no point in life in the first place.
     
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  17. dolfan94

    dolfan94 New Member

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    Airforce isn't for me. My eyesight is perfect. Im in perfect physical health, ok family history, with some setbacks. I'll just have to wait and set my proprities straight.
     
  18. MonstBlitz

    MonstBlitz Nobody's Fart Catcher

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    I would fish. Hence my decision to join the pro bass tour...:lol: I wish...
     
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  19. AbideN703

    AbideN703 Yes, I'd hit it

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    Did you watch 'Catch Me If You Can' again? Not all pilots can mack like Leo
     
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  20. baboo72

    baboo72 Bleeding aqua & orange

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    Study medicine, earn a shed load of money then become a pilot. You'll always have medicine to fall back on if planes aren't around by 2015...I'm still waiting for my flying DeLorean Zemeckis, still waiting..
     
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  21. HardKoreXXX

    HardKoreXXX Insensitive to the Touch

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    Do drugs and bang hookers. Next question.
     
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  22. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    My advice is don't go into medicine unless you really want to help people or really want money, because anything in-between means you will be miserable.
    Don't go into law unless all you care about is money, unless you decide to go down the path of something you believe in like environmental law, where you won't make any money :lol:

    I find, through all the many college kids I used to instruct, that many of them picked pre-med or pre-law because they couldn't find something they really wanted to do instead. Don't make that mistake and waste four years of your life.
     
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  23. Frumundah Finnatic

    Frumundah Finnatic U Mad Miami?

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    Everyone who I know who is in law school, is in hell.
    Its that ****ing difficult, even for grad school apparently.
     
  24. TheMageGandalf

    TheMageGandalf Senior Member

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    I was once thisclose to going through that career path. I decided not to but from what I remember the hardest part was getting the job after school.

    There are plenty of pilots out there so the competition is really high especially from guys that have flown for the Armed Forces.

    If you are willing to take your lumps looking for a gig after school and you love to fly by all means do it. Just remember that way before you even finish school you need to network and try and get on somewhere, anywhere (any airline or even charter) so that you can land the/a job and they dont see you so green. Doesnt mean you need to get a pilot job ahead of time but a job working with an airline/charter wouldnt hurt either.
     
  25. Sethdaddy8

    Sethdaddy8 Well-Known Member

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    maybe consider a prestigious and thorough flight education in the airforce. you could always goto college first, and then enter the airforce as an officer. i'd have to think thats the absolute best way to learn to fly.
     
  26. Muck

    Muck Throwback Uniform Crusader Retired Administrator

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    Lots of good advice in this thread, so I'll try and come at you from a slightly different angle.

    You've said you love sports. It's something your passionate about. This might sound a little off the wall, but depending on your level of passion, you may want to consider how your career path will impact your ability to enjoy these things.

    Using myself as an example, I've always been passionate about the Dolphins and football in general since I was a kid. When it came time to work as a teenager and in college, I made sure up front that my Friday nights and Sundays would be free. If that didn't work for them, I thanked them for their time.

    In my 25 or so years of fandom, I've missed one Dolphins game (as a teenager, for work). And it just reaffirmed how much I couldn't do without it. As an adult, I stayed that course. And I'm not ashamed of it one bit. It's something that's important to me and, above all, makes me happy.

    Basically what I'm saying is, you'll be flying plenty of weekends as a pilot. As was mentioned by others, it comes with an unpredictable schedule. Do you think you'd love flying enough to miss Dolphins games? Or anything else that piloting would conflict with?
     
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  27. mor911

    mor911 pooping

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    Two chicks at the same time man
    [​IMG]
     
  28. Ronnie Bass

    Ronnie Bass Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    George, I sooooo much wanted to post this exact point, I remember working on Sundays during a Dolphin game and it would KILL me to know I was missing them play, it made me sick.

    But I didn't post it because I wasn't sure if I was the only one who would consider this a valid reason to consider what you want to do as a career, but since you did I am just going to happily jump aboard.
     
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  29. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    A very relevant point. ONe of the decisions I had to make at the end of graduate school was to either become a professor or go into the pharma industry. The latter option freed up my weekends and gave me the opportunitiy to do the things I love, including football. Of course, my weekdays are much more hellish than a professor's life, but still made the right choice.
     
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  30. opfinistic

    opfinistic Braaaaains!

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    When are you running for Mayor of DC?
     
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  31. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    Small point:

    - Most commercial airlines pilots do NOT make a lot of money. In fact, most of them make crap money. Only the big carriers pay well and there you're faced with insane competition to get hired in the first place. If you don't get in and need to hire at a regional carrier or a low cost airline, you're not getting paid much better than a janitor.
     
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  32. opfinistic

    opfinistic Braaaaains!

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    It's highly under-rated.
     
  33. dolfan94

    dolfan94 New Member

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    Awesome advice, and it is something that I have and do consider. Sports are a huge part of my life. I couldn't live without them. Both playing and watching. As of piloting, I think I have put it to the side. The negatives outweigh the positives. The biggest negative is spending time away from your family, but that is a huge one.

    The main thing I want to do is medicine. Specifically becoming an orthopedist. LOVE the actual job. Love the doctor environment. And its not in a "hospital environment" with late hours and fast paced environment, so I like that. The only thing I dont like its all the sciences you have to take in college, but Im sure that if Im really commited to what Im doing, I wont care about the classes, and I will actually do well in them
     
  34. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    Not to be a dick, but I'm pretty sure science is a huge part to not only become a doctor, but also to the everyday of the job.

    I (personally) would never consider being any sort of doctor if I didn't like science.
     
  35. opfinistic

    opfinistic Braaaaains!

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    [​IMG]
     
  36. DevilFin13

    DevilFin13 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Not if you're me and you turn into Peter from Office Space when you get your degree.

    Seriously, it is a good question. But I wouldn't worry too much about it right now. I had no clue what my major would be until the end of my sophomore year, much less what my career was going to be. I chose political science because it was really interesting.

    From there I thought I wanted to go to law school. I didn't get into the schools I wanted so I took some time off. Two years later I go to grad school and just recently got my masters. And I still don't know exactly what I want to do for a career.

    But I have very few regrets. I really enjoyed the college and grad school experience. I'm very different from what I was when I was 16, and for the most part I'm happy about that.

    I'm not sure how you would go about being a pilot. But I would assume there is something you can do at a 4 year college to help with that career path. If so I'd go that route and enjoy the experience of having some responsibility but no so much that you can't have a great time.
     
  37. dolfan94

    dolfan94 New Member

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    Haha. What I thread

    Right now, Im pretty sure that I want to become a doctor. Specifically a pediatrician.

    While I would have to take the sciences, etc., taking physics this year has proven to me that if I study(A LOT), I can do well in any class. I currently have an A in the class. So if I really want to become a doctor Im sure I'll study just as hard in college.

    Who knows where I'll be in a few years.
     
  38. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    This may sound cliche but if you work your *** off to you can do whatever you want. Just keep truckin' bro.
     
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  39. dolfan94

    dolfan94 New Member

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    Thanks. That's my Point of View in life as well. My 2nd theory is that since whatever job you have you won't want to wake up and leave your bed to go, you might as well do you that pays good money and gives you a good quality of life.
    For example: I love soccer and I love refereeing soccer but now that I am a ref, getting payed pretty well too, I realized that I still want to stay in bed instead of waking up to referee and that once Im there, I want it to be over. Even if I worked at Dolphins Training Camp I would want it to be over. So I might as well become a doctor(which I like) and have a good quality of life. And I dont mind studying.
     
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  40. Pandarilla

    Pandarilla Purist Emeritus

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    Dude, my grandfather was a Yale graduate pediatrician who was a flight surgeon over Normandy in WWII and he told my sister that it was a better lifestyle nowadays just being a nurse. He said with lawsuits and modern technology it's nothing like the old days of making house calls and what not.

    His son (my uncle who I told you about earlier in the thread) started out wanting to be a doctor but found it to be too difficult and then began flying planes as a second option. So trying to be a doctor first is a good idea, but don't discount the lifestyle of an airline pilot either. There is definitely a prestige factor with being a pilot. He once had a job flying the Charlotte Hornets NBA team in NC. He had free home game tickets and a lavish lifestyle that included being a guest on the owner's yacht once a year. He told me once that it doesn't matter how much money you make in life and he went on to say that the owner of the Hornets was the most miserable person he's ever met in his life.

    Some food for thought...
     

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