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Anyone worry about this??

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RM7599

Active member
Joined
Mar 11, 2002
Posts
32
I will begin my flight training at the end of August. I have decided on a school, which I will leave anonymous, to protect me from bashing:D Anyway, when I finish I will have a rough total of about $57,000 in loans.....about half of this is from obtaining my bachelors degree, which I have already completed. This scares me to death. How in the world do people do it.....I'm sure I will not walk right into a job once I finish my training, so how can I put my fears aside and concentrate on the task at hand. Also, my family is very concerned about this, mostly because of the volatility of this industry......they support me 100% in every aspect, they are just concerned about me being able to repay my loans. Any insight or personal experiences would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!
 
Your answer is in your post.

Put your fears aside and concentrate on the task at hand. This is how the courageous have handled fear for centuries.
 
Don't underestimate your courage or your conscience. I am paying off almost $40,000 in loans and it sucks. I thought I would get out of school and pay them off in a few years when I "arrived" but here I am. I decided to get married and have a baby, buy a house etc. Life catches up with you. I wouldn't trade my wife or the life I have now for anything but I made my bed and now I am lying in it.

You will learn this in flight training. Think of the problem, think of all possible solutions, think of possible outcomes of implementing each solution (worst case scenario), Are the risks worth the outcome? i.e. am I willing to live with my choices if the worst case happens?

I am a corporate pilot making o.k. money but right now the prospects of advancement aren't that great. Depending on your bachelor's degree, get a job and work at the ratings as fast as you can. It will take you longer but you might be able to pay for the training as you go. The industry will wait for you.

Best of luck to you.

It's a hard decision.

I don't know if you are religious or not but read Proverbs 3:5-6. It works for me.
 
I don't know how people do it, but I do know people who can stay one step ahead of the creditors and sleep at night.

Perhaps you should take an extra year...work full time and fly after work and on weekends until you can support yourself as a flight instructor.

It all depends on what you are comfortable with.
 
75000 WOW


I have 1200 TT 55 ME......
This is the way I did it.

I got my private, then bought a plane flew it 500 hours. On top of that I have roughly 400 hours of "commerical" flying. I have ASMEL Commerical and CFII MEI Instructor ratings. In all it cost me about 25000 dollars and I owe 2400.. All but 7000 was pay as you go and it worked quite well on a 17000 income. (no kids wife etc) Just another way to do it. Ratings are ratings and it does'nt matter how you got them, its what you make of it through self study. I learned alot flying that 150 everywhere in florida.
 
Support system

Thank your lucky stars that you have a good support system.

My training was mostly "pay-as-you-go." My parents gave me some money for my Private because they could see how much I loved flying. The rest of my training was paid mostly by yours truly from work at my day job.

Then, after I left aviation, I went to paralegal school. I took out two student loans for that. I got work and paid them off. Also helped my wife pay off her loans.

It can be done. Others have done it. You can do it. Look at this from another perspective. Other professionals besides pilots take out big loans to finance their training and pay them off, eventually. So will you. Don't worry about it.

Good luck with your choice of schools and with your training.
 
Are those loans subsidized Direct Loans or unsubsidized? If they are subsidized Direct Loans, go to the website for Direct Loans (www.dl.ed.gov) and apply for deferment based on economic hardship and/or unable to find a full time job (you need to show proof you have tried .. should be easy to show). Once they grant you this, it is valid for 12 months.

So if the loans are subsidized, and you secure a deferrement, no interest accures on the loan and you no longer have to make payments on it. Every 12 months, they will re-evaluate your situation. I got lucky because I got a part time job and it doesn't make enough to support me, but I live with my parents, so I am still able to pay some of the loan and pay for flying.

If the loans are unsubsidized, you can still apply for deferment but it might be easier to just switch to the income contingent plan and just pay the interest every month. That way you have enough money to pay for flight training or any other more pressing needs. The principle loan amount won't reduce, but you can pay that off once you get a higher paying job.

Most of my loans were subsidized so I got lucky.
 

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