I’ve got about 110 hours of flight time. I have my Private and Instrument ratings. I did these through the local university’s college of flight sciences. They offer flight through the FAA’s Part 141 rules, which allow someone to earn their licenses as part of a 4-year degree program. The problem I ran into is that I already earned one degree, a Bachelor’s in Business and IT. Because of this I hit the limit of hours I can study with student loans. This despite the fact that I didn’t use a dime of loans for my first degree. Regardless, I’m a licensed pilot. I just haven’t been in the air in a couple years.
I earned my business degree in somewhat of a lack of knowledge of what I wanted to do. I figured a degree of any kind would open enough doors. So I finished at school that was local to me and I could pay for while working part time. I HAVE had opportunities, and I’ve had a good income. I’m not complaining about the shape of the world or of the things I’ve earned. It would be nice if I could continue my education with loans that would have been available to me if I had made this choice when I were younger but that’s a topic for another time.
I fell in love with flying. I did this while I was working a sales-based job. I decided I did not want to do sales anymore, and started looking to other things I could do that I would be able to with just a bit more education, and the choice came down to flight or IT. I learned the school local to me had a discovery flight, where I go up with an instructor for an hour or so. We would perform some maneuvers and I would land the plane. The feel of controlling the aircraft was amazing. I decided there and then I wanted to fly professionally.
It’s frustrating not being able to pursue the career path you’ve chosen because of a balance of money and time management. I’m studying for the FAA Commercial Written, but I’ve been on the ground for FAR too long. So I finally did it. I’ve booked flight time. It’s with a new service to me, in Perry Ga. I’ve heard of these guys before, and one of the pilots I trained with used them to practice meanuvers on his own dime too. I’m BEYOND excited.
McWheels5 