Pilot vs Neurosurgeon: Help me pick a career?

Well, that's good that you understand the difference between following your heart and brain.

And I can relate to you as I'm in a similar situation. I'm a college student and I absolutely love aviation, always have. I got my private pilots license when I was 17, and I still want to be a commercial pilot.

But I definitely do have a backup plan, which is to go to law school. I plan to take 2-3 years off after college in order to work and save money to finish my ratings and hopefully get an airline job.

Now, medical school can't really be a "backup" plan. The admissions process is much more intricate than law school; you will need plenty of volunteer hours, etc.

Plus medical school is an extra four years after college. Then after that you have to do your residency for your specialty, which will probably take another three years or so.

So taking 2-3 years off after college might not be feasible as you still have an additional 7 years of schooling/training after college. For law I only have 3-4.

Despite flight training being expensive, it would be significantly less than going to medical school.

Starting out as an airline pilot you would only be making $20-30,000. As your career progresses you could make upwards into six figures.

As a medical student, you wouldn't be making anything during medical school. In residency training you would make around $40,000.

But obviously after residency you would probably make $200-$300,000 easily.

Another perk with being a neurosurgeon is you would be able to afford your own aircraft and fly recreationally.

It's up to you. But when you start college, you need to start with the intentions of going to medical school; get all As...especially in the maths and sciences. And prepare for the MCAT.

What's more important to you; money or passion? How long do you want to be in school? Are you okay with making a modest salary, but enjoying what you do and have travel benefits and only working 3-4 days a week?

Or do you want to work your butt off for 7 years to be able to earn a high salary?

You have a lot of thinking to do. Both are obviously excellent careers, but it comes down to what you truly think you'll love.

The last thing you want is to be a miserable medical student. Your passion for becoming a surgeon needs to match the passion for becoming a pilot if that's what you want to do.

Good luck!

Neurosurgeon without hesitation - Forget being a pilot -

Aviation careers nowadays are trash -

Training extra expensive, pilot salaries decrease, hard to get a job -

5 to 10 years after you are in practice, buy an airplane, learn to fly -

My dentist has a commercial pilot license and instrument rating -

He owns a SIAI Marchetti SF-260 - a Porsche Carrera and a BMW 735 -

And you should meet his 2 (or 3?) girlfriends - he is a real animal -

I traded dental work for pilot instruction -

Helped him get his instrument rating -

Everywhere he goes, he introduces himself as a pilot, not dentist -

Because people are stupid, they think pilots are millionaires -

So - make your choice...

Try to be a A380 captain for Delta (yet you will never be)... or... ?

There are thousands of student pilots - all are dreamers -

Not many get to be airline pilots... maybe 10-20% -

.

I am a pilot, and i have a couple of health care professional neighbors. One in every of which just completed his neurosurgery fellowship. I will typically certainly not make way more than $one hundred,000 flying planes, i'll frequently continuously fly a aircraft belonging to any individual else. Its not a bad deal, but each of my health practitioner neighbors i know make about as so much per month as I make per yr; even the minimize paid ones might without difficulty buy almost always any plane they want, and fly it as mainly as they wish to. Flying is enjoyable when you are doing it given that you want to. Like anything else, once you must do it quite a few the fun is long gone. Med college is rough, surgical residency sucks. Neuro residency isn't all that horrible however its plenty of lengthy hours and rather annoying work. You'll be able to be 35 earlier than you are making good cash, but i do not suppose you'll be able to find a beginning out neuro attending making not up to $350,000 a yr... No longer unhealthy huh? Don't fly airplanes for a dwelling, there are higher things to do with yourself.

Why not have 'm both?

Start to become a very good Neurosurgeon, that will provide you with enough money so you are able to finance a (hobby, private) pilot (license) in your spare time.

And if you like it so much, then you can always move ahead with your pilot "hobby", switch carriers and become a full-time man-of-aviation? (since you had already laid the pilot basis ;-)

Njoy your life :-) and always thing WIN+WIN=WIN !

If you have the ability to be a neurosurgeon you should become one! You would be able to buy your own airplane and fly when you want. The only way anyone should be a pilot is if they can't envision anything but flying.

Just my two cents worth.

As a pilot, if I had the ability to become a neurosurgeon, I would. You could easily afford to fly recreationally with a doctors salary.

Heu... the percentage of being a full time Pilot and amateur Neurosurgeon and vice versa...???

If you want to have a steady, well-paid career, become a surgeon and fly for fun.

Med school, then you can fly whatever you want.