Gman6789 said:
Commercial. I don't want to be in the military longer than 2-4 years unless for some reason I was to fall in love with it.
If you're in the US the military contract is 7 years props and 8 years for jets.
I'm a pilot so I can answer most of the questions you'll have, feel free to ask anytime.
You're asking about salary so let's start from the bottom, i.e. what'll you'll be employed as after getting a commercial ticket and a CFI. $35/hr for flight instruction. You could with 300+ hours of multi-engine (@ roughly $250/hr unless you get an MEI) time get into a regional airline. At the regional airline you'll make nothing, between 17k/yr and 25.5k/yr. This you'll do for several years. Then hopefully you can move into a captain slot depending on your seniority level and location and be looking at around 40k/yr. Then move up the payscale accordingly.
You can do other things like crop dusting, but it's extremely dangerous (3 year life expectancy.)
Thankfully, you'll be flaughnting your wings when most of the current pilots working at airlines (the layoff survivors) retire.
To fly for the military you'll need to be an officer. To qualify for OCS you'll need perfect vision and hearing (or damn good atleast which is correctable to 20/20.) You'll have to graduate college with a 3.0 or higher. You'll have to be in good moral standing (absolutely no alcohol/drug charges/arrests.) As for the ASVAB you'll need to score in the 95+ range and make very high marks on your ASTB. Plus pass a physical test composed of a 3 mile run in 22 minutes, 100 crunches in 2 minutes and 20 pullups. Also, you'll have to pass a Class 1 Medical examination (the FAA one for pilots.)
Oh, and don't pay attention to the guy saying you'll make 100k as a military pilot. As an O-2 with less than 2 years of military service you'll make less than 38k.
I'm really not trying to push you out of flying. I freaking love it. It's the best thing in the world. I couldn't even imagine not being able to fly anymore. The thing is, if you've got the flying bug, you'll fly no matter how much money you make. It's just something you have to do.
Oh, some flight training things. To get a private pilots license you're looking at $5,500. After that it becomes alot cheaper to fly. You can time-share (safety pilot) for people and make airport friends. Airport friends are the best, especially when they have their own plane that they'll let you ride in.
Dude, if you're 15, goto your local airfield and start pumping avgas and washing windshields. That's how I got started. In fact, that's how just about all the pilots I know got started.
Heck man, I left Texas Tech to work at a flight school (as a lineboy) and goto a community college because I got 80% off flights.
Oh and for flying universities. Though you'll end up with the same license as your local flight school, you'll just have a professional pilot BA to go with it. Let's see, Oklahoma State University, Southeaster Okalhoma State University, Spartan School of Aviation are all good schools.
Good luck with your flying, it'll be the best thing in your life.
