Am I stupid for considering throwing this away?
Bit of background info, I am 25 based in Denmark, halfway through the flagship degree in my countries top business school. I started uni late as is pretty common here. I got accepted into the Deloitte NEXT program for financial services audit starting September of 2026. Had I not been accepted into school I would’ve gone straight to flight school to become an airline pilot, that was always the plan.
Though the more time I spend studying and looking down the road ahead the more drawn I am to being a pilot. All the research points towards there being no better time to start, the massive COVID induced pilot shortage and the salaries make it very attractive. A senior captain at Delta can easily clear upwards of 400k+, I feel like very few people in my current trajectory make that, even if I manage to pivot into IB down the road. On top of that airline pilots legally cannot fly more than 90 hours a month, contrast that with IB, the quality of life is clearly superior. Whenever I speak with my friends who are further ahead in their careers, they genuinely enjoy their work and don't see the money as their primary motivator behind going into finance. For me the money is probably 80% of the reason why I even applied to business school in the first place. I already feel old and feel like if I were to spend more time in uni, and start working at Deloitte, I would just get sucked into it and let me my dreams of being a pilot fly by. Though at the same time I can't help but feel like I'd be throwing so much away for a very uncertain career.
UK based so appreciate there are nuances due to brexit, however, a close friend of mine that has flown small planes from the age of 15 didn’t get a first officer seat until late 20s despite doing relevant degree and at a good uni. (More than 10 years relevant exp. before breaking in)
Ultimately you need to do what’s best for you but don’t underestimate how difficult it may be to break in to being a pilot. At least from my perspective, there are a vast number more finance seats than pilots.
Best of luck either way
The flight school I'm looking at is a 0 to First Officer integrated full time study program that lasts 2 years, and they have direct lines to SAS, Norwegian, and Air Greenland who hire straight out of the flight schools. I've spoken to recent hires in the airlines who verified all of this. I don't doubt the industry is volatile and 'black swan' events can have mass layoffs at the drop of a hat, (9/11, covid) but I'm pretty confident I'd be able to find a job. Question for me is if it's worth it to finish my degree and potentially go through with Deloitte just to hard pivot afterwards
Understood - if you can get into the programs then I agree with your sentiment that wlb vs comp is likely much better. You will get to travel the world/region, great perks etc.
If you really are pursuing finance for the money, then it’s likely worth taking an opportunity on an integrated scheme. (At least in the UK) the first few years will be financially tough, not sure how long it would take to get to the 400k quoted number but keep that in mind if it’s such a big motivator, progression will almost certainly be faster in finance than aviation.
Personally I wouldn’t swap until I had something secured, just because they are incredibly competitive.
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