i have 2 career choices right now. 1 i want to be a paramedic, i'm in grade 11 and want to do it. I'm mentally prepared for it. but i want a second choice incase something happens. anyways my second choice is to become a pilotanything from flying and teaching others to flying the new airbus, i have 2 concerns though. 1. will i get bored of this hobby and 2 how do i become a pilot for a company like as a personal jet, or flying warbirds.

so where do i start(education), do i go to college university, or flight school and don't worry about education. i started loking but can't find anything.

Thanks for any help, dave trimmer

p.s i think even a bush pilot would be fun.

You're at the age I wish I had been when I got the flying bug. This is what I'd do if I were your age and in your shoes, and wanted it as bad as I'd like to now:

Finish high school, read everything you can about emergency care, bone up on your math and science skills. Go to college, or whatever training program you desire to become a paramedic and work your butt off to become the best one you can be. In the meantime, devote what free time you have to finding part time work to pay for flying lessons, or at least the ground school portion. Get your private pilot license, and devote yourself to building your flight time. As a paramedic, you could find a job with a helicopter or airplane medivac flight service. Give it time; you will build time and experience, and the doors will begin to present themselves. It will be up to you to figure out which ones to knock on or beat down.

So you'll know where I'm coming from, I'm 52 yrs. old, and didn't have the slightest damn notion of what I wanted to do when I was 18, didn't start figuring it out until I was about 25, when I started college to become a Registered Nurse. Although I've always loved airplanes, space, etc., I never considered aviation as a career until I was 32, when I joined the US Air Force, and served 8 years as a Flight Nurse (C-130's and C-141B's) including service during the 1st Gulf War (Desert Storm). I took the FAA ground school in 1992, but the eoconomics of the time, I figured I couldn't afford to stay current enough to be a safe pilot, so I didn't pursue it (was married with 1st kid on the way). I always regretted not doing all that when I was about your age. I just started R/C flying about 4 years ago.

Bottom line: you think you know what you want to do. Focus all your attention and time on those things, and don't let ANYTHING divert you from that course. Good luck, Ken

thanks a lot, for the encouragement

My father doesn't want me to become a pilot but I really wanted to. I'm still @ school and those air force career advisor came and do you think I should join the air force. In the end, my goal is to be a civil aviation pilot with ATPL.

u know i wish i had 20 / 20 vision, then id be flying a UH-60 Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter or a Dolphin Gunship pilot.

I faced that decision about the same time you are. Its a tough industry but heres where I am at.

Graduated high school and got a summer job working as a mechanics apprentice. Used every cent to get my private. Went to college for a couple years and left b/c I didn't know what I was there for. Went to flight school, you can get private funding or government assistance on this. Check out ERAU (embry riddle aeronautical university) in florida. You can get through the flying that way and work your way up as a CFI. The pay is bad, the hours are worse, payoff is good in the long run but it is a lot of work.

I made it through, ended up commercial pilot, multi and instrument rated (didn't get the cfi). Finished school with ERAU graduated with a degree in professional aeronautics and a minor in aviation safety. Back in school now working on a masters. I work for World Airways as a system administrator for AQD (tracking and trending data to improve safety). I always wanted to do the pilot thing for money but as I have gotten a little older I am not so sure (currently 27). Got a fiance, house, all that and being away from home that much probably wouldn't make me too happy so for now I get my check (loving the corporate world) play with my hobbies and try to fly for fun.

Good luck whatever you do,

DA

If you really want to become a Professional Pilot and fly for Airlines or Private Corporations you have several options. Two options come to mind really quick:

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
Kansas State University Aeronautical Division

I wish these were well known entities when I made my decision back in High School. Can't complain I'm a Civil Engineer now and saving some money for my Private Pilot ticket, but had I known about these places 20 years ago, I would probably be in another profession right now.

Living in Kansas, 45 minutes away from the KSU airport (Salina, KS) I've contacted them a few times about night and weekend courses. I'm still waiting.

Rafael

The military has the best fight training in the world Once your serve your time and build hours you will be able to get the civilian job you want. Stick with it. Good Luck!

I have been in aviation for 28 years. I have flown for the airlines and flown corporate. I love to fly, BUT if I had to do it all over again I would have stayed at UPS as a manager and would be able to retire at my current age of 49. Unfortunately aviation has proven to be a tough way to earn a living. Many broken marriages, lots of nights away, all for little pay when you consider other professions that make more money and your home every night. I have talked with many people who have this dream of living the good life as a pilot and I tell them the reality and just like kids they will not listen. Don't get me work, I love my job and the company that I work for but it still is aviation. My advise is get it out of your system while your young so that you can change your career before it's to late and your stuck. Good Luck!!

chopper man

Chopper man speaks the truth...

I fly for a large charter company in the midwest flying Learjets. I don't want to dash your hopes and dreams, but I want you to have a realistic view of what you're in for. I know that aviation is something that gets in your blood... If you have it, you'll be successful. If it really isn't in your blood, your life will be hell... H-E double hockey sticks. Strong words, but that's how it is.

Unless you come from a very affluent family, I'd highly recommend getting into the military to get your flight training. With fuel prices the way they are today, and the insurance companies gouging flight schools/light aircraft owners, civilian flight training is VERY VERY VERY expensive. I did my flight training back before the prices skyrocketed (late 1980's-early 1990's) and I'm still paying off my loans. It isn't fun. I wanted to go the military route, but I couldn't pass the physical requirements since I had surgery on my left knee when I was in 8th grade. I don't know if something like that would keep you out now, but it did back then. But anyway, I'd highly recommend going the military route. Let Uncle Sam pay the bills for you... all you have to do is show up for work until your commitment is done. If it's in your blood, it won't be hard. And you'll be flying the big stuff a lot sooner in the military than you will civilian as well. I see military instructors with their students at a lot of airports all across the country, and listening to them and watching them, I think they do a much more thorough job with the instruction than I ever saw on the civilian side as well.

As far as the Aviation Industry...

The airlines definitely are not the glamour job that they used to be. Right now, I think that there are only about 3 stable major US airlines... Southwest, UPS, FedEx... did you notice that only one of those is a passenger airline? All the others, are financially on rocky ground, and that's not good for your morale when you're wondering if you'll have a job at this same time next year. Also, the airline pay and schedule are nothing like what they used to be... with all the concessions that the pilot groups have given at all the airlines in the past 15-20 years, the pay just isn't there anymore like it used to be. Also, since the airlines have furloughed (laid off) so many pilots, the ones who are still flying are flying more to make up the difference to keep the money going for the airline.

But before you make it to the major airlines, you'll likely get hired by a commuter, making about $18,000 a year for your first year or so... and flying 80-100 hours per month. Doesn't sound too fun to me. It's totally wrong that these airlines pay that low, but that's the way it is.

On the charter/corporate side of the industry, where I am, things are better, for now. 9-11 was actually good to this section of the industry... The people with money who don't mind paying the price to fly private are plentiful, and so far business has been pretty good. But with the rising price of jet fuel, who knows when these people will say "it's too expensive" and stop flying private... when that happens, I'll be looking for a new job as well. On the flip side, a lot of corporate/charter pilots have no real schedule... whenever the company calls, you have an hour or an hour and a half to get to the airport and get ready to fly, and you might be gone for 4,5,6 days. I'm fortunate that my company has an 11 on 4 off schedule, so we can have a little bit of a normal life away from the airport... but many aren't so fortunate.

Like I said, it's a tough lifestyle, and if you get it in your blood, you'll do OK. But, glamorous, it isn't... Long 12-14 hour days in hot airplanes where the air conditioning doesn't work so well, and trying to keep your uniform clean while you preflight the airplane and drain the fuel tank sumps... then trying to explain to an impatient and angry customer why you can't land at the airport that he wants to go to when he's seen other airplanes just like the one that you're flying land there before (because of different regulations governing private vs. charter trips (FAR 91 vs. FAR 135)...

Think hard about it before you take the plunge.

I went to Parks College of St. Louis University from 1988 to 1992 where I did my training... of all my friends that were PPP's (professional pilot program), myself, and 1 or 2 more are the only ones that I know of that are actually doing what we went to college for... all the others are not even in aviation anymore. Something to think about.