Why Do Companies Prefer Military Pilots Instead Of Civilian?

Question

Im 15 yrs old, everyone keeps telling me to join the military to become hired by companies like NWA...but i dont want to join the military...i have enough money to pay for my Aviation schooling...i have a feeling that if I go through Civilian way i will not get hired by these big companies...is flight school enough...(no college/no universities)

Answer 1

Military pilots get lots of training and lots of hours in flight with very expensive aircraft. They will have a big experience advantage over someone who just took a class.

Answer 2

Turbine time is like gold and you want some one with lots of turbine time and a military pilot has way more and better flying experience than any civilian pilot could ever touch, how ever with that said the military is training fewer of them, so there are fewer to choose from, so companies would rather have military, but often have to settle for a civilian pilot.

Answer 3

That is an old paradigm that no longer holds true. These days, a few companies prefer military pilots, not most. It often has to do with where the management pilots came from themselves. Ex-military pilots have a natural predjudice toward fellow military pilots, and vice-versa, so do your homework and find out which is which. Most airlines score applications on a "points system" so there is a natural advantage given to military veterans in general, not specifically to military pilots. All this means is that a civilian usually needs a little extra flight experience (particularly turboprop or jet) to make up those couple of extra points.

You probably should get a college degree however, because the majority of applicants have one and you need to be competetive for the greatest chance of success. If you don't have a degree it will make it that much harder to get hired by a major airline. Again, the "points system" is at work, and pilot applications are scored a little higher if a 4 year degree is listed.

It doesn't actually matter what your degree is in, and it doesn't even need to be aviation related. Study something that interests you. My advice is to "hedge your bets" and study something that could also employ you if an airline career doesn't pan out.  I got a degree in "Aeronautical Science" and outside of flying for a living it is more or less useless and it has not helped helped my career in any tangible way that I'm aware of.

If you choose to skip the college degree, you'll have to have a heck of a lot of flight time before an airline will look at you. No one is going to hire you straight out of flight school anyway, but if you don't have a degree, on average you'll need twice as much flight time as someone who does. I'm generalizing of course, but having known quite a few pilots with no military or college background, this seems to hold true.

Don't sweat it. Go the civilian route. Go to college (at least 2 years). Good luck.

Answer 4

If you are 15 and have the pile of money your question suggests, please don't spend it on flight training.  Hold on to it and invest it for growth through a reputable brokerage house.

If you do that, you will have so much money by the time you reach the age that professional pilots start work that you can buy your own jet airplane and hire a crew.

Why go through all the torture they go through when you can chill out by the pool?

Answer 5

Place yourself in the chair of the Human Resources person who's looking to hire a new pilot.

ex-Military (or current Reserve) pilot with thousands of hours in the air flying heavies and well versed in emergency flight procedures.

or

Civilian just out of flight school.

No brainer.

Answer 6

There really isn't a requirement to come out of the military anymore.  In the post-Vietnam era, there was a lot of veterans in the job market with military flight experience.  Airlines knew that these were highly qualified, well-trained people, so they preferred to hire veterans.

Today's pilot pool doesn't have the same supply of veterans that were available in that era.  Airlines now look for people with good training and experience in a crew environment.

If you want to eventually go to the major airlines, a college degree is in your best interest.  You don't NEED one for all airlines, but you'll find yourself at a disadvantage against many other pilots out there who do have a degree.  It doesn't have to be in aviation.  Management, business, and physics are popular alternatives to an aviation degree for pilots.  But yes, a four year degree is always preferred at the major airline level.  The regionals don't matter as much as long as they keep the hiring level where it is today.

Answer 7

Military training is better, because the government is paying the bill, so they can use more of everything including tuition and flying time.