how realistic is trying to become a pilot

http://www.united-virtual.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2299

This is a link to a story in the forums about one SWA employee's first ride in a cockpit, and quite a remarkable one at that! If you read down the list (I hope that you can read it even without being registered), you'll see another post from an up and coming pilot soon on his way, and all of the difficult things he had to go through to get there!

Several pilots at UVA attend embry-riddle and really enjoy it, it's churning out a lot of great guys! However, you're right, to become a pilot and even to get an interview with an airline is probably going to cost you a small fortune (although not a huge deal when you consider I have to pay $36,000 per year at Columbia, and most other private colleges aren't that much less).

The airline industry is still licking its wounds from the massive layoffs after the terror attacks. To know what the future holds in aviation would make you richer than any pilot in the world. So many things are up in the air in the industry.

As far as 1 in 8 planes crashing, I can't forsee that for the simple reason that there are so many safety regs in effect now and more to come down the line in the future. There is even a study that shows a plane like the new Airbus wouldn't be accepted by the public because it exceeds the number of people they feel is acceptable to die in a single crash.

Getting into the "Big Leagues" will take many years. You can plan on getting some sort of commuter job as a first officer ( making about $22,000 a year) for the first few years of your career. This is often refered to as the "Ramen Noodle" period.

I have a few friends that have long ago forgotten about making it to the big leagues because it's such a hardship. You do see some military pilots that go from active duty flying to getting a decent job with an regional jet. It's better money, but not like a 767 pilot. Some do wind up getting 737's with Southwest or other nice job, but a lot of that is a "who you know" type thing.

Hope that answers some of your questions. Just remember, if you decide to become a CFI or CFII, don't just be there to build the hours. People like that aren't worth the weight they take up in the aircraft.

I don't know how old are you, crosscheck9, but if you really want to do it, and believe you can, than there is a great chance for your one, true dream to come true.

And by the way, I've read that each weak one airplane in the World crashes.

Despite that, there are many pilots still alive. 😂 lol

(sorry)

The best place to ask these kinds of questions would be in an actual flight forum, not a flight SIMULATOR forum.

www.flightinfo.com
www.airlinepilotcentral.com

Understood - But there are many pilots here, and I'm familiar with most of them. Thanks for the links.