Need some adive from any military pilots

[Xcrazyx]

Hey, this is my first post on the board, but i have been "hanging out" and reading the board for quite some time now.
Probably be smart to give a little background first....
When i get out of school i want to be a naval aviator, and i've been trying to figure out what to major in my first choice would be commercial aviation (program will get me all my ratings) but costs in flight time alone around 40k and then my second choice is air traffic control (i'm in the ANG for air traffic currently). I'm considering getting into the Marine PLC program because i've always wanted to be a marine and a pilot. And the plc can guarentee me an aviator contract from how i under stand it.
The question i keep running into is - would it be worth it to pay the 40k and get all the ratings or get my degree and a private pilot liscence (required for air traffic) and then let the military train me the rest of the way?
Sorry for such a long post, and thanks in advance for any input.
John

 

[Grandmaster235]

My two cents...

If you've got $40,000 laying around burning a hole in your pocket, stick it in an index fund and watch it grow to over $100,000 before your initial aviation commitment is up. The Marine Corps will pay you to learn how to fly from scratch.

If you DON'T have $40,000 laying around, then take my word for it... student loans suck.

"Commercial aviation," in my estimation, is a bogus degree because without the ratings & flight hours, it doesn't get you anything. Airlines don't care what your degree in. They care about flight hours. What can you fall back on with a "Commercial Aviation" degree if you change your mind about flying or are not able to fly?

<<Aimee says I WANNA KNOW IN ENGLISH (NO NAUTICAL TERMS) HOW TO LACE MY SHOES>>

 

[grouch]

Xcrazyx...

Grand couln't be more right. I did the whole commercial aviation degree thing and it sucked. Sure I can fly a plane but who cares? I can't afford to rent a plane and fly at my leisure. $40,000 is cheap. I'm in the hole over $120 and that is just the principal! My advice is to get any degree that can help you if you can't fly. For example, in december when I graduated, I couldn't get a job at all. Nobody in aviation was hiring and no standard business type job would even look at me because I didn't have an MBA, no typing skills, no programing experiance. I couldn't even get an interview. The only place that liked my flight time was the secret service. Grand was right when he said student loans suck. Thats the monkey on my back now. When everyone rushes out to buy thier hot new ensign mobiles, I'll be stuck driving what I have been driving since 1997. Am I griping? No, I just wished I made a more informed decision five years ago.

Bottom line, get some flight time if you want it but not if you think you need it. It will help but at what cost?

 

[Adrenaline Rush]

well i am on the other side of the fence...i am getting all my ratings before going in, basically as a safety net..if for some reason im not medically qualified, or something happens where i have to be a ground officer, then i will be prepared to go to an airline (regional) when and if i choose to get out...i know most people say getting the flight time doesnt give you an edge in flight training, im not sure i believe them,, anyways to each his own

 

[jwilliamsee]

Here are my thoughts. I think that flying is the type of thing that you do have to put all your eggs in one basket. I have a BS in electrical engineering and cannot find a job either because I have spent two years on a career change that almost didn't work out (flying). I got a SNA slot and that kind of saved my butt. I think aviation colleges are worth it if they can #1 get you a commuter JOB through a bridge program with lower flight time. I have two friends that have gotten jobs in the good commuters with low low flight time through an Embry Riddle bridge program. Almost through out this whole lag in hiring the guys from there have been getting internships and then jobs with lower flight time. Lower time saves you money! If there is no bridge program find somewhere that has one. The hardest thing out there is to get your resume noticed. Oh yea and the guys doing the internships often do them in the hiring office. They get to correct all the written tests and shuffle through all the resumes. Guys from their same school are often are giving the actual interviews later on. That’s #2 the old boys club. It works. As far as needing flight time for the military yes I think it is so competitive now that they probably will not look at whole lot of guys without prior flight time. So for what ever its worth I have been playing the CFI game for a couple of years and love it but am ready to move on. I would be stuck here instructing for who knows how long if it weren't for the miracle of the Navy slot I am so fortunate to have. So yea It’s ok to pay for flight training but pick your CFI carefully and get the cheapest (safe) plane you can find. You do not learn any more about flying in a brand new 150$/hour Cessna 172 than you do in a 35$/ hour Cessna 150.

 

[Xcrazyx]

Thanks for the input people. Hey grouch where did you go to school, embry riddle?

 

[grouch]

No, Baylor and TSTC. Oh don't get me wrong, I loved the time I spent there and the things I've done. Some things I did twice! Some a little more!! I just think there is better paths to take. I would rather regret something I did than regret something I wished I had done. Thats how I try to live life and for the most par it works. Cheers.

 

[travislikes]

I agree with Grand as well. That is a lot of money to spend on a degree that will afford you little if any advantage in the training pipeline. I started primary with zero hours and still had my choice of assignments when I finished. I had a close friend who had his private license and blew the program away (78 NSS), but by the same token, there was a Marine SNA in VT-6 who had all his tickets punched and was a FAA instrument instructor and was attrited from the program because he could not hack the multitasking and procedures required in the T-34. Either you are cut out for it or you are not. I think it will give you an advantage initially (early fams), but you have to unlearn all of that stuff you learned as a civilian. That can't be an easy thing to do. You are better off hooking up with a Navy flying club or getting some gee-whiz rides from a civilian instructor if that is what you want to do. I think that being an air traffic controller already gives you a huge leg up from the average Joe.

 

[Xcrazyx]

Thanks for the oppinions - travis thanks for the ego boost thats excatly what i wanted to hear.
I hadnt thought about having to unlearn things that i picked up as a civillian. I'll probably still get my private (i love flying to much to spend another 4 years on the ground)

 

[Rainman]

hey Crazy! Some good posts already posted. . I don't really buy into the "unlearn civilian" stuff opinion. I mean no matter what your flight experience (and no matter what IPs tell you), bottom line is that you have to do it the NATOPS way. If you don't "get that" well .you aren't going to be a naval aviator. Sure there are tons of differences (between civ and mil). . the biggest (in my opinion) being a new a/c and all the time and effort spent on systems and emergencies. Definitely a different outlook and way of training. You definitely have a leg up on fam flights and BIs with prior time, like it's been posted, everyone is caught up by the time he/she solos.

In short <whew> having a PPL with some instrument time. . . not such a bad thing-->certainly not necessary--but a nice to have. Anything more than that, probably won't help you 'score higher' in primary. Except in the OClub after a drunken tie cutting (you'll have more no-s$itters with the extra TT).

my two cents.

 

[EODDave]

GO to UF and save the $40K. Let the Navy teach you to fly.

Dave

 

[Xcrazyx]

This may sound stupid but whats UF?

 

[Grandmaster235]

Originally posted by XcrazyxThis may sound stupid but whats UF?

University of Florida. I think he may have jumped to the conclusion that you're in Florida.

Substitute this: University of [Your favorite state here]

<<Aimee says I WANNA KNOW IN ENGLISH (NO NAUTICAL TERMS) HOW TO LACE MY SHOES>>

 

[Xcrazyx]

Thats what i thought, i just couldnt figure out why he was saying to go there. Thanks for clearing that up.
I'm in oregon at the moment, but am probably gonna go over to the university of north dakota for school.

 

[ghost_ttu]

UF?? isn't that some junior college over in Florida somewhere?

"praying to the SNA board gods couldn't hurt....Didn't say it always works though"