My opinion, Rick, is that at our age it is completely unrealistic to pursue aviation as a career. We have families and obligations that are not going to fare well with the crappy pay and crappy schedules required to time-build and work your way into a good job.

If you want to fly for fun, that's different.

I love flying but if I ever did it for an income and "had too" I think I would learn to hate it. Our Company had two aircraft a few years back which I used to shuttle the owners around, It really took all the fun out of it, no more!

i know two pilots. one is unemployed the other has been a few times.

i get the impression it's one of those industries that USED to be a great way to make a living; kinda like my grandfather's generation that worked at Beth Steel.

of course local taxi work is an entirely different ball of wax.

I still enjoy my job but I feel like a lot of my customer service effort is ruined by what the rest of the industry has become. The only thing I can control is a passenger's experience on my airplane and make sure at least that part of their trip is pleasant. I also still really enjoy the flying aspect of the career and the previous posters are correct, it's all about timing.

If you can time the career out correctly then you could be flying for a major airline within five years or working at a great charter/corporate job in less time. It's about networking but make sure you get into the career because you enjoy flying, not because you have a romantic vision of the job.

In your position I would get the private license, build up your license, and as you gain more experience get more ratings. My first corporate job came by way of a Multi-Engine Instructor checkride. The FAA designated examiner asked me if I would be interested in flying contract work for his ""day job" when the regular guy wasn't available. Of course I said yes and I assume that opportunity came up because I take my training very seriously and have a positive attitude toward working with people.

Best of luck with your decision and get out there to enjoy some flying. Oh and make sure you get a tailwheel checkout from a good instructor. It's invaluable experience that pays off even when you end up flying jets.

So much excellent advice on this thread.

Rick, I love to fly, always have...a friend of my fathers took me up in a Cessna when I was six, left an indelible impression.

I would heed the wisdom of the herd...you are a little late to the game, the financial math may not make sense and the market in aviation is down.

That said, go fly. I can guarantee you that working on cars to pay for flying will make your job sing.

All the best.

I Impressed, I started a thread and by page 2 I havn't been called a poopy head. :) I like the idea of getting my license and making it a hobby, if something comes about with it, great, if not I do like being in the air. Never know what will happen. I have a knack for backing into good situations by sheer luck. And since I work 1/2 a mile from the airport, it would be convient for me.
My location for doing the taxi thing is about the best you could ask for, 120 miles south of DC, and there is no local air taxi, which got me to thinking about doing it. Also has me thinking that there might just be a reason for it as well.
Thanks for the insight guys. Maybe Wal-Mart is still hireing. :)