For all you pilots?

Question

I am 15, and i plan to go to embry riddle, if i do pretty well in college, how hard will it be to get a job after college. my goal is to work for a major commercial airline like delta, or mabe working for UPS.

So how hard did it take for all you to find a job and what was your starting salery. also, how long did it take to increase that salery and get better positions as a pilot.

Answer 1

It won't be very hard to get a job as long as you are a competent pilot and don't screw up in the interview. Your first job after college or even while in college will be as a flight instructor. After you have the necessary hours you can then get hired by a regional. After amassing even more flight time you can then apply to and maybe get hired by a major.

Starting salaries for the regionals are around $20,000/year. After approximately 3 years you should be able to upgrade to captain and should be making around $55,000/year at that point. When you go to the majors, you will have to start back at the bottom and will be making about $30,000/year and as a captain (after about 8 years) around $110,000/year.

Good luck with your training and listen to the instructors.

Answer 2

1) How hard will it be to get a job after college?

That depends on your area and if there are many jobs available where you are. In some towns, aviation just isn't bustling- even in the larger cities.The more jobs available, the easier it will be to land one. The more flight time you have, the easier it will be to get hired as well.

Right out of a university like ERAU, you won't be qualified for many jobs. Typically, grads have about 1/4 to 1/3 the time required by the regional airlines and no where close to what Delta or UPS want. (5,0000+) Flight instructor or maybe banner tow & skydive IF you meet the operators min times for insurance. A first officer in my domicile went to ERAU and graduated $90K+ in debt and still had to go out and instruct as they only had about 300 hours at graduation. Not much. Two years later they instructed enough to get a regional job that started at $18,000. Again, not much.

When I was in H.S., I also wanted to attend ERAU. It ended up that doing so would be too much of a financial burden. (Heck a 4 yr degree from Riddle costs the same as my house and I am paying that for 30 years at $600/mo!) In the end I found it a better route to go to their Extended Campus for my degree and train at a local flying club where the rates were far more affordable. Saved myself at least $50,000.

The cheapest way to an airline career that will get you to Delta or UPS as soon as you can is a program like ATP Career Track.. It's $50K and I know two who did it and were hired as airline pilots 14 months after getting their PPL http://www.atpflightschool.com/airline_training_programs/airline_career_pilot_program/index.html.

2) So how hard [was] it take for you to find a job and what was your starting [salary]?

My first paid flying job was flying skydivers. It paid $10 per flight. Some days I flew one, some days I flew 10. It was somewhat competitive to land the job in my area, as there just aren't many places that offered jumps. I did not have a CFI, so that was not an option. There were only two banner tow outfits in town, so the competition for jobs there was pretty stiff too. Also, many places won't hire a pilot with <500 hours as they can't insure them.

I flew jumpers while working a "real job" (ground based airline employee) until I got 1,000 hours with 110 ME. At that point I was hired by a regional carrier. Starting new hire First Officer pay was $18K/yr.

For more training & career info, see my website- http://www.geocities.com/av8trxx99/FAQ/html

PS Piz, If you are "looking to get a job at the end of the year paying 80k to start" as a ERAU grad, you are fooling yourself. Put down that ERAU admissions Kool-Aid!

Answer 3

getting a job will not be difficult if you go to ERAU. They have an EXCELLENT career services office. I go to riddle now and am looking to get a job at the end of the year paying 80k to start. and im just a mechanic.

Answer 4

that's what i wanted to do when i was 15 that's when i started flying but i never made it i hated school to much but now i fly for fun good luck