Commercial Pilot Career?

[Krs17]

Hello everyone,

My boyfriend is currently considering pursuing a career as a commercial pilot. He's very serious about it and wants to get started ASAP. We've had conversations with admin at the local flight school and they want him to do an associates degree along with the flight training so that he can apply for a student loan to fund the whole thing. In total it would be ~ $80,000 in loans.

This number makes me nervous as I would need to co-sign for him to qualify. I have a stable job with no outstanding debt. However, I don't want to spend my life in debt and worry that this would hurt our/my chances for car or housing loan in the future (I'm 27 yrs old he's 26).

He's incredible hardworking and passionate about the industry, but I need to hear some real perspectives on the industry and job outlook before I commit to this as well.

Thanks in advance!

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

For the personal advice, cosigning a loan for someone you’re not married to is risky business. It only very rarely has a pleasant ending. In my young career years I worked at a university and saw numerous PHD candidates with partners or even spouses that worked while their partner worked on their doctorate or went through medical school. With very few exceptions, at the end of the education road, or soon thereafter the relationship came apart, often ended by the one who was the recipient of the money that got them through school.

I think this tends to happen because obtaining an advanced degree like that tends to change one’s view of the world in some pretty fundamental ways. If the spouse / SO is not changing in the same way, it can lead to a lot of differences that are hard on the relationship.

Agree with all the advice above on not co-signing a loan like this and the benefit of having some patience and working to support one’s education if needed.