norcou

I am a CFI/CFII/ MEI at a flight school, which I believe if you want to be competitive , the flight school is the way to go. I am looking to enter the regioinals in a few short months. With regards to money, part 141 (Flight Schools) is great because you can get a private certificate, instrument rating, and a commercial certificate in under 120 hrs. if you study your butt off. If you want to fly professionally that's great but I would recommend a backup plan. I am currently working on my MBA while I instruct, getting hours as well as a backup plan. Take absolutely any opportunity you can to fly. As you progress through your training and get a multi-engine rating, get your multi time up because that is the most valuable flight time on earth when it comes to hiring. The job market is getting better, well it couldnt really get any worse, and pilots are getting hired again. Instructors at my school are getting hired like crazy and southwest airlines, american eagle, as well as corporate are cleaning out the place.Take care of your body because your health is incredibly important and that is a reason to have a backup. Definetly at least get a college degree.Finally I wanna say this, you might not get the glamor job working for Delta or UPS (where captains can make over $200,000 a year), but you will, most likely, NOT starve and you will survive and have a comfortable life. It's an exciting career and it is like none other. Keep going with flight training and see how it goes. One thing is for sure, you have to live for flight, work and study like crazy, take all the hours you can get, and you have a good chance. One of my former instructors got hired by a regional airline in Wyoming making about $16/hour but you have to start somewhere. The good thing is that it only gets better from there. Once you get in the cockpit of even a regional airliner like the EMB-120, you will not regret it and dont care how much money you can make. I would do it for free if i had to. When youre in the air, its you and your officer, the finally authority and sole manipulators of the flight controls, you are the boss in the air. Few things in life are as empowering.Good luck and enjoy it, so far for me it has been a great experience and I do not regret it.- James Hantemen

Just to add to the FS to real world training I can speak a litle from personal experience. I started messing around with Flight Sim when I was 13 and had no idea what a traffic pattern was. After three years of Flight Sim I learned the basics of the ILS approach and even learned approach charts. Coming to a part 141 school, I finished my private and instrument training in only 8 months...... to give you an idea, some of my classmates haven't even soloed yet. Flight Sim has given me a great base and basic knowledge that made flight training much easier. I also recall practicing basicthings like holds and holding entries on FSX and after a whole night of dme/vor/localizer holds, I was much more proficient at it. Its a great tool for learning and PMDG adds to this experience by creating realistic systems and equipment that responds very close to the "real thing".