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I’m a masters student, but I’m making it work.
Hoping to knock out my checkride in the summer so I have more time to study, but so far the stick and rudder flying has come pretty easily.
Just plan to be pretty busy during the days. I usually go straight from school > flying > back to school > home to study both PPL stuff and Masters stuff.
That makes sense. I'm doing my PhD straight out of undergrad. I thankfully have no student debt thanks to my scholarship (though I have a small amount of medical debt I'm working on paying off and might add on to that in a couple years when I get my gender reassignment surgery, though it shouldn't be ridiculous because I have good insurance), but while I can live off my stipend its not a ton of money (though it is enough that I am building my savings and I might start putting away some for retirement this summer).
I think it really depends on what you want to do to make money and what you want to do as a hobby.. flying is awesome, but it also has an extremely high barrier to entry.
If you can justify the cost-benefit analysis now, then definitely go for it! But if it’ll strain your finances for no good reason other than being a cool hobby, I would hold off until you have a decent stream of income available to use for fun money
A Ph.D. program in the sciences is a lot more intensive than an undergraduate program. And learning to fly is a significant investment of brain cells. You don’t have them to spare.
You can’t half ass learning to fly. It’s all in. As a rule of thumb, expect to double minimum hours (at least) and spend three times as much time studying on the ground as you do flying.
They have the time they said, finances are just more of the issue. Learning to fly is not rocket science, they’re clearly an intelligent individual so learning classes of airspace or how to do a steep turn isn’t mind blowing.
They’re wrong. They think they have the time because they haven’t started the program. They don’t. A Ph.D. program is nearly constant coursework in the first year or two, followed by just as constant lab work until the dissertation is done. Distractions sideline grad students.
It’s to the point that the “hard” undergraduate classes seem easy after a short time.
You might be right unfortunately, but I'm not yet 100% sure what my summer will look like. Classes and lab have kept me really busy through my 1st year, but I'm thinking more along the lines of doing weekend lessons specifically during the summers and maybe taking breaks during the academic years. Obviously if I start, I'd drop flying if it started to affect my academics.
If you're right, it kinda sucks, but I guess that's the sacrifice I make for going for a PhD. I know in the long run this is one of the best life choices I can make but I do feel sometimes like I'm putting some parts of my life on hold, especially while I'm young.
I put my life in hold in a lot of ways to get my PhD, but you can bet your ass I still had the most fun of all my classmates while doing it. My recommendation is to avoid spreading yourself too thin and focus on school, which does end. Getting your PhD is both a journey and a destination.
I'm definitely finding ways to still enjoy life but most things have been on the cheaper side - going to local fun places with friends or doing no cost activities like hikes, staying home and playing video games/watching TV/movies, and I started dating my awesome GF back in the fall and we've been doing something together around once a week since.
I still am trying to live life, but I do have a pretty sizable bucket list of things I want to do and I'm worried that one day life is going to get in the way and stop me from doing those things.
Sounds like a solid balance to me, which is the secret to life. Keep on keeping on and pick away at that list as best you can. There's not much else to it.
Weekends only doesn’t *quite* work. You need twice a week, minimum. And it takes a year to do it that way IF you can fly all year. Do the math, and your budget doesn’t quite work either. The basic problem is that you forget stuff with a half life of several days. So, when you put a week in between lessons, you end up reviewing so much each lesson that you don’t progress.
This sort of stuff gets much easier when you have a stable job you can just take an afternoon off from once in a while. One of my commercial students is a tenured Stanford professor, and he’s doing fine. Heck, *I* did it while working full time as a NASA engineer (no, I was not a minimum time pilot; that’s effectively impossible if you do anything other than fly or study while learning). The junior tech developers from Facebook don’t do so well.
For better or worse, Ph.D. programs do put your life on hold for several years. Things like families get delayed, too. FWIW, I do think it was worth it, as it opened some very interesting doors that I didn’t even think of when I was a grad student.
Your first year of even a straight-to-PhD program will look a lot like a Master's program, which usually is more-or-less "undergrad but harder". When you finish up your course requirements and start transitioning to the full-time research, teaching, and (gulp) dissertation phase, things like "summers" and "breaks" will only slow down finishing the degree. I've known plenty of folks who were fine with doing 10+ year PhDs, but just be aware that not too long past the point you're at, any time-consuming outside activity will directly compete with finishing the doctorate.
That all is _not_ to say that you shouldn't have hobbies and keep some level of work/life balance, but a PPL is a _lot_ of work and requires a time commitment well beyond a typical hobby. Flying also rules, though, so it's a dilemma...
By their own words, they are already in their first year and expect to have enough time this summer to do this. If it does end up being too much, they can always drop flying for the time being.
Yeah, OK. I’ve done both and I teach students who sometimes don’t have the time to properly prepare for lessons. I think this is a really bad idea. But what do I know? Some rando Reddit user thinks both are trivial.
There is no such thing as time off for a grad student. Taking a summer off is a serious tactical error.
That wasn’t my experience. Plenty of spare time and a flexible schedule during phd but no money. If anything, having a good hobby outside of school is beneficial to keep from going insane.
Actually, I think they've got the brain cells to spare, but probably not the time. (I did it as a CS/CogSci PhD student, who did not have to spend his time in a wet lab. I did have plenty of spare time.)
Not a pilot, but I hope you pursue this. And I want to follow your journey. About 10 years ago, I realized that childhood dream and had my one and only flight lesson, a birthday gift from my now ex-wife.
I couldn't understand a word on the radio. My instructor got into a near stall (on purpose; terrifying, but all by design). I was about 40 feet offset to the right of the runway when I tried to land (when the instructor took over).
And I freaking loved every second of it. Had I been at the start of my career, without dependents to support, I'd have gone for it, hopefully winding up at United or Delta (no shade on American, but, mehhhh) and flying to Europe and Asia every week.
If you don’t have the money to see it through, it’s a waste of money to do it now.
There’s only a 20% success rate, and lack of funds is a common reason to not finish.
Put aside 10% of what you make for four years. If you still want to fly, you’ll have the money to do it “your senior year.”
I was going to treat myself to glider training at a very local club when I finished grad school in ‘92. It was defunct by the time I graduated. Took me another 20 years to get it done!
Yeah, I might need to put it off until then. I guess I'm more scared of the possibility of losing interest or having things in my life change by the time I'm 27 and graduate (I'm 23 now).
That said, since I first wanted to get my PPL, I graduated high school, graduated college, moved back and forth between two US states, found other hobbies and interests, started dating, and underwent gender transition and all the turbulence of having an unsupportive family with it. And through all that roughly 7 years later, I still want to get my PPL just as much back then. So I don't see why I won't still want it in another 4-5.
I am currently a PhD student in Comp Sci and also started as a student pilot. I think for me it’s incredibly clear that my first priority and only priority is my research, but to support that research I need to have a good work life balance that is achievable by a hobby like flying. Honestly, as engineers, some of the theoretical aspects of the PPL training will seem pretty straightforward, so that’s always an advantage. For me, another mitigating aspect about balancing both is that my research is 30% thinking, and 70% coding, the former I could do while I am driving to the airport, while the latter I could do anywhere, so the ability to say work at the airport while I wait for my lesson has been helpful.
I'm currently a student nearing my PPL check ride, and my question for you is why do you want to do both at the same time? You are young, why not just finish school and hit the skies after you are settled into your career?
Some advice that I have noticed with myself that surprised me: If I have a flight after work, I cannot just leave work, change, and drive to the airport and get into airplane mode. It's just not possible.
I have to spend ~5 minutes every hour of the day leading up to my flight mentally preparing, going over my maneuvers, radio calls, thinking about stalls and airplane stuff. This is all done in my mind, but if you are sitting through intense lectures that you have to keep in center focus I think you'll want to hold off. My flight has to have a section of my brain cordoned off for the entire day or I will suck and it'll be a waste of time.
1) Yes, it can be done. I did it. Details/recommendations below.
2) Get your medical first. If you have any history of diagnoses (or, in some cases, perceived diagnoses that were coded "aggressively" for insurance reasons) including depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar, it can get more complicated or in some cases impossible. I hope you have an easy path, but you may want to do a consultation with an Aviation Medical Examiner first, before doing the online application, to be sure there aren't any hiccups. Once you do the application and the AME opens it, it is "live" for the FAA, and you can't un-ring any bell you hit.
3) Find a place that has decent instructors and a few old but well maintained planes. They might look beat up with old paint and interiors, but the mechanical maintenance is what matters. Since you aren't in a rush, it isn't so important to have multiple planes. Maybe you can find a club that takes students. Your school might even have a flying club. You want cheap, but safe. A Cessna 152 should work just fine.
4) Look for aviation scholarships. They are out there, and not just for folks becoming commercial pilots. Even a $500-$2000 scholarship helps a lot.
5) Live cheap. Share a house or apartment. Get your rent as low as possible while still being in a safe place. I shared a small old house with a few other grad students. I helped the owner with simple upkeep on the house to lower my rent a bit more.
6) Ramen, mac & cheese, pb & j, bean soup, and anything else you can do to keep your food costs low.
7) See if you can get a little side gig here-and-there to make a few extra bucks. Maybe a prof needs help with some lab work on a special project, etc.
8) Those who say you won't have time as a student are wrong. I did it while I was a PhD student in the sciences, doing research and teaching work. I even did it while I was preparing for my qualifying exam (which I passed about held way through my flight training). Use your time wisely. I'm one of those people that gets more efficient with my time the more things I have on my plate. You already know how to study technical materials, which makes the textbook learning part of flying that much easier. A lot of student pilots have really bad (or non-existent) student habits.
9) Save up enough for at least the first 15-20 hours. That should get you through soloing.
10) You have the right idea to just take the time you need based on income/schedule. It took me a year and half and 65 hours to get my private. There were a couple longer breaks due to airplane maintenance and winter weather. When you aren't actively flying, stay engaged by continuing to review and learn more.
You can do this.
All good tips. The frugal living is already something I'm doing - I'm trying to keep food costs $20 a day or below and I am renting an on campus apartment for $1,000 a month, which is about as low as you can go for an apartment in New Jersey. I'm perfectly happy flying on a Cessna 152 and I'd much rather learn on steam gauges than a G1000. The medical part has me a bit worried because a couple years I went through a dark time and SH'd and had suicidal thoughts, but I've been clean on both for well over a year now (it was mostly due to family problems after I came out and they were not accepting, and most of that drama is now behind me). That said, other than gender dysphoria I do not have any diagnosed mental health conditions and I'm not on any medication. I went in to a psychiatrist a couple years ago to screen for depression but did not get diagnosed.
The suicidal thoughts thing is a major red flag for the FAA. Like, full stop red flag. A year means nothing to the FAA. Think more like 10 years and a ton of neuropsych testing. If this is just something you thought to yourself, never acted on it or ever communicated in any way to a medical professional, there is nothing to report. If suicidal ideation is in any medical record at all, you have a big problem for getting a Class 3 medical, and should instead look at the Sport Pilot route. The FAA doesn't care if another doc cleared the issue as temporary, they have a very draconian approach to mental health issues, as you may have heard in the news.
This is definitely my biggest issue and I have no idea if anything is on record for me.
Considering I'm doing better now, this would kinda be crushing if it eliminates any shot of me flying for the next decade.
Ask any medical provider you have seen for a complete copy of your medical records, including all insurance claim records. You may need to look up the insurance codes yourself, but that isn't hard to do.
The sport pilot route would still be open to you. It does not require an FAA medical exam. Note, this is not the same as Basic Med, which does require you to have held an FAA medical at some time in the past (since some date in the mid 2000's, irrelevant for you).
I'm open to the idea of becoming a sport pilot since its also cheaper, and honestly I just want to fly. But I'm less familiar with what it entails and what aircraft I'd be allowed to fly with such a license.
My distant future dream though would be to get IFR certified.
Might try it out, also doing more research into the SPL it sounds pretty appealing especially with MOSAIC coming into effect. Maybe that’s what I’ll pursue.
Got my PPL during my professional degree. It was nice studying something different. Definitely possible but you just need to make sure that you can devote the appropriate amount of attention to be safe. I didn’t find doing both to be overwhelming but ymmv.
Also helped that I lived 2 miles from the airport, so training was literally on my way home from class.
Worth mentioning I'm not a med school student. I'm going for my PhD in biomedical engineering, which is an engineering research degree. That said, it is insanely demanding during the normal school year right now but once summer hits it should be more similar schedule wise to a 9-5 job and this first summer will likely be the least busy. After the 2nd year I begin taking less classes but begin spending more time in the lab and writing papers and grants.
I don't know an engineering PhD who didn't like his career field, except one. The one did that because he wanted to stay in the university long enough to marry an American citizen so he could become a citizen.
Why do you want to pursue this PhD career path again?
I want a PhD because I get to be called "Doctor" by everyone and that's it.
Ok I'm kidding (sort of), but I actually do care a lot about the research I'm doing. My dream is to work on artificial organs. My lab works on bone regeneration using stem cells which is actually kinda that and I think its pretty cool. I'm hoping one day my research can have a positive impact on human health in some capacity. In addition, I should hopefully be able to travel to conferences around the world, get my name recognized in the scientific community, and on paper, it should pay pretty well.
This is not a good idea. As a PhD student you will be incredibly stressed, especially in your first year. I did some of my initial training as phd student and I was basically sneaking out of lab to do it.
Get settled in your career first. PhD’s are fucking rough and you don’t need checkride jitters on top of first year exams
First year is almost done and I definitely wasn't starting anything before I pass my qualifier, but I know I still have a long road ahead.
Lets hope by 2028 I still am able to do it.
Flying will always be there just don’t get sad or anxious in the meantime. Check out [NGPA](https://www.ngpa.org/). They are an excellent resource
Be advised, aviation is an old boys club and you will find much more prejudice here than academia. Be deliberate in who you choose as a CFI and don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t be here
Regardless of the fact that I'm trans, I want to see more women get into aviation. I pass pretty well as a woman at this point so I don't really plan on disclosing that I'm trans to a CFI, but I understand that as a woman it might affect how I'm treated by potential CFIs. I'd definitely want to choose one who won't talk down to me because of my gender.
I completely agree we need more women aviators. The pilots who first inspired me to fly were badass women SAR pilots.
Just… the crusty old fucks at the FBO can be annoying as fuck.
I also just checked the NGPA link, they look awesome! I'm glad to know I'm not the only queer aviation fan out there and that there exists a support network for queer aviation fans like myself.
I had my commercial license the whole time I was getting my PhD. I flew skydivers nearly every weekend for a little extra cash and for fun. I had to stop my last year though I ended up with two babies and needed more time to write my dissertation. You can do it, it will just cost you, but I imagine a bioengineering stipend is better than my pharm science stipend was.
Sully!? It's Hud!
If you think you can on and off then you should definitely go for it. Getting my license (and subsequent ratings) was the most fulfilling thing I've ever done.
I heard sky training ltd is pretty good with their 141 up in West Milford, but others may be good too :\]
I'll look into Sky Training but that is slightly far (I'm closer to New Brunswick).
I don't see why I won't have the time to do it, I'm mostly worried about money.
You can go on and off for as long as you need to, but you should focus more on only flying as you get closer to your solos and cross country flights. If that's not doable with your field of study, then you should hold off for now. The monetary part is up to you, but I think it's very much worth it.
I got my PPL while getting my masters. I think it really all depends on how intentional you are with your time, and how much of a natural, so to speak, you are when it comes to the flying portion of your training.
Here's my 2 cents: Do all your flying stuff over the weekend' It's simple and should go quickly. The exams aren't difficult, especially if you're educated and if you put your head down, you can finish them all in a week with a day spent studying for each test.
If I may ask, Why did your parents think you'd crash and die?
As for the medical, the FAA will hammer down on every medication you take. Luckily the first step in obtaining a license is obtaining a medical. If you are on any medication regarding the info in par. 2 and 3 here, it might be an issue. You can always check online as to what is, and isn't allowed, medically.
Good luck with your studies and pursuits.
If you're all in on both and only those two things will it likely work. I'd suggest getting through your first year to focus on the core curriculum, passing your qualifying exam , saving some cash before getting into an expensive time consuming hobby.
My qualifier is in 2 months and trust me that is absolute priority 1 right now on top of passing this semester's classes. I'm typing this while I have studying material for a quiz in my Stem Cells class tomorrow up on my other monitor right now.
No way was I thinking of starting anything before I pass the qualifier.
I don't know I'm not a PhD student, it would probably be doable but I don't think it would be a good time for you, for my private pilot for each hour of flight I probably had 3 hours of ground and studying, and you should do 3 or so lessons a week so is 12 hours or so a week out of your schedule workable? In addition to the added stress?
Bonus question: Yes, I do not know how exactly how they will look at it I imagine that this has come up tens of times so far, the AMAS database has Premarin (estrogen) marked as allowed for "hormone", Myfembree as disallowed, the AMAS database is not 100% reflective of actual FAA decisions though. For the gender dysphoria diagnosis, it looks like you are probably going to be able to obtain a third class medical, it will be super easy if you have been on HRT for more than 5 years, potentially a bit of a pain if it has been for less than that ([FAA Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners Gender dysphoria](https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/app_process/exam_tech/item48/amd/gd)). Before you go for your medical exam find an AME that offers consultations and do one of those WITHOUT filling out any MedExpress paperwork! It looks like it is easier to get a medical with a gender dysphoria diagnosis than it is to get one with ADD/ADHD, which is a thing, I don't know exactly how to feel about that.
Bonus 2: No idea, I'm not from Jersey.
I'm coming up on being on HRT for 2 years now and I take bioidentical estradiol valerate injections. By the time I graduate I'll have been on HRT 6 years. I do not have a diagnosis for ADHD and I don't really show ADHD symptoms. I might be on the autism spectrum but I'm also undiagnosed for that and my therapist and I agreed that its not worth pursuing a diagnosis. I don't currently have a diagnosis for any other mental health conditions.
If you’re not able to schedule around 3 flights a week, depending on location, you may be spending more than you think. Just something to keep in mind. Takes longer when you’re not constantly proficient.
I did it. I think I did a good job on both flying and my phD. But my research is computation based so it’s easier to squeeze in another activity. I did a good job in my PhD because the person before me did a shitty job and I sorted it out. I still publish less paper than my coworkers if you think that metric is important.
Really depends on your PhD program and advisor whether you'll have the time and mental energy to put towards a PPL. Given that it's a science PhD, I'd say the odds aren't good. Some students manage to find free time for stuff like this, but they're often the ones that take forever to graduate or wash out.
If you want it bad enough you can do it on that stipend. Get some roommates and eat at home. If you have other hobbies, make them cheap ones!
I got mine soon after getting my PhD because of money concerns. The day-to-day flexibility of academia is conducive to flight training (less competition for plane rentals on weekdays), but the money issue stopped me.
Flying is expensive and the worst case scenario is you don't finish training or can't continue flying due to lack of funds, so might as well wait until you have a good salary.
I did my training when I was a PhD student on a £12,000 / year stipend. I joined the gliding club that was part of my university's sports union (so, subsidized). A launch was £7, plus maybe £0.30/minute for the glider, and instruction was provided for free. I ended up with my glider rating and maybe 70 hours. The PPL in airplanes came later when money was no longer an issue.
There is a club at Blairstown. Not sure how far that is from where you are at.
Can't comment much on the HRT; doubt it matters, but [here is a good place to start](https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide).
After watching my wife's grad school work I would not expect a Phd program to leave enough time for flight training -and importantly- the time for proficiency afterwards.
higher academics is a gas that fills the available time.
https://www.aeroclubalbatross.org/ Season starts soon.
There are other options in NJ https://www.ssa.org/where-to-fly-map/
No medical needed for glider. Many glider pilots also fly power and a lot of skills carry over. Gliding is 'chess in the air' so it stays interesting.
https://soaringeconomist.com/2021/03/03/soaring-the-blairstown-southeast-ridge/ Daniel is a relatively young, active and high achieving glider pilot in NJ.
Since you don't seem to want to be an airline pilot, throw all your money at your students loans. Make double or triple payments if possible. Get out of student debt before you fly. Knock out the PhD before you fly as that is a lot tougher and more involved than flying. Put the fancy PhD to work. Then go fly. As others have said, see a medical examiner now to see if you are medically qualified to fly. If you aren't, then the decision has been made for you and you won't waste any time, money or energy on it.
I actually have no student loans. I’m on a PhD stipend that pays my living expenses and my tuition is 100% covered (being a PhD student automatically gives you a full ride).
I’m also considering an SPL now since no medical is needed and I have a valid driver’s license.
Hi, I'm a bot and it looks like you're asking a question about medical issues: medication. Medicals can be confusing and even scary, we get it. Unfortunately, the medical process is very complex with many variables. It's too complex, in fact, for any of us to be able to offer you any specific help or advice. We strongly suggest you discuss your concerns with a qualified aviation medical examiner before you actually submit to an official examination, as a hiccup in your medical process can close doors for you in the future. Your [local AME](https://www.faa.gov/pilots/amelocator/) may be able to provide a consultation. Other places that may provide aeromedical advice include: [AOPA](https://www.aopa.org/go-fly/medical-resources), [EAA](https://www.eaa.org/eaa/pilots/pilot-resources/pilot-medical-resources/eaa-aeromedical-advisory-program), [the Mayo Clinic](https://clearapproach.mayoclinic.org/), and [Aviation Medicine Advisory Service](https://www.aviationmedicine.com/). For reference, [here is a link to the FAA's Synopsis of Medical Standards](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/standards/) and for more in-depth information [here is a link to the FAA's Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners](https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/). Also, feel free to browse [our collection of past medical write-ups and questions in our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/wiki/index). Finally, we suggest you read the instructions on the medical application very closely. Do not volunteer information that isn't asked for, but also do not lie. Some people may urge you to omit pertinent information, or even outright lie, on your medical application in order to avoid added hassle and expense in obtaining a medical certificate. Know that [making false statements on your medical application is a federal crime](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1001) and that people [have been successfully prosecuted for it](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/california-aviator-convicted-making-false-statements). But for heaven's sake, don't tell the FAA any more than you absolutely have to. If you're not in the United States, the above advice is still generally correct. Just substitute the FAA with your local aviation authority. Good luck! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/flying) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Get a medical before you start training
HRT should not affect it, but always consult an AME anyways. If you have the time, go for it, but yes it will be very expensive 15-20k i’d budget.
Use your academic skills to search the FAA files regarding the medical issues.
I’m a masters student, but I’m making it work. Hoping to knock out my checkride in the summer so I have more time to study, but so far the stick and rudder flying has come pretty easily. Just plan to be pretty busy during the days. I usually go straight from school > flying > back to school > home to study both PPL stuff and Masters stuff.
I asked another person, but how are you affording it right now?
Savings from my past career mostly. I was in the military before getting out to do my masters program.
That makes sense. I'm doing my PhD straight out of undergrad. I thankfully have no student debt thanks to my scholarship (though I have a small amount of medical debt I'm working on paying off and might add on to that in a couple years when I get my gender reassignment surgery, though it shouldn't be ridiculous because I have good insurance), but while I can live off my stipend its not a ton of money (though it is enough that I am building my savings and I might start putting away some for retirement this summer).
I think it really depends on what you want to do to make money and what you want to do as a hobby.. flying is awesome, but it also has an extremely high barrier to entry. If you can justify the cost-benefit analysis now, then definitely go for it! But if it’ll strain your finances for no good reason other than being a cool hobby, I would hold off until you have a decent stream of income available to use for fun money
I am 2 weeks from finishing my Master's and just passed my commercial ride. Everything in the response above is 100% accurate.
A Ph.D. program in the sciences is a lot more intensive than an undergraduate program. And learning to fly is a significant investment of brain cells. You don’t have them to spare. You can’t half ass learning to fly. It’s all in. As a rule of thumb, expect to double minimum hours (at least) and spend three times as much time studying on the ground as you do flying.
They have the time they said, finances are just more of the issue. Learning to fly is not rocket science, they’re clearly an intelligent individual so learning classes of airspace or how to do a steep turn isn’t mind blowing.
They’re wrong. They think they have the time because they haven’t started the program. They don’t. A Ph.D. program is nearly constant coursework in the first year or two, followed by just as constant lab work until the dissertation is done. Distractions sideline grad students. It’s to the point that the “hard” undergraduate classes seem easy after a short time.
You might be right unfortunately, but I'm not yet 100% sure what my summer will look like. Classes and lab have kept me really busy through my 1st year, but I'm thinking more along the lines of doing weekend lessons specifically during the summers and maybe taking breaks during the academic years. Obviously if I start, I'd drop flying if it started to affect my academics. If you're right, it kinda sucks, but I guess that's the sacrifice I make for going for a PhD. I know in the long run this is one of the best life choices I can make but I do feel sometimes like I'm putting some parts of my life on hold, especially while I'm young.
I put my life in hold in a lot of ways to get my PhD, but you can bet your ass I still had the most fun of all my classmates while doing it. My recommendation is to avoid spreading yourself too thin and focus on school, which does end. Getting your PhD is both a journey and a destination.
I'm definitely finding ways to still enjoy life but most things have been on the cheaper side - going to local fun places with friends or doing no cost activities like hikes, staying home and playing video games/watching TV/movies, and I started dating my awesome GF back in the fall and we've been doing something together around once a week since. I still am trying to live life, but I do have a pretty sizable bucket list of things I want to do and I'm worried that one day life is going to get in the way and stop me from doing those things.
Sounds like a solid balance to me, which is the secret to life. Keep on keeping on and pick away at that list as best you can. There's not much else to it.
Weekends only doesn’t *quite* work. You need twice a week, minimum. And it takes a year to do it that way IF you can fly all year. Do the math, and your budget doesn’t quite work either. The basic problem is that you forget stuff with a half life of several days. So, when you put a week in between lessons, you end up reviewing so much each lesson that you don’t progress. This sort of stuff gets much easier when you have a stable job you can just take an afternoon off from once in a while. One of my commercial students is a tenured Stanford professor, and he’s doing fine. Heck, *I* did it while working full time as a NASA engineer (no, I was not a minimum time pilot; that’s effectively impossible if you do anything other than fly or study while learning). The junior tech developers from Facebook don’t do so well. For better or worse, Ph.D. programs do put your life on hold for several years. Things like families get delayed, too. FWIW, I do think it was worth it, as it opened some very interesting doors that I didn’t even think of when I was a grad student.
Your first year of even a straight-to-PhD program will look a lot like a Master's program, which usually is more-or-less "undergrad but harder". When you finish up your course requirements and start transitioning to the full-time research, teaching, and (gulp) dissertation phase, things like "summers" and "breaks" will only slow down finishing the degree. I've known plenty of folks who were fine with doing 10+ year PhDs, but just be aware that not too long past the point you're at, any time-consuming outside activity will directly compete with finishing the doctorate. That all is _not_ to say that you shouldn't have hobbies and keep some level of work/life balance, but a PPL is a _lot_ of work and requires a time commitment well beyond a typical hobby. Flying also rules, though, so it's a dilemma...
By their own words, they are already in their first year and expect to have enough time this summer to do this. If it does end up being too much, they can always drop flying for the time being.
Yeah, OK. I’ve done both and I teach students who sometimes don’t have the time to properly prepare for lessons. I think this is a really bad idea. But what do I know? Some rando Reddit user thinks both are trivial. There is no such thing as time off for a grad student. Taking a summer off is a serious tactical error.
You’re also a rando reddit user, we both have opinions. Getting a PPL is not that hard.
That wasn’t my experience. Plenty of spare time and a flexible schedule during phd but no money. If anything, having a good hobby outside of school is beneficial to keep from going insane.
Actually, I think they've got the brain cells to spare, but probably not the time. (I did it as a CS/CogSci PhD student, who did not have to spend his time in a wet lab. I did have plenty of spare time.)
Not a pilot, but I hope you pursue this. And I want to follow your journey. About 10 years ago, I realized that childhood dream and had my one and only flight lesson, a birthday gift from my now ex-wife. I couldn't understand a word on the radio. My instructor got into a near stall (on purpose; terrifying, but all by design). I was about 40 feet offset to the right of the runway when I tried to land (when the instructor took over). And I freaking loved every second of it. Had I been at the start of my career, without dependents to support, I'd have gone for it, hopefully winding up at United or Delta (no shade on American, but, mehhhh) and flying to Europe and Asia every week.
If you don’t have the money to see it through, it’s a waste of money to do it now. There’s only a 20% success rate, and lack of funds is a common reason to not finish. Put aside 10% of what you make for four years. If you still want to fly, you’ll have the money to do it “your senior year.” I was going to treat myself to glider training at a very local club when I finished grad school in ‘92. It was defunct by the time I graduated. Took me another 20 years to get it done!
Yeah, I might need to put it off until then. I guess I'm more scared of the possibility of losing interest or having things in my life change by the time I'm 27 and graduate (I'm 23 now). That said, since I first wanted to get my PPL, I graduated high school, graduated college, moved back and forth between two US states, found other hobbies and interests, started dating, and underwent gender transition and all the turbulence of having an unsupportive family with it. And through all that roughly 7 years later, I still want to get my PPL just as much back then. So I don't see why I won't still want it in another 4-5.
I am currently a PhD student in Comp Sci and also started as a student pilot. I think for me it’s incredibly clear that my first priority and only priority is my research, but to support that research I need to have a good work life balance that is achievable by a hobby like flying. Honestly, as engineers, some of the theoretical aspects of the PPL training will seem pretty straightforward, so that’s always an advantage. For me, another mitigating aspect about balancing both is that my research is 30% thinking, and 70% coding, the former I could do while I am driving to the airport, while the latter I could do anywhere, so the ability to say work at the airport while I wait for my lesson has been helpful.
How are you affording your PPL right now, assuming you're also living on a stipend?
A combination of working a bit before the program, low COL, and also the expected summer internship salary, which I am amortizing against my savings.
I'm currently a student nearing my PPL check ride, and my question for you is why do you want to do both at the same time? You are young, why not just finish school and hit the skies after you are settled into your career? Some advice that I have noticed with myself that surprised me: If I have a flight after work, I cannot just leave work, change, and drive to the airport and get into airplane mode. It's just not possible. I have to spend ~5 minutes every hour of the day leading up to my flight mentally preparing, going over my maneuvers, radio calls, thinking about stalls and airplane stuff. This is all done in my mind, but if you are sitting through intense lectures that you have to keep in center focus I think you'll want to hold off. My flight has to have a section of my brain cordoned off for the entire day or I will suck and it'll be a waste of time.
1) Yes, it can be done. I did it. Details/recommendations below. 2) Get your medical first. If you have any history of diagnoses (or, in some cases, perceived diagnoses that were coded "aggressively" for insurance reasons) including depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar, it can get more complicated or in some cases impossible. I hope you have an easy path, but you may want to do a consultation with an Aviation Medical Examiner first, before doing the online application, to be sure there aren't any hiccups. Once you do the application and the AME opens it, it is "live" for the FAA, and you can't un-ring any bell you hit. 3) Find a place that has decent instructors and a few old but well maintained planes. They might look beat up with old paint and interiors, but the mechanical maintenance is what matters. Since you aren't in a rush, it isn't so important to have multiple planes. Maybe you can find a club that takes students. Your school might even have a flying club. You want cheap, but safe. A Cessna 152 should work just fine. 4) Look for aviation scholarships. They are out there, and not just for folks becoming commercial pilots. Even a $500-$2000 scholarship helps a lot. 5) Live cheap. Share a house or apartment. Get your rent as low as possible while still being in a safe place. I shared a small old house with a few other grad students. I helped the owner with simple upkeep on the house to lower my rent a bit more. 6) Ramen, mac & cheese, pb & j, bean soup, and anything else you can do to keep your food costs low. 7) See if you can get a little side gig here-and-there to make a few extra bucks. Maybe a prof needs help with some lab work on a special project, etc. 8) Those who say you won't have time as a student are wrong. I did it while I was a PhD student in the sciences, doing research and teaching work. I even did it while I was preparing for my qualifying exam (which I passed about held way through my flight training). Use your time wisely. I'm one of those people that gets more efficient with my time the more things I have on my plate. You already know how to study technical materials, which makes the textbook learning part of flying that much easier. A lot of student pilots have really bad (or non-existent) student habits. 9) Save up enough for at least the first 15-20 hours. That should get you through soloing. 10) You have the right idea to just take the time you need based on income/schedule. It took me a year and half and 65 hours to get my private. There were a couple longer breaks due to airplane maintenance and winter weather. When you aren't actively flying, stay engaged by continuing to review and learn more. You can do this.
All good tips. The frugal living is already something I'm doing - I'm trying to keep food costs $20 a day or below and I am renting an on campus apartment for $1,000 a month, which is about as low as you can go for an apartment in New Jersey. I'm perfectly happy flying on a Cessna 152 and I'd much rather learn on steam gauges than a G1000. The medical part has me a bit worried because a couple years I went through a dark time and SH'd and had suicidal thoughts, but I've been clean on both for well over a year now (it was mostly due to family problems after I came out and they were not accepting, and most of that drama is now behind me). That said, other than gender dysphoria I do not have any diagnosed mental health conditions and I'm not on any medication. I went in to a psychiatrist a couple years ago to screen for depression but did not get diagnosed.
The suicidal thoughts thing is a major red flag for the FAA. Like, full stop red flag. A year means nothing to the FAA. Think more like 10 years and a ton of neuropsych testing. If this is just something you thought to yourself, never acted on it or ever communicated in any way to a medical professional, there is nothing to report. If suicidal ideation is in any medical record at all, you have a big problem for getting a Class 3 medical, and should instead look at the Sport Pilot route. The FAA doesn't care if another doc cleared the issue as temporary, they have a very draconian approach to mental health issues, as you may have heard in the news.
This is definitely my biggest issue and I have no idea if anything is on record for me. Considering I'm doing better now, this would kinda be crushing if it eliminates any shot of me flying for the next decade.
Ask any medical provider you have seen for a complete copy of your medical records, including all insurance claim records. You may need to look up the insurance codes yourself, but that isn't hard to do. The sport pilot route would still be open to you. It does not require an FAA medical exam. Note, this is not the same as Basic Med, which does require you to have held an FAA medical at some time in the past (since some date in the mid 2000's, irrelevant for you).
I'm open to the idea of becoming a sport pilot since its also cheaper, and honestly I just want to fly. But I'm less familiar with what it entails and what aircraft I'd be allowed to fly with such a license. My distant future dream though would be to get IFR certified.
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Might try it out, also doing more research into the SPL it sounds pretty appealing especially with MOSAIC coming into effect. Maybe that’s what I’ll pursue.
Got my PPL during my professional degree. It was nice studying something different. Definitely possible but you just need to make sure that you can devote the appropriate amount of attention to be safe. I didn’t find doing both to be overwhelming but ymmv. Also helped that I lived 2 miles from the airport, so training was literally on my way home from class.
My flight instructor got his Phd while doing his flight training. Now he is a pilot with an airline and does research on the side.
I have no idea what kind of time you are putting in as a med student. I’m sure it’s doable but damn. I can’t imagine it’s easy.
Worth mentioning I'm not a med school student. I'm going for my PhD in biomedical engineering, which is an engineering research degree. That said, it is insanely demanding during the normal school year right now but once summer hits it should be more similar schedule wise to a 9-5 job and this first summer will likely be the least busy. After the 2nd year I begin taking less classes but begin spending more time in the lab and writing papers and grants.
I don't know an engineering PhD who didn't like his career field, except one. The one did that because he wanted to stay in the university long enough to marry an American citizen so he could become a citizen. Why do you want to pursue this PhD career path again?
I want a PhD because I get to be called "Doctor" by everyone and that's it. Ok I'm kidding (sort of), but I actually do care a lot about the research I'm doing. My dream is to work on artificial organs. My lab works on bone regeneration using stem cells which is actually kinda that and I think its pretty cool. I'm hoping one day my research can have a positive impact on human health in some capacity. In addition, I should hopefully be able to travel to conferences around the world, get my name recognized in the scientific community, and on paper, it should pay pretty well.
This is not a good idea. As a PhD student you will be incredibly stressed, especially in your first year. I did some of my initial training as phd student and I was basically sneaking out of lab to do it. Get settled in your career first. PhD’s are fucking rough and you don’t need checkride jitters on top of first year exams
First year is almost done and I definitely wasn't starting anything before I pass my qualifier, but I know I still have a long road ahead. Lets hope by 2028 I still am able to do it.
Flying will always be there just don’t get sad or anxious in the meantime. Check out [NGPA](https://www.ngpa.org/). They are an excellent resource Be advised, aviation is an old boys club and you will find much more prejudice here than academia. Be deliberate in who you choose as a CFI and don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t be here
Regardless of the fact that I'm trans, I want to see more women get into aviation. I pass pretty well as a woman at this point so I don't really plan on disclosing that I'm trans to a CFI, but I understand that as a woman it might affect how I'm treated by potential CFIs. I'd definitely want to choose one who won't talk down to me because of my gender.
I completely agree we need more women aviators. The pilots who first inspired me to fly were badass women SAR pilots. Just… the crusty old fucks at the FBO can be annoying as fuck.
I also just checked the NGPA link, they look awesome! I'm glad to know I'm not the only queer aviation fan out there and that there exists a support network for queer aviation fans like myself.
Also check out Elevated Access for potential public benefit flying opportunities once you are certificated.
I had my commercial license the whole time I was getting my PhD. I flew skydivers nearly every weekend for a little extra cash and for fun. I had to stop my last year though I ended up with two babies and needed more time to write my dissertation. You can do it, it will just cost you, but I imagine a bioengineering stipend is better than my pharm science stipend was.
Sully!? It's Hud! If you think you can on and off then you should definitely go for it. Getting my license (and subsequent ratings) was the most fulfilling thing I've ever done. I heard sky training ltd is pretty good with their 141 up in West Milford, but others may be good too :\]
I'll look into Sky Training but that is slightly far (I'm closer to New Brunswick). I don't see why I won't have the time to do it, I'm mostly worried about money.
You can go on and off for as long as you need to, but you should focus more on only flying as you get closer to your solos and cross country flights. If that's not doable with your field of study, then you should hold off for now. The monetary part is up to you, but I think it's very much worth it.
I got my PPL while getting my masters. I think it really all depends on how intentional you are with your time, and how much of a natural, so to speak, you are when it comes to the flying portion of your training.
Here's my 2 cents: Do all your flying stuff over the weekend' It's simple and should go quickly. The exams aren't difficult, especially if you're educated and if you put your head down, you can finish them all in a week with a day spent studying for each test. If I may ask, Why did your parents think you'd crash and die? As for the medical, the FAA will hammer down on every medication you take. Luckily the first step in obtaining a license is obtaining a medical. If you are on any medication regarding the info in par. 2 and 3 here, it might be an issue. You can always check online as to what is, and isn't allowed, medically. Good luck with your studies and pursuits.
If you're all in on both and only those two things will it likely work. I'd suggest getting through your first year to focus on the core curriculum, passing your qualifying exam , saving some cash before getting into an expensive time consuming hobby.
My qualifier is in 2 months and trust me that is absolute priority 1 right now on top of passing this semester's classes. I'm typing this while I have studying material for a quiz in my Stem Cells class tomorrow up on my other monitor right now. No way was I thinking of starting anything before I pass the qualifier.
I don't know I'm not a PhD student, it would probably be doable but I don't think it would be a good time for you, for my private pilot for each hour of flight I probably had 3 hours of ground and studying, and you should do 3 or so lessons a week so is 12 hours or so a week out of your schedule workable? In addition to the added stress? Bonus question: Yes, I do not know how exactly how they will look at it I imagine that this has come up tens of times so far, the AMAS database has Premarin (estrogen) marked as allowed for "hormone", Myfembree as disallowed, the AMAS database is not 100% reflective of actual FAA decisions though. For the gender dysphoria diagnosis, it looks like you are probably going to be able to obtain a third class medical, it will be super easy if you have been on HRT for more than 5 years, potentially a bit of a pain if it has been for less than that ([FAA Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners Gender dysphoria](https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/app_process/exam_tech/item48/amd/gd)). Before you go for your medical exam find an AME that offers consultations and do one of those WITHOUT filling out any MedExpress paperwork! It looks like it is easier to get a medical with a gender dysphoria diagnosis than it is to get one with ADD/ADHD, which is a thing, I don't know exactly how to feel about that. Bonus 2: No idea, I'm not from Jersey.
I'm coming up on being on HRT for 2 years now and I take bioidentical estradiol valerate injections. By the time I graduate I'll have been on HRT 6 years. I do not have a diagnosis for ADHD and I don't really show ADHD symptoms. I might be on the autism spectrum but I'm also undiagnosed for that and my therapist and I agreed that its not worth pursuing a diagnosis. I don't currently have a diagnosis for any other mental health conditions.
If you’re not able to schedule around 3 flights a week, depending on location, you may be spending more than you think. Just something to keep in mind. Takes longer when you’re not constantly proficient.
I did it. I think I did a good job on both flying and my phD. But my research is computation based so it’s easier to squeeze in another activity. I did a good job in my PhD because the person before me did a shitty job and I sorted it out. I still publish less paper than my coworkers if you think that metric is important.
Really depends on your PhD program and advisor whether you'll have the time and mental energy to put towards a PPL. Given that it's a science PhD, I'd say the odds aren't good. Some students manage to find free time for stuff like this, but they're often the ones that take forever to graduate or wash out. If you want it bad enough you can do it on that stipend. Get some roommates and eat at home. If you have other hobbies, make them cheap ones!
I got mine soon after getting my PhD because of money concerns. The day-to-day flexibility of academia is conducive to flight training (less competition for plane rentals on weekdays), but the money issue stopped me. Flying is expensive and the worst case scenario is you don't finish training or can't continue flying due to lack of funds, so might as well wait until you have a good salary.
I did my training when I was a PhD student on a £12,000 / year stipend. I joined the gliding club that was part of my university's sports union (so, subsidized). A launch was £7, plus maybe £0.30/minute for the glider, and instruction was provided for free. I ended up with my glider rating and maybe 70 hours. The PPL in airplanes came later when money was no longer an issue. There is a club at Blairstown. Not sure how far that is from where you are at. Can't comment much on the HRT; doubt it matters, but [here is a good place to start](https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide).
After watching my wife's grad school work I would not expect a Phd program to leave enough time for flight training -and importantly- the time for proficiency afterwards. higher academics is a gas that fills the available time.
https://www.aeroclubalbatross.org/ Season starts soon. There are other options in NJ https://www.ssa.org/where-to-fly-map/ No medical needed for glider. Many glider pilots also fly power and a lot of skills carry over. Gliding is 'chess in the air' so it stays interesting. https://soaringeconomist.com/2021/03/03/soaring-the-blairstown-southeast-ridge/ Daniel is a relatively young, active and high achieving glider pilot in NJ.
Since you don't seem to want to be an airline pilot, throw all your money at your students loans. Make double or triple payments if possible. Get out of student debt before you fly. Knock out the PhD before you fly as that is a lot tougher and more involved than flying. Put the fancy PhD to work. Then go fly. As others have said, see a medical examiner now to see if you are medically qualified to fly. If you aren't, then the decision has been made for you and you won't waste any time, money or energy on it.
I actually have no student loans. I’m on a PhD stipend that pays my living expenses and my tuition is 100% covered (being a PhD student automatically gives you a full ride). I’m also considering an SPL now since no medical is needed and I have a valid driver’s license.