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I'm a high school student. Over here in India, there are too many people and less jobs. I have a passion and a dream to become a pilot in one of the distinguished commercial airlines of the world. I have researched all the data and know all the facts.

The question which comes to my mind is: Is it worth spending more than US$80000 for all the training, type ratings and education and still not being capable to end up with a job?

The number of hours required for ATPL are 1500 here but we land up with approximately 310 after University and CPL. How do I increase my flight hours after that? How many years before I'll get a proper job? Is it worth spending so much money and time?

Please let me know guys! I'm not sure whether i should continue in this field or not.

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    $\begingroup$ Hi. Welcome to Aviation.SE. Forgive me for being honest and direct. if you are asking that question, then the answer is "no". $\endgroup$ – Simon Feb 11 '17 at 11:24
  • $\begingroup$ It is my dream to fly. I'm not sure that i want to give up. But i respect your decision. I'll love to have some other people respond to this too. There's nothing else which i could do besides pilot or YouTube, and my family would probably not support me in YouTube. $\endgroup$ – Game Spout Feb 11 '17 at 11:40
  • $\begingroup$ There are three distinct questions here. "Is it worth it? Should I continue?" is something that only you can answer: it's purely a matter of personal opinion. How to get the extra 1200 flight hours is a concrete, answerable question (actually, I'd be surprised if it's not already been answered here). Ditto, how long on average before new pilots get a "proper job". $\endgroup$ – David Richerby Feb 11 '17 at 12:42
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    $\begingroup$ Rationally, no, it's not worth it. I was a professional pilot but switched to an office job. A "real job" will likely pay you more, allow for a better home life, and make for a better quality of life by all standard measures. Sure, you can justify an aviation career by saying you "love flying" and the low pay and bad hours are worth it. I love flying, but I discovered what that really means: I love hands-on flying in my own plane on my own schedule. That's very different from an airline career! If you fly for a living, what you love just becomes a job. Take care not to kill your passion. $\endgroup$ – acpilot Feb 11 '17 at 14:46
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    $\begingroup$ What is your motivation for flying? Is it just because you like aircraft or being in the air? If so you might want to consider ground handling, maintenance, or cabin crew. If what motivates you is having enormous responsibility, methodical work, and performing under scrutiny and pressure, then maybe pilot training will be worth it. But only you can answer that. $\endgroup$ – Ben Feb 11 '17 at 22:39
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I'm not a pilot myself, but can provide some links here:

You may also ask on PPRuNe discussion board, which is more suited for this kind of questions that are a lot based on individual opinions.

Here is an interesting article from Vanity Fair, that I often cite, about the increasing automation of aircraft, and the related impact on crew members: The Human Factor. The article starts with "Airline pilots were once the heroes of the skies. Today, in the quest for safety, airplanes are meant to largely fly themselves", which gives the tone.

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in my opinion if you are passionate for aviation and you are willing to give up your time i suggest you go for it. Because you do a job if you want to do it not just for the money so in my opinion do it if you want to do it for the experience and not for the money!!

P.S i'm just a 13 year old

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    $\begingroup$ That's nice. It's about my passion after all, and the job is well paying after a while i guess. It probably gets to around 11,000 American Dollars a month at the highest post. The money is not what i am worried about. $\endgroup$ – Game Spout Feb 11 '17 at 11:52
  • $\begingroup$ @GameSpout If you aren't worried about the money, what is it you are asking? $\endgroup$ – JustSid Feb 11 '17 at 16:48

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