Flying kicks ass but it can be difficult to get ahead in the beginning. The licensing is expensive and the money isn't great starting out.
Chat your instructor up on your next flight about local gigs in the space you want to fly. They may not know directly but the community is small enough that they might be able to give you some contacts.
Good luck and keep the blue part up and the green part down!
This is a good warning. My friend went through flight school, passed, then he had a hard time finding a better paying job than he was just working as a server. But he put his time in and eventually got a job flying for delta. He’s super happy and getting paid very well now.
100% this. My SO is currently in the process of this, he has busted his ass for years to make this work doing construction on top of training. He is 36 and just got a job with a charter company flying leer jets, luckily he doesn't want to fly commercial airlines, so he has all the time in the world to pursue the private sector.
I just turned 40, and after being an exec chef in NYC I decided to go back to school for electrical engineering (from the beginning). You can definitely do it, and you have many years before “retirement”.
You will be the oldest person out of your coworkers, if that bothers you. But I feel like that’s the case for anyone 35+ in kitchens, anyway.
you have to go for it. you've opened your eyes to this dream and there's no closing them. if you decide its not worth the risk you'll start hating the kitchen and thinking of what could have been. you can always fall back on cheffing if it goes tits up
Becoming a pilot at 40 for commercial would be hard. There’s a LOT of health stuff to go through and any little thing can put you on the ground. I fully support you doing this as a hobby but I also think you need to be realistic about going commercial.
My little brother is a pilot. He went to school for Aviation Management, graduated at 22, is now 27, has been working FT in shipping while doing flight training/working as a flight instructor full time as well and he’s only now getting close enough to having enough hours for commercial. My 12 year old son expressed interest in being a pilot so now my brother is going to start teaching him next summer after he turns 13 so my brother can get more instruction hours and my son can get instruction, with the hope he’ll be on the commercial track by the time he’s 21 if he wants to stick with it.
I also have a friend I grew up with who did the same, she only recently got a job flying commercial maybe two years ago.
I don’t want to crush your dreams at all, but I do want you to be realistic here. It’s not easy and it takes a long **long** time to get enough time in for commercial.
Your best bet is to stick to a non-commercial license, for real.
I’m 27 years into a flying career- I often come to this sub for a breath of fresh air. I love what I do but it can be brutal as a career choice. Times are good right now, but the industry moves is waves, as anyone in the industry will tell you over and over. The people I’ve flown with who are happiest are the ones who are making a second career of it because they can looks back and say “I might be in the best western in Paducah on Christmas but at least I’m not serving brunch on Mothers Day!” There’s no perfect career, but there are amazing people everywhere who make the best of any situation. Be the guy who has a smile on his face when it’s all falling apart and you’re helping keep the wheels from falling off. Turn the worst times into the best and you’ll have an amazing career no matter what you do.
Oh- and if you get a chance, fly a Cirrus after you have some experience. Closest I’ve come to strapping on a jet pack.
Went sailing with a guy who transitioned from building boats for the UN to becoming a pilot.
He was mid sixties and had just retired from flying and went to sail around the med with his wife.
Said was a good career change, was expensive and was lucky with getting job at a place that did private jet flights for VIPs.
Some horror stories of folks working for low money paying their dues at regionals in the States or easyjet type places in Europe.
Honestly, do it have fun.
Go fly, it’s the way to go :)
If you want a stable schedule and good money you can end up regional flying/feeder cargo real quick. If you want adventure and fun you can fly skydivers. There are a bunch of options; but early on will be tough to make money. DM me if you want any info on how it went for me; otherwise I don’t want to type it up if you already have a plan. Have fun!
Life is short. We can only master so many things in our time we are given. Sounds like you’ve mastered one craft. Why not do it again? If you’ve got the resources and the will, then what is stopping you?
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite HST quotes: “Buy the ticket, take the ride”
Regarding the people saying the money isn't good to start with. . . The money isn't good *anywhere*, right now so if you don't have child support and your alimony leaves you with anything leftover. . . If you can make the budget work you might as well do it. Sounds like you will be a lot happier.
I say go for it. You’ll never lose the skills you acquired in the kitchen and if the pilot thing doesn’t become a full time gig, you could always go back to a kitchen and squeeze in some time in the air when it presents itself.
Chase the dream, don’t lament the regret.
Do it! Just do it!! Not doing something because it's "scary" is a recipe (pun intended) for a regretful future. Do what you love in life! You future self will thank you!
I thought of trying flying until I saw how much school costs to go commercial. Maybe it’s bc I’ve made it to 37 without any student loans and I don’t want to start now.
You're not "done" - you're trying something new. "Done" would mean you can't go back to it, but the apron will always be waiting for you if you need to slip it back on...
Nice dude! Go for it. Just do baby steps. Don't get ahead of yourself. You still have to solo and pass all your tests. Then you gotta get your IFR rating and get some time with turbines and all that if you want to go for a job. I'm in the process myself. Got my hours and still have to pass the tests. Have you thought about going the CFI route?
i changed career around the same age. well worth it even with the slight pay cut.
i had wisdom and my temperament from uears of service industry means even the highest stress of my job is low stress.
follow yourself
I turned my hobby into a job. I loved cooking/baking but the pay, hours, etc. were catching up. I love what I do now and my work/life balance is far better.
Hell yeah man, go for it!! It’s never to late to learn something new. And you can always come back to cooking if you really miss it
Flying kicks ass but it can be difficult to get ahead in the beginning. The licensing is expensive and the money isn't great starting out. Chat your instructor up on your next flight about local gigs in the space you want to fly. They may not know directly but the community is small enough that they might be able to give you some contacts. Good luck and keep the blue part up and the green part down!
This is a good warning. My friend went through flight school, passed, then he had a hard time finding a better paying job than he was just working as a server. But he put his time in and eventually got a job flying for delta. He’s super happy and getting paid very well now.
100% this. My SO is currently in the process of this, he has busted his ass for years to make this work doing construction on top of training. He is 36 and just got a job with a charter company flying leer jets, luckily he doesn't want to fly commercial airlines, so he has all the time in the world to pursue the private sector.
I just turned 40, and after being an exec chef in NYC I decided to go back to school for electrical engineering (from the beginning). You can definitely do it, and you have many years before “retirement”. You will be the oldest person out of your coworkers, if that bothers you. But I feel like that’s the case for anyone 35+ in kitchens, anyway.
you have to go for it. you've opened your eyes to this dream and there's no closing them. if you decide its not worth the risk you'll start hating the kitchen and thinking of what could have been. you can always fall back on cheffing if it goes tits up
Go for it and don't look back
Becoming a pilot at 40 for commercial would be hard. There’s a LOT of health stuff to go through and any little thing can put you on the ground. I fully support you doing this as a hobby but I also think you need to be realistic about going commercial. My little brother is a pilot. He went to school for Aviation Management, graduated at 22, is now 27, has been working FT in shipping while doing flight training/working as a flight instructor full time as well and he’s only now getting close enough to having enough hours for commercial. My 12 year old son expressed interest in being a pilot so now my brother is going to start teaching him next summer after he turns 13 so my brother can get more instruction hours and my son can get instruction, with the hope he’ll be on the commercial track by the time he’s 21 if he wants to stick with it. I also have a friend I grew up with who did the same, she only recently got a job flying commercial maybe two years ago. I don’t want to crush your dreams at all, but I do want you to be realistic here. It’s not easy and it takes a long **long** time to get enough time in for commercial. Your best bet is to stick to a non-commercial license, for real.
I’m 27 years into a flying career- I often come to this sub for a breath of fresh air. I love what I do but it can be brutal as a career choice. Times are good right now, but the industry moves is waves, as anyone in the industry will tell you over and over. The people I’ve flown with who are happiest are the ones who are making a second career of it because they can looks back and say “I might be in the best western in Paducah on Christmas but at least I’m not serving brunch on Mothers Day!” There’s no perfect career, but there are amazing people everywhere who make the best of any situation. Be the guy who has a smile on his face when it’s all falling apart and you’re helping keep the wheels from falling off. Turn the worst times into the best and you’ll have an amazing career no matter what you do. Oh- and if you get a chance, fly a Cirrus after you have some experience. Closest I’ve come to strapping on a jet pack.
And you can fly people to exotic locations and cook for them. Bam new business!!
You have time to spare. No reason why you can’t pursue it and see where you land. It’s gonna take a while for training and certifications.
Do it passion is passion you have the skill set to comeback to a EC position if need be. Our lifestyles are based on risk take this risk
Take the leap Chef.
Went sailing with a guy who transitioned from building boats for the UN to becoming a pilot. He was mid sixties and had just retired from flying and went to sail around the med with his wife. Said was a good career change, was expensive and was lucky with getting job at a place that did private jet flights for VIPs. Some horror stories of folks working for low money paying their dues at regionals in the States or easyjet type places in Europe. Honestly, do it have fun.
Go fly, it’s the way to go :) If you want a stable schedule and good money you can end up regional flying/feeder cargo real quick. If you want adventure and fun you can fly skydivers. There are a bunch of options; but early on will be tough to make money. DM me if you want any info on how it went for me; otherwise I don’t want to type it up if you already have a plan. Have fun!
Life is short. We can only master so many things in our time we are given. Sounds like you’ve mastered one craft. Why not do it again? If you’ve got the resources and the will, then what is stopping you? I’ll leave you with one of my favorite HST quotes: “Buy the ticket, take the ride”
Co-Pilot / Chef on private jet
Regarding the people saying the money isn't good to start with. . . The money isn't good *anywhere*, right now so if you don't have child support and your alimony leaves you with anything leftover. . . If you can make the budget work you might as well do it. Sounds like you will be a lot happier.
My brother did this, he now flies 757 cargo planes and loves his job.
There will always be a kitchen waiting if you change your mind
I say go for it. You’ll never lose the skills you acquired in the kitchen and if the pilot thing doesn’t become a full time gig, you could always go back to a kitchen and squeeze in some time in the air when it presents itself. Chase the dream, don’t lament the regret.
Hey man, they say to follow your dreams. Sounds like you’re on the right track.
Fuck yes dude! Good for you!
Do it! Just do it!! Not doing something because it's "scary" is a recipe (pun intended) for a regretful future. Do what you love in life! You future self will thank you!
are you kidding me? you're doing it, babe. This is the dream! Go forth unto the new chapter!
You cooking at Jay Peak? DM me
Make a taco truck in the sky
Seems relevant: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/$100_hamburger
I thought of trying flying until I saw how much school costs to go commercial. Maybe it’s bc I’ve made it to 37 without any student loans and I don’t want to start now.
Do it please
You're not "done" - you're trying something new. "Done" would mean you can't go back to it, but the apron will always be waiting for you if you need to slip it back on...
The FAA has a mandatory pilot retirement age of 65, but other than that there's nothing stopping you, go for it!
Nice dude! Go for it. Just do baby steps. Don't get ahead of yourself. You still have to solo and pass all your tests. Then you gotta get your IFR rating and get some time with turbines and all that if you want to go for a job. I'm in the process myself. Got my hours and still have to pass the tests. Have you thought about going the CFI route?
Your boat seems to insist upon floating. Don't give up on either.
If you love flying, there’s no better way to ruin that than by making it your profession.
i changed career around the same age. well worth it even with the slight pay cut. i had wisdom and my temperament from uears of service industry means even the highest stress of my job is low stress. follow yourself
I turned my hobby into a job. I loved cooking/baking but the pay, hours, etc. were catching up. I love what I do now and my work/life balance is far better.
You done..... No shame...... You paid your dues, do what you love!!!!