Completely Honest Guy : Completely Honest Veterinarian
Dear Captain Lim,
I’m in a dilemma of becoming a pilot or stick on to my profession as a veterinarian. I don’t know who to ask but I think maybe you can help me out with this.
I’m in pharmaceutical line for about 2 years now and currently 27 years old. I studied for 5 years and it’s been a hard work. I thought I could be earning big bucks after I graduated but nope, I only have a basic salary of only RM3000 +. Together with all the allowance and commissions, I can only earn up to RM5000
.
As I look down the road, the highest position I can go is to become a country manager when I am around 45 years old with a basic of about RM15,000 a month.
Looking at the pilot as a profession, a first officer can easily earn that amount after 2-3 years as a second officer. I’m telling myself; am I going to wait till I’m 45 years old to earn that amount when I know I can do it now or maybe the most, at 31-32 years old?
Yes I may incur RM200-300k for the training but I think this investment will be worth it when I become a first officer or captain.
Seeing all the pilots in the luxurious lifestyle makes me feel that working hard might not be the way, but making the right choice might be the most important skill.
I don’t have the privilege of people telling me that pilot is making lots of money when I was choosing my course 7 years ago. I tell myself that I still can make the changes now because I still have the time and the chance to do so.
There are very few vacancies for pilots now, but who knows, 2 years down the road, pilots will be in demand again. Please tell me I’m right.
Two roads diverged, I may take the less travelled one. Will that make the difference?
Dilemma distracted Nelson
Hi Nelson,
To be an airline pilot, you have to be at the right place and at the right time to earn the good money. Unfortunately, the time is not right at the moment as there are more than 1000 pilot graduates in Malaysia who have spent about RM200,000 to RM300,000 to acquire the licence but are still waiting for a job to come by.
I cannot forecast when all of them would be employed but it would be a gamble if you plunge into the profession now unless you are prepared to wait.
If you are not sponsored by an airline, two years down the road, you still will be in the queue looking for that flying job. You are lucky to have a job to fall back on as a veterinarian but others without a back-up job will have the most to lose. In that sense, you are better off if you decide to take up flying now as you can afford to wait for the airline industry to create more flying jobs in the future.
I wish you all the best.
PS. To check for any latest updates or postings, you can follow my new Twitter at @CaptKHLim
Hi nelson, It is never too late to fulfill your dreams, i was an ex vet, but now i am a second officer in an airline. The road is tough no doubt, from learning anatomy, pharmacology and other various discipline for 5 years and then switching to another dynamic fast career. But if u are sure and confident in ur abilities, nothing can stop u, all the best!
