What's wrong with you? Get outta here! Why would you want to work in this crazy business? Go to dental school or something.
What? You're still here? Sigh, OK pull up a chair and I'll tell you how to (maybe) become an airline pilot.
It can be done. I keep hearing about an impending pilot shortage. Of course, I've been hearing that for 30 years and I'll believe it when I see it.
You sure you don't want to go to dental school?
There are two paths to becoming a pilot for a major airline. You can either learn to fly in the military or work your way up through the commuter/regional airlines. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Since I took the military path, I'll start with that one.
OK, even I'm not that old.
First, you need to become a commissioned officer, preferably in the Air Force or Navy. The Army and Coast Guard mostly have helicopters and while it's possible to go from helos to the airlines it's pretty rare. No sense hurting your chances right from the beginning.
To become a commissioned officer you'll need to either be accepted to one of the service academies or go through ROTC. I took the ROTC route. Four years of eating my meals while sitting at attention just didn't appeal to me. Your mileage may vary.
You'll also need to apply and be accepted for the aviation career field. The vast majority of people in the Air Force and Navy don't fly airplanes. The process has probably changed since I went through it back in the late Jurassic period but I understand it involves a battery of tests.
You'll need to pass a fairly strict physical. 20/20 uncorrected vision is required, although the service academies will usually grant a waiver for this.
So, assuming you get past all those hurdles, after you get your commission you'll show up at a pilot training base as a newly minted USAF 2nd Lieutenant or Navy Ensign.
I'm not as familiar with how the Navy does things, but in the Air Force you'll spend roughly six months training in a T-46 (in my day we had T-37s). If you make it through that portion of the training you'll get "tracked" for fighters or heavies based on your performance and somewhat on your preferences. From an airline standpoint either is equally desirable. Some airlines have a slight preference for one or another but I've seen both get hired.
If you're going to heavies you'll finish your training in a T-1 business jet. The fighter types will train in my beloved T-38 Talon.
Assuming you make it through the program, and I've seen washout rates as high as 50%, you'll spend another 4-6 months training in your assigned aircraft.
After that, congratulations, you've just signed away roughly 10 years of your life in service to Uncle Sam. Good luck.
Now, this is very important. As you go through your military career, try to keep in touch with everyone you who left to fly for the airlines. When you apply for an airline job hopefully they'll put in a recommendation for you. Personal recommendations are almost essential for getting hired by an airline.
Oh, and hopefully the airlines are actually hiring when you separate from the military. Or you'll end up like me in 1992: doing odd jobs, going back to school and frantically trying to find a Guard/Reserve unit that would hire me. Hey, I never said this was easy!
Another option is the National Guard and Reserves.
If only...
Some units will actually hire people off the street and send them to pilot training. We need to have some Lieutenants in the unit otherwise we'd be even more rank-heavy than we already are.
I sat on a few of those hiring boards and having a private pilot license and a 4-year degree were pretty much prerequisites.
The good thing about the Guard/Reserves is you already know where you'll live and what airplane you'll fly. As a bonus, a lot of Reservists are airline pilots in their civilian job so you'll get to make plenty of contacts in the airlines.
Now maybe the military isn't for you. Perfectly understandable. Sure they have cool airplanes but after your third tour to some forsaken hell-hole in South Asia the coolness tends to wear off and you realize you're sleeping in a tent (or on a boat if you're a Navy type) with a bunch of your closest friends.
Also military flying is inherently dangerous even in peacetime. Historically we've lost more pilots in training accidents than in combat. Then you have to deal with the possibility of going to war. It's definitely not for everybody.
Or you can work your way up through the civilian ranks.
Probably won't look good on your resume.
This is also a tough road. Be prepared to invest large amounts of time and money. If the taxpayers aren't buying your fuel it gets expensive pretty quickly.
First you need to get your Private Pilot's license. This costs money.
Then you'll need to build enough hours to get your Commercial license. This requires at least 250 hours of flying time plus a written test and an FAA check ride. This all costs money. Flight time doesn't come cheap.
Once you have that Commercial ticket you're allowed to fly for hire. You can't fly scheduled passenger service yet but you may be able to get hired flying charters or unscheduled freight. There used to be a lot of jobs flying bank checks at night but I suspect electronic banking has taken its toll on that.
You may also get your Instructor rating and try to get a job instructing at your local airport. It pays very little but you'll build valuable pilot-in-command and instructor hours.
Somewhere along the way you'll need to get an FAA Class 1 medical. It's not as strict as a military physical but it can still be a gotcha.
Once you have 1,500 hours you can get your Airline Transport Rating. Once again you'll need to take a test and an FAA check ride. Somewhere along the way you'll want to get a multi-engine rating and an instrument rating. All this costs a lot of $$$. Multi-engine time costs twice as much as single engine time. Now where did I put the number for that Air Force recruiter?
Once you've earned your ATP, multi-engine, and instrument ratings you're just barely qualified to get hired at a regional airline. You know, the ones that say "Delta Connection" on the plane but it's really closer in size to a cruise missile and operated by some company like SkyWest or Mesa.
Congratulations! You now qualify to work for a regional airline and probably collect food stamps!
Not relevant but too funny not to use.
If you can get hired by one of these companies, you'll be in the minor leagues trying to work your way up to the majors. And
work you will. Lincoln freed the slaves but nobody every told the regional airlines. Be prepared to fly six or more legs a day and make poverty wages your first few years.
Let's take a look at SkyWest just as an example. Their first year pay works out to around $19,000. Stick around for a few years and you might make $42,000 as a First Officer. Keep at it long enough to upgrade to Captain and now you might actually make a respectable $70k - $80k. Some regional airline pilots actually have the potential to break the $100k barrier after many years.
This is all based on seniority. Your seniority number is based on the day you're hired. The only way you move up to a higher paying airplane or upgrade to Captain is if someone ahead of you leaves or the airline expands.
When I got hired at Packages-Are-Us I was told "You guys will all be Captains in 3 years". Eight and a half years later I'm still a First Officer and there are a few hundred seniority numbers between me and the most junior Captain on the property. This is a fickle industry.
I was talking to a Republic First Officer a while back. He had maxed out their First Officer pay scale at a princely $33,000/year and had no prospects of upgrading to Captain any time in the near future.
Don't worry, I'll talk more about seniority systems, commuting and other aspects of airline life in another diary. For now just keep in mind that the airline business is very cyclical and timing plays a big part in your career.
For now just realize that in order to get hired at a major airline you'll need to upgrade to Captain at some point during your stint at the regionals. All airlines have slightly different hiring requirements but they all seem to like:
1. Pilot-in-command time.
2. Turbine time. Some prefer jet time to turboprop time and some don't care but they all want turbine time.
If, through no fault of your own, you never get to upgrade to Captain, you probably won't be marketable to a major airline. I never said this would be easy.
Once again you'll need to make contacts with people who work at the majors and can put in recommendations for you.
After you've paid your dues either in the military or at the regional airlines hopefully you can wrangle an interview with a major airline.
This assumes that:
1. Somebody is hiring.
2. You meet (or hopefully exceed) their qualifications.
3. You know somebody who works there that will put in a recommendation.
Each airline has its own hiring process and it may change from year to year. There are websites out there that can provide "gouge" for an airline interview. There are also companies that will help prepare you for the interview. I highly encourage you to make use of these resources. You may not get too many chances at this.
Typical airline interview
I'm 1 for 4 on airline interviews. If I had to do it over again I would have done the interview prep.
A typical airline interview will likely consist of:
1. An interview with a human resources person.
2. A short session in a simulator to see if you can actually fly.
It will likely be some aircraft you've never flown before. I got a 727 at one interview and a DC-10 at another. I initially over-controlled the 727 because I was used to muscling around KC-135s that didn't have "power steering".
3. An interview with one or more Captains. They seem to like hearing anecdotes. A lot of the questions start with "Tell us about a time when.....".
4. Possibly a battery of standardized tests.
Keep in mind that every person you interact with, from the van driver to the receptionist, is part of the interview. Keep your game-face on at all times. Good advice for any job interview actually.
I suspect they're mainly looking for three things:
1. Is this person who they say they are?
Expect to have your credentials thoroughly checked.
2. Is this person someone who can be a Captain at this airline someday?
3. Is this somebody I can spend a week-long trip with and not want to kill each other at the end of it?
It's all a bit of a crap-shoot. I've seen people get offers from two or three airlines and others (like myself) get turned down more often than not.
If you're lucky, you'll probably get a phone call in a week or so with an offer to attend training.
That's enough for today. Next time we'll talk about seniority, scheduling, training, commuting and other aspects of airline life.
Congratulations! You're now back on first-year pay at the very bottom of the seniority list again.
Sad but true.
Sure you don't want to go to dental school?
