What does it take to become a professional pilot? Is corporate aviation better than flying for the airlines?

Question

I would like to be a pilot. How much does it cost to get the ratings that would make me employable? Would an A&P rating be useful?

Answer 1

Hello my friend, I will keep it clear and short for you:

Any rating you get that is related to aviation is ALWAYS useful. Your money will never be wasted if you spend it on any rating.

About money: To be a proffesional pilot it is always better to get a Bachelor Degree, doesn't matter in what, or where. You just need a Bachelor. It will boost your employment possibilities if you are looking for a good job as a Pilot. Save around 15,000$ to get your Bachelor Degree. To get all the ratings that you need (Private Pilot License, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot License, Multi Engine Rating) it will cost you around 35,000$ in an average Flight School. But it all depends on how fast you learn.

About what kind of aviation job is better, divide it into 4 categories:

1-Light Airplane Commercial Flying (Flight instructing, Crop Duster, Ad Towing, Aerial Photography).

2-Regional Airlines (American Eagle, Delta Connection, Continental Connection, etc)

3-Corporate Flying

4-Major Airlines (American, UPS, Continental, Delta, etc)

Corporate Flying and Major Airlines are both GREAT places to work, The pay is GREAT and you will be happy with your Quality of Life. Now to get there, you must pass through the first 2 types of flying (Light Aircraft and Regional Airlines). The pay in these 2 types of flying is really bad, and quality of life is not the best, but it is the only way to build the time you need to go to a Major Airline or a Corporate Flying Job. So we could say that you are going to decide that on your way there.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

well I'm not sure about all the information BUT they don't make much about 40,000 - 60,000 a year. There are alot of higher paying jobs out there. just something to think about.

Answer 3

Yes, an A&P is useful, especially in some corporate positions, although it won't help you get an airline job as a pilot. Flight training alone is not going to make you employable as a corporate or airline pilot, it usually takes  several years of experience flying in entry-level jobs like flight instructing before you can move up to charter or regionals, and then (hopefully) to the "big time. The higher-end corporate jet jobs are pretty hard to get unless you know somebody, and they usually require a lot more experience than the airlines, plus a type rating in the equipment they fly is almost always required. Type ratings are not cheap.  

I've flown both airline and corporate (currently doing the latter) and it's really a toss up. I worked harder at the airlines for the same money, and the travel benefits were nice, but in my corporate job I'm home a lot more. That said, I'm on a short leash, being on-call 24/7 with a 12 hour callout. Therefore I can't make any plans or really go anywhere except during paid vacation time, which kind of sucks. In the airlines you have a schedule (usually a 28 or 30 day one), so at least you know what you'll be doing ahead of time and what your days off will be. In my corporate job, when I get the call for a trip, it might be for just a few hours, or I could be on the road for a couple weeks. I just never know. The phone could ring right now (it's 7:30 pm) and I might need to be ready to go tomorrow morning for 10 days. Also, waiting around airports while our clients do their thing (meetings, dinners, golf, etc) gets pretty old. I don't know if all corporate jobs are like this, but I expect they often are.

Answer 4

I could make this into a very long answer, but I'm going to try to keep it short.

To become a professional pilot, you need a commercial 1.) a pilot's license (CPL), and 2.) someone willing to hire you.

1.) Commercial Pilot's Certificate/License

To get a commercial license you need a second class medical.  You'll have to go to a doctor that's registered as an Aviation Medical Examiner.  You can find out more about AME's at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_Me...

You'll also need to meet the FAA requirements for a commercial pilot's license. The requirements are listed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_certi...

2.) Someone Willing to Hire You

There are a lot of different ways to get paid to fly.  When you first get your commercial certificate, you won't have enough experience to be considered by any charter or airline operations (usually).  They'll want you to have more hours of flight experience and to have an Instrument Rating.

An instrument rating (IR) will allow you to fly in less than perfect weather, fly when the visibility is low, through clouds, and at high altitudes.

Many people go through more training to become a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), to gain hours.  You can also do pipeline patrol, fly photographers around, fly aerial tours, etc.  There are a lot of jobs like this.  They don't pay very much, barely enough to survive on, but they will get you the hours you need.

I've heard of airlines hiring now with as little as 500 hours.  That's much lower than it used to be.

As far as cost goes, there's no way to approximate what it will cost you.  How fast you learn plays a big part.  The aircraft you choose to train in, fuel prices, how many times you have to take the tests, etc can all affect the price.  I think all of the ratings and time-building flying will usually cost people between $30,000 and $60,000.

Some people like corporate aviation more than airlines, some don't.  The nature of the work is different.  Flying for the airlines is somewhat like driving a bus.  There's a regular schedule they try to stick to.  Corporate aviation, on the other hand, can be very unpredictable.  You only fly when someone needs to go somewhere.  The pay is usually better in corporate aviation, but they'll often want more experience than airlines.

An A&P rating will be a little bit useful when it comes to getting your certificates, because you'll already know a few things that you have to know as a pilot.  It might make you a little more desirable candidate when you try to get hired, but it won't take precedence over experience.

Hope this helps.