I am very smart, not bragging, just providing info. I am in all Honors classes at my high school, have a 4.5-6 GPA and am really interested in pursuing the career of pilot. I am just wondering what to consider doing to better my chances of achieveing this goal.
2007-03-14 10:41:15 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
My first suggestion would be to examine your feelings. Do you look at flying as a way to make money, or do you truly love aircraft? All of my life I have maintained that pilots are a bunch of nuts. We have to be. Being a pilot is often dirty, sometimes dangerous, always demanding (you think a woman is bad?) and too often not as rewarding as we'd like. On top of that, about 80% of us are terrified of heights (myself included). See? Bunch of nuts. But if you love flying, there is nothing on this planet that comes any closer to pure joy. I've spent my life making a living at something I'd have done for free. If you love planes, go for it. Sounds like you'd make a good pilot. If you DON'T love planes, you might want to think about another career.
Late note: What Anthony says is very true. The Air Force is where I started.
2007-03-14 11:07:11 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Having a huge grade point is not a requisite for a flying career. It helps, but is certainly not required. The primary need is the desire to pretty much commit your life to the industry. You will be away from home - a lot. You will always be living out of a suitcase.
If you still want to fly, as has been said, the military is certainly an option, but not necessarily the best way to go. There is no guarantee that the military will train you to be a pilot. More than happy to sign you up, but where you end up has a lot of variables, not all of which are in your hands.
The flight schools are expensive, but no more so than most colleges these days, and once you get your CFI rating, some of the cost will be offset by being paid to train others. Some of the schools have direct lines into some of the commuter airlines, so it's almost sure to roll into a job somewhere down the line. The larger schools also have financial aid programs.
It's a good career, providing no extremists decide to hijack aircraft and fly them into buildings. The majors are still bringing furloughed pilots back from the last one. The pay isn't going to be what it used to be; the unions have severely overstepped reasonableness in the past, and are the major cause of the latest round of consolidations and bankruptcy reorganizations. I figure pay will be about half what it has been, but a senior pilot in 20 years should still make in the low 6 figures.
Most of the major airlines require a 4-year college degree, although this too can be achieved while in training. North Dakota has a real good program. I don't know if Embry-Riddle can offer a degree or not. It wouldn't surprise me.
Good luck
2007-03-14 19:08:12 · answer #2 · answered by lowflyer1 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A military career is a wonderful way to start and continue a flying career. The beginning of a military career, though, cannot be accomplished by all due to initial physical requirements. I go to high schools and colleges in the Atlanta area with an Air force friend for recruiting purposes. We both find very intelligent individuals that cannot or will not work toward the physical training necessary. Navy pilots have to swim a mile, swim 500 yards in a flight suit, run in a specified time a set distance (usually 1.5 to 3 miles), do sit ups, push ups, etc. Air force pilots have similar requirements in the initial phase. If you qualify in the physical categories then, yes, definitely pursue the military due to number of hours and you will fly in all types of situations necessary to continue a commercial career.
You may want to go to a flight surgeon or other doctor qualified to do flight physicals to see if you can pass the initial examination.
I flew a carrier based reconnaissance jet, Lockheed S-3 Viking, but now larger military aircraft are similar or the same as commercial and if I had a commercial plan in mind these would be the type aircraft I would pursue in the military.
2007-03-14 21:40:38 · answer #3 · answered by Bruce T 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The surest way to be a career pilot is to start in the military. Former military pilots are at the head of the line when the hiring starts. The military pays you while you get the valuable experience and skills. Other candidates have paid many thousands of dollars just to apply for a good job. There would be no better recommendation for a civilian job than a successful military past.
You might even learn that you prefer a career in the military for life.
2007-03-14 18:05:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anthony M 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
enrol in the military, they will train you better than you could dream, pay you while you learn and offer you the Career of a lifetime. With your marks, you should easily fit into the pilot /officer arena. there really is no life like it!!!! The difficulty is in the commercial world is that there are so many retired military pilots available for airline jobs that they won't often even consider anyone without thousands of hours of flight time.
2007-03-14 21:08:26 · answer #5 · answered by al b 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i started my aviation career in high school by going to vo-tech and high school at the same time. my school district paid for all my vo-tech. with such a good GPA you can get scholerships in college.
one thing you can do is go to a flight school and see if they will give you an intro flight.
2007-03-14 22:30:07 · answer #6 · answered by ovet81 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋