I never expected to become a pilot.
Growing up, I spent most of my childhood moving between countries – born in England, then living in Scotland, California, and eventually Australia. Travel was a constant in my life, and so were planes.
I was always in airports, always in transit, always somewhere between places, but despite that aviation never felt like something I could actually do as a career.
In my early 30s, I was working in animal care after briefly exploring veterinary science, but I knew it wasn’t right for me. I’d also worked in hospitality and customer service, but I still hadn’t found something that felt quite right when it comes to my career path.
I was 31 and, honestly, I didn’t know what I wanted to do next.
Everything changed when I booked a Trial Introductory Flight in 2021.
I remember stepping into that small aircraft thinking it would just be an interesting experience, but something shifted in that moment. The feeling of being in the air, focused completely on flying was like a reset. It felt like a clean slate as if I was allowed to start again.
Not long after that, I made the decision to pursue aviation properly.
The reality of changing careers in your 30s is that there’s no clear path laid out for you. I had to retrain from scratch, complete my Commercial Pilot Licence, and figure out how to break into an industry I had no experience in.
The training itself was a huge commitment. It took me about three years to earn my Commercial Pilot Licence, and before I qualified, I had logged around 278 hours in the air. There were plenty of long days studying, flying, and trying to balance the financial realities of starting over in a completely new industry.
One of the hardest parts wasn’t learning to fly – it was finding my first job in aviation. It took me around six to eight months after qualifying. I didn’t have anyone to “vouch” for me, and I quickly learned that experience is everything in aviation. You just have to keep showing up and hope someone gives you a chance.
There were moments I questioned whether I’d made a mistake. But I also knew I couldn’t go back to feeling stuck.
Eventually, I got my first flying job, and now I’m a flight instructor at Aero Hunter Flight Training in the Upper Hunter. I teach students who are at the very beginning of their aviation journey – the same stage I was in not that long ago.
I’m also still studying for my Airline Transport Pilot Licence, which is the qualification needed to eventually fly for major airlines.
People often assume pilots must have started young or followed a very traditional path. But that hasn’t been my experience at all. If anything, starting later made me more certain this is what I actually want to do.
I think there’s a lot of pressure to have your life figured out by your 30s. I felt that too. Changing careers taught me something I didn’t expect – that it’s okay not to have it all worked out, and it’s never too late to begin again.
If anything, I’m proof that you don’t have to follow a straight line to end up somewhere you love.