Is it hard to become an airline pilot?

Question

Is it hard to become an airline pilot?

Answer 1

Yes. Depending on what you mean by Hard.  Is it hard to play in the NHL?  Is it hard to become a concert pianist?  Yes you have to have some talent for it, but more than anything you have to want it enough to put in the time, the energy, the money.  Nobody becomes a pilot because they think it would be a neat career.  We become pilots because we can’t imagine doing anything else.  We do it because we love flying and we can’t believe someone is willing to pay us to do that which we would gladly do for free.

Becoming a Pilot is relatively "easy".  All it takes is some specific study, at least normal co-ordination and health, and a pile of money.

Becoming an Airline pilot requires specific advanced licenses and endorsements, plus specific experience requirements.  The only way to get the job is to have a job.  You have to get hired somewhere and start putting hours in your log book.  You then have to work your way up into bigger equipment, maybe change companies along the way.  Hope that who ever employ’s you is in business at the end of the month, and has enough work to keep you flying and adding to the log book.

You will most likely start as a co-pilot in something small and old, be paid next to squat and worked hard.  Advance to the pilot’s seat when the man in it moves up.  Repeat with bigger newer equipment.  When you get enough time in on complex equipment you can start applying to airlines.  Take too long to get to that point and you don't have enough years of flying left to justify the expense of training you.  Get on with some outfit with too much turnover and your likely to have a crash or have the company go out of business before you get the experience you need.

Know going in that as far as a career goes, flying the plane is the easy bit.  In the end Luck and connections has as much to do with it as talent and ability.

So you have to ask yourself, (best Eastwood voice here), do you feel lucky?

Gordon

PS  Try Reading the early works of Richard Bach.  He gets it.

Stranger to the Ground (1963)

Biplane (1966)

Nothing by Chance (1969)

A Gift of Wings (1974)

Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977),

Answer 2

if you have $, and a hard worker its a piece of cake

Answer 3

If you have the will power to do it, its a piece of cake