After 24 years working as a pediatrician, I am going to become a commercial airline pilot.
There is currently a massive pilot shortage in the United States. It's estimated that we need more than 15,000 pilots over the next five years.
During the pandemic, virtually all flights were grounded due to travel restrictions. Many seasoned pilots were forced into early retirement. No flight school remained open during the shutdown.
Now, with lifting of travel bans and fueled by strong consumer demand, many flights are grounded because there is no one to fly them.
I played a small role in getting the world weather the pandemic, and now the world could use one less doctor but one more pilot.
I will be the third-generation pilot in my family. My grandfather flew for the first Chinese air force. He was naval bomber. Both of my uncles flew fighter jets.
I am fulfilling my destiny as I take to the air.
More seriously though, congrats on taking this leap of faith. Hope you'll be having fun and send pics!
I just want to tell you good luck, we're all counting on you.
Flying seems so fun. I wonder if I could fly a little private plane despite being afraid of heights (I don't mind traveling by commercial airplane but Ferris wheels scare the life out of me)
For me, it's the opposite. I wasn't afraid of flying in a plane, or partaking in an adventure park, but when I started parachuting it sure scared the hell out of me, though it got better with time. Since then though, flying in a plane gives me a slight fear of heights I didn't have before, as if parachuting gave my brain an appreciation of the actual distance I am above the ground.
Apparently there's a difference between the fear if falling and the fear of heights. I was told toddlers only feel the former, so that they would clutch the hands of an adult to the point of being suspended in the air, rather than letting go before being lifted up and risking falling from the lack of support. If only someone here knew about children so that he could confirm or deny this...
As long as a trusted adult is holding her hand, she can walk all day. It's like that feather Dumbo holds while flying. It's purely psychological.
It's not exactly related, but I posted this video in the morning about having the confidence to deal with rejections. It's the fear of failure that ensures failure becomes reality.