Am I too old to be a pilot?

[Vantskruv]

I mean not to be, I mean to be.

 

What do you think is the oldest you can be to start education for a commerical license, if you don't have any real life experience at all?

 

I'm 36 years at this time, always wanted to be a pilot, but restrained myself about the costs and and my bad nearsight (which is fixed for now).

 

Should you do the education at homeland, or any other tips for educations almost guaranteeing you a job?

[Rusny]

I would love to hear the response on this as well!

Asus Maximus VII Hero, Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, Intel i7-4790K@4.00GHz, 32.0GB RAM, Asus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, Asus VG27HE

[FloB]

Not sure what commercial license means...but you are too old to get into a regular airline education programme. At least with the airlines I know. Most big airlines have FAQ websites on that matter. Just look up some of them.

 

If you have a lot of money possibilities are probably unlimited, no job guarantee though.

 

Flo

Edited January 12, 2016 by FloB

[Morrigan]

The current state of the "business" will guarantee you something opposite of job.

Airlines are very hesitant to hire someone will low hours count, so you need to get those. How? Now, this is the fun part. You might fly charter flights... for free. Literally, the current state of the market allows small airlines or charters to hire pilots for free, offering them an opportunity to gain experience. 

Also, the pay is outrageously bad for new hires. It isn't unheard of active, inexperienced airline pilots to live on food stamps. Work long hours and be paid for less than they actually did. 

And that is if you actually find a job. Another pretty common thing is licensed pilots being forced to work as FA, on ramps and so on, becuse they simply don't get the call back. 

 

The most blooming aviation area is China, which requires crazy amount of pilots. But... experienced pilots. Probably not going to get a job there is you have less than 3,000 hours on the type you apply for. 

 

Now, I assume you have no license whatsoever, Getting from Zero to ATP(L) (which will be frozen regardless, as you need 1,000 as PIC for it to be valid iirc) takes in express mode around 1,5-2 yeras. So you would need to take that into the account. 

 

Now, as I think it's enough of the negative nancy, if you have patience, have the financial stability, and you know that is a huge risk... go for it. The legal retirement age for pilots is 65 years old (60 for some airlines), with possibility of it being 67 in the future. So, given everything would go good for you, you would still have plenty of time to surf the clouds. 

 

By the time you get your license, the situation on the market can be totally different anyway, as the main reason it is so unwelcoming is the economic crysis we had few years back.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Morrigan

[Vantskruv]

I think it would be more fun flying smaller turboprops or jets for i.e. cargo-transports.

 

Right now I've a very good job with a good salary, but I've learned almost everything and I want new challenges. Of course the costs of education does limit things right now, total costs for 2 year education may be about 115'000$. And if you don't get any job after that, I can continue my old work.

 

Sitting and weighing right now, if the risk is worth spending for, but you only have one life...it would be fun though. I think I'll make a medical test for the first step.

[Morrigan]

Cargo is usually more demanding experience-wise than airlines. 

Most pilots start their careers as regional pilots anyway. 

 

As for the course from zero to ATPL alone, the costs really varies, depending where you take it. In my country it's around 45,000 USD including Instructor License and 737 type ratings. 

One thing to make sure is to not just look at the prices, but the reputation of the flightschools. 

[Vantskruv]

45,000$!!! That's cheap! What school is that, do they take international students? This would clearly ease up things for me!

[Goran_M]

REX Airlines in Australia offer cadetships.  They pay half your training and you pay the other half.  When you start working for them, they deduct a percentage each pay day to pay off the money they paid for your training.

During development of the Saab, I found out they just hired a 44 year old that just completed their cadet program.