Advice for a 30 year old

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WannaBushPilot
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Advice for a 30 year old

Post by WannaBushPilot »

Hello guys,

I'm 30 year Canadian citizen living in the EU - I moved abroad to pursue med school but I have since dropped out and unhappy with academia for the most part. I guess you could say academia 'burnt me out'.

I have always loved the idea of becoming a pilot but due external pressures, I was pushed towards academia where I just did not feel happy.

Recently, I've been thinking of coming back to Canada & going to flight school. However, after searching around the forums and reading some topics; the 'no degree no future' statements have left me a bit discouraged and am afraid of pulling the plug.

Is it truly that awful to enter the field without a degree?

Thanks for the feedback.
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MOAB
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by MOAB »

Do you "WannaBushPilot"? If so then having a degree isn't going to hold you back. Hard work and being a good person is what will set you apart in the bush world.

I can't speak for the airlines but I hear having a degree can help set people apart, but again I'm not in that side of the industry.
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C.W.E.
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by C.W.E. »

I had a very successful career in aviation for over fifty years.

My formal education consisted of having completed grade eight.
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Heliian
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by Heliian »

F@ck it!

Do what you want to do. You can be positive and make a great career for yourself no matter what you do. If you have med school overseas money then you should just enroll at embry riddle and be the best damn pilot you can be, with a degree. Ray Bans not included.
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rookiepilot
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by rookiepilot »

No.

A degree isn't essential to survive in life
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Ilyushin76
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by Ilyushin76 »

Fly. Just fly.
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WannaBushPilot
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by WannaBushPilot »

MOAB wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 12:27 pm Do you "WannaBushPilot"? If so then having a degree isn't going to hold you back. Hard work and being a good person is what will set you apart in the bush world.

I can't speak for the airlines but I hear having a degree can help set people apart, but again I'm not in that side of the industry.
I would love to :rolleyes:

Thank you all very much for the replies! This is great to hear.

I currently have Island Air, Brampton, Barrie as the top three that I'm going to contact when I get back to Toronto.

Anyone have any (recent) information/reviews on these three?

Island Air would be closest to me, however, I heard I'll learn more for my paid time up in Barrie. Is this somewhat this correct?

Thanks again,
WBP
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Daigo
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by Daigo »

WannaBushPilot wrote: Thu Jul 04, 2019 11:41 pm
MOAB wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 12:27 pm Do you "WannaBushPilot"? If so then having a degree isn't going to hold you back. Hard work and being a good person is what will set you apart in the bush world.

I can't speak for the airlines but I hear having a degree can help set people apart, but again I'm not in that side of the industry.
I would love to :rolleyes:

Thank you all very much for the replies! This is great to hear.

I currently have Island Air, Brampton, Barrie as the top three that I'm going to contact when I get back to Toronto.

Anyone have any (recent) information/reviews on these three?

Island Air would be closest to me, however, I heard I'll learn more for my paid time up in Barrie. Is this somewhat this correct?

Thanks again,
WBP
Island air offers the most convenience for torontonians but also comes with the biggest price tag. They travel quite a bit for their practice areas so that will cost you $$ in the long run. I'd consider Oshawa if you want to save some dough
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Bede
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by Bede »

C.W.E. wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 5:28 pm My formal education consisted of having completed grade eight.
Well that explains a lot. Relax, I'm just joking.

A grade 8 education back then is probably what a grade 12 education is today. Most grade 8's can't even string a sentence together these days. The university graduates can't even do grade 6 math. https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/edu ... dd-up.html
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rookiepilot
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by rookiepilot »

Bede wrote: Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:24 pm
The university graduates can't even do grade 6 math. https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/edu ... dd-up.html
It's exactly this truth, combined with the ridiculous amount of education inflation, that results in college education being the biggest scam in modern society today.

Garbage quality, insanely overpriced, taught by some who can't tie their own shoes in the private sector. Check out the 20 year cost increase in textbooks. Blow your mind.

Parents paying for this, should be demonstrating. But talking about results driven teaching, is akeen to racism for tenured professors.

The reason is the same for both problems, and it's exactly a parallel to the 2007 US housing bubble:

Cheap, government sponsored loans. Stupid policy, repeated. Then the employers, all demand it. What a scam.

Save a fortune. Just say no. I did to an employer in the financial investment field, told them to get stuffed -- I'm serious -- and stayed independent. Best call, ever.

READ BOOKS. And not ones written by....professors. By the best practitioners.

I don't understand this weird appeal to go deeply in debt, for questionable tangible benefit.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/i ... bprime.asp

https://thehill.com/opinion/education/4 ... ust-fix-it
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Last edited by rookiepilot on Fri Jul 05, 2019 8:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
C.W.E.
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by C.W.E. »

For me education is researching any question I have and finding the answer.

In the flying business one is constantly learning because aviation is constantly changing especially the airplanes which are getting more and more computer operated.
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Lotro
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by Lotro »

If I was 30 (again) and wanted to be a bush pilot (I still do) and lived in Toronto (I did), I would save my pennies, and head to Sudbury or Parry Sound for a summer and get my PPL on floats. Camp, rent, sublet, whatever to keep your cost of living low and fly as much as you can. Should be able to get a part time survivor job and a SES rating no problem. The 50 hours of primary training on floats will help your bush flying employment prospects in the future, and you'll have a lot of fun. More fun than on wheels I'd suggest.
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AirFrame
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by AirFrame »

Two thoughts... One, consider the military? They'll train you and it won't cost you anything except having to live in the middle of nowhere for a while. Two, not having a degree won't be a problem, but think about how you'd describe your situation without it sounding like you washed out of university. Being a dropout may be looked on with less favour than not having gone to university in the first place, unless you can sell it as "decided medicine wasn't where I wanted to be, wanted to pursue flight instead."
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BadLanding
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by BadLanding »

C.W.E. wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 5:28 pm I had a very successful career in aviation for over fifty years.

My formal education consisted of having completed grade eight.
Is that really relevant for someone starting in 2019?
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C.W.E.
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by C.W.E. »

Is that really relevant for someone starting in 2019
Have they changed the rules and put in a minimum education level to get a pilots license that I am unaware of?

If there is no new rule then of course it is relevant as it demonstrates that being a pilot is really not all that difficult.
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rookiepilot
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by rookiepilot »

AirFrame wrote: Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:36 am Two thoughts... One, consider the military? They'll train you and it won't cost you anything except having to live in the middle of nowhere for a while.
Another example of choices anyone can make.

Except a lot of people neither want the discipline that comes with the military, nor living in the middle of no where.
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BBQ Chips
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by BBQ Chips »

I dropped out of University at 27 (medical field as well). I started from scratch in aviation and am now left seat on a narrow body making well over 6 figures 10 years later. It is definitely doable and a degree is definitely not required. Just hard work, commitment, a flexible lifestyle and a good attitude.
Best decision I ever made.
Good luck!
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AirFrame
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by AirFrame »

rookiepilot wrote: Sat Jul 20, 2019 2:11 pmExcept a lot of people neither want the discipline that comes with the military, nor living in the middle of no where.
No arguments there. I wasn't presented with that option until I felt it was too late in life to be making that jump, so I didn't pursue it myself. Would have been great to get into an F-18 or Snowbird at the end of it if I had, though.
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albertdesalvo
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by albertdesalvo »

The military has zero interest in 30 year olds, I don't know why it's in the conversation at all.They want you at age 18, not 30.
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ant_321
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Re: Advice for a 30 year old

Post by ant_321 »

The only place in Canada that puts any significant weight behind a degree is Air Canada. Nobody else cares. I’m a 737 Captain and only have a high school diploma.
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