I'm overall new to flying but I've been around the forums enough to know how often the subject of DUI's come up in discussion and peoples differing opinions on them. I'm 23, recently graduated from college, have almost 100 hours in helicopters working toward my commercial license.
About 6 months ago I made by far the worst mistake of my life, went out with some friends and got arrested for DUI on the way home, ended up getting reduced to a reckless driving conviction with 6 months license suspension in that state (not the state I live), and I reported it to the FAA within 60 days. I am fully aware of the dangers my actions posed on others and myself, I am very thankful nobody was hurt as a result of my decision to drive that night and I take 100% responsibility for my poor decision. I have spend countless hours analyzing and over analyzing my character, and what I can do different in the future. In no way am I expecting or suggesting remorse or forgiveness for my actions, I have more than learned my lesson from this incident.
With that being said, I'm looking for some answers on how this will affect my flying career. I have seen other similar posts with mixed opinions. Some say it's a career killer (fair enough I understand the perspective of employers and insurance companies). I have also seen plenty of people saying they know pilots with a DUI, and 1 DUI is something you can get over if you put time between you and the offense, showing that you have changed from it. This would be great if the incident were 7 years in the past, however it was less than a year ago so I don't have anything to show potential employers that I've changed other than my word.
Ultimately my questions are:
Should I continue my training and expect an employer to be understanding when it comes time for an interview?
Do I need to do something else for some years to put enough time between myself and my actions before an employer will potentially consider me?
Or is it really the career killer and I should move on to pursue another career because my character has shown I can't be trusted when it comes to decision making?
I want to stress that I'm not looking for "the answer I want to hear" I'm looking for what you guys think is the realistic truth. If this means I need to find a different career so be it, I'm aware this might very well be the consequence of my actions.
Thanks
About 6 months ago I made by far the worst mistake of my life, went out with some friends and got arrested for DUI on the way home, ended up getting reduced to a reckless driving conviction with 6 months license suspension in that state (not the state I live), and I reported it to the FAA within 60 days. I am fully aware of the dangers my actions posed on others and myself, I am very thankful nobody was hurt as a result of my decision to drive that night and I take 100% responsibility for my poor decision. I have spend countless hours analyzing and over analyzing my character, and what I can do different in the future. In no way am I expecting or suggesting remorse or forgiveness for my actions, I have more than learned my lesson from this incident.
With that being said, I'm looking for some answers on how this will affect my flying career. I have seen other similar posts with mixed opinions. Some say it's a career killer (fair enough I understand the perspective of employers and insurance companies). I have also seen plenty of people saying they know pilots with a DUI, and 1 DUI is something you can get over if you put time between you and the offense, showing that you have changed from it. This would be great if the incident were 7 years in the past, however it was less than a year ago so I don't have anything to show potential employers that I've changed other than my word.
Ultimately my questions are:
Should I continue my training and expect an employer to be understanding when it comes time for an interview?
Do I need to do something else for some years to put enough time between myself and my actions before an employer will potentially consider me?
Or is it really the career killer and I should move on to pursue another career because my character has shown I can't be trusted when it comes to decision making?
I want to stress that I'm not looking for "the answer I want to hear" I'm looking for what you guys think is the realistic truth. If this means I need to find a different career so be it, I'm aware this might very well be the consequence of my actions.
Thanks
