The Commitment & Risk of Becoming a Pilot
The road to becoming an airline pilot can be a long and arduous one. It requires total commitment and often involves a degree of good fortune and a lot of patience and persistence. The industry is notoriously cyclic and volatile, being heavily influenced by a vast array of external factors. Recent examples of such volatility include the Covid-19 pandemic, 2008 economic crash and the terrorist attacks on 9/11. All of these events resulted in huge pilot job losses across the industry with many pilots having to find alternative careers.
The financial outlay required by prospective students for today’s flight training is massive, often extending into six figure sums. There is always a risk that you don’t find a job after completing your training and are left with huge debts to pay back. The training can be challenging at times and if you aren’t completely committed to the end goal, maintaining the motivation needed to complete your commercial flight training can be difficult. However, if you manage it, it’s worth it.