Words of advice for a High School hopefull

[Grumpy01]

This was written by an ATP I know. I thought it would provide input for some here.


This is right up my alley, and I'm willing to take it off line and help you as much as I can.

I'm assuming he wants to be a pilot? An airline pilot even maybe? Why? If he really does, nothing or no one will talk him out of it. It's like being a sailor, there's no choice, it calls and you go. People either drop out in the first three weeks or they stay for life.

Having said that, the economic glory days are coming to an end. The Walmartization of air travel will continue and employees will continue to hand in benefits and wages. It's still good, and we can hand in quite a bit more and it will still be OK....but it's going down not up.

In the long term I see the restriction on foreign ownership of airlines relaxing, and, just like shipping, I foresee a few coutries which will become "flags of convenience". Think Liberia and Panama....(Both sets of laws the US had a hand in creating by the way...) There are some Middle Eastern countries (Dubai for instance) which have laws on the books just for that purpouse. They also have the oil to run the planes, as I see no alternative fuel options for aircraft, yet........

So just like the boats I see a reasonable but not overly compensated flight deck with multiple nationalities, and cheap labor in the back.....
But that's still a few years away....I need 11 more, I think I'll make it.

In order to get hired by an airline today you need:

Class 1 medical.
All the liscenses and ratings.
A four year degree, doesn't matter in what....
1000-2000 hours of flying time, the better the quality the better your chances. 1000 will get you in with a regional;, 2000 with a major (the few that are hiring right now.....Continental has a pre-approved pool of 4000 candidates..... )

So is the Academy the way? Don't know the numbers, but the flying is farmed out to FIT next door....those "experienced college degreed" instructors are probably recent graduates of same. I think you might be paying for more than you're getting. I can tell you that after 20 years in the business the Academy has no "name"......

If I was to recommend a course of action I'd say:

Go to a good high school...private or public, anywhere, doesn't matter. Get into a good college and get a degree in something you can use outside of aviation......business, bio-chemistry, software engineering, you get the idea. On the side, at the veritable plethora of aviation schools in this country get your liscenses and ratings starting at about 18 or so.....do it condensed and efficient.....over summer break for instance..there's some schools with three week courses in Arizona for various ratings/liscenses. If you don't do it condensed and end up duplicating flying it gets even more EXPENSIVE......

As soon as your ratings will allow, start instructing. There is instructor work everywhere, all the time. You'll have about 200 hours of flying at this point.

Graduate, with honors, and 1000+ hours (800 of instructing is doable in two years).....go to a regional/coroporate whatever. Build some "turbine time" and "PIC-pilot in command" time.

Go to an airline.

A variant on this scheme, the one I followed, is to go to an aviation college....FIT, Embry Riddle, UND, Daniel Webster.....You can get a BS in Aeronautical Science. The advantage is that you get credit for the flying, and that there wil be instructor positions for you in the last years before graduation.....(get your flying done quickly, again.) The disadvantage of this scenario is that you will have a degree in something useless outside aviation. You can at some schools, like UND, get a degree in something else AND get your flying in, but then the flying does not count towards your major.

Hope this helps.
_________________
ATP 737/757/767

[SteveC]

Good stuff Grumpy.




BTW, missed you around here - don't forget to poke your head in the door and spout some wisdom (or what passes for wisdom in your neighborhood) on occasion.