Key to Success

[Littlebill37]

Hello to all,

My name is John and I have a question for anyone with experience in the commercial airline industry. My ultimate goal is to become a commercial airline pilot. So before I start my training, what is it that makes you stand out over other pilots? What do airlines look for to set you away from the others? Is it a certain degree, or a certain flight school? I have heard good and bad things about UND and Embry Riddle. What are the major things that look really good on your resume?

Thanks, John

[Joe Gremlin]

Previous airline experience looks good to most airlines. Beyond that, what looks good to them changes from airline to airline and from month to month. A degree in pretty much anything from pretty much anywhere will look better than no degree at all. Whether or not having an an aviation focused degree will get you any further any faster than having a degree in zit popping from the Las Vegas school of professional development and all you can eat buffet is infinitely debatable. Previous part 135 experience is usually good to have as is multi engine turbine PIC time.

Get yourself a degree, get yourself some certs and get yourself a job so you can get yourself some experience. Find a way to do all that and still keep yourself as far out of debt as possible and you'll give yourself the best chance there is of getting into the airline industry and being able to survive long enough to get the point where you can make a living that you can actually live off of.

[DeltaT]

Flying hours, flying hours, flying hours, in particular multi engine command time, is what sets you apart from the others.
And that is just to get the interview. You then have the whole interview technique to learn up on.
From someone who already has a ATPL, BSc degree, 4+yrs IT experience, and 3yrs Flight Planner/Dispatcher experience...it has all made no difference to any prospective airline!

[Clocks]

ExpressJet liked to say "we can train anyone, we want to hire people we would want to fly with for 4 days".

There's a minimum standard to get an interview....your pilot certificates, hours, a 4 year degree (not always required but should be). But once you have those things you are "as good" as anyone else from the technical standpoint. It's your personality that is the key to success.

[Littlebill37]

That is interesting. So, the flight school or quality of training has nothing to do with it at all? An aviation based university would be the same as my local county airport?

[esa17]

Originally Posted by Littlebill37

That is interesting. So, the flight school or quality of training has nothing to do with it at all? An aviation based university would be the same as my local county airport?

No it wouldn't. It would be $100,000 cheaper.

They don't care where you got your certificates. They only care that you have the hours, can fly the approaches, and don't mind making less than a janitor knowing full well that you'll be furloughed more than once in your career.

[Clocks]

Originally Posted by Littlebill37

That is interesting. So, the flight school or quality of training has nothing to do with it at all? An aviation based university would be the same as my local county airport?

In the eyes of the airlines, the FAA's standard is the only standard. They don't think one guy got a "high quality" commercial certificate and another guy got a "low quality" commercial certificate based on where they trained. This is not like trying to become a lawyer at a big firm, or becoming a professor at a top school. Where you did your flight training means absolutely nothing (except for the 1 in a million chance the person doing the interview went to the same school).

There are benefits to going to a good flight school, like quality motivated instructors, nice airplanes with good maintenance, working FTDs (think: simulator, but doesnt move), meet other motivated students, etc etc. And going to the right flight school means you're more likely to finish, more likely to know more, and you'll become a better flight instructor and pilot. But none of those things affect whether or not you get an interview. And just because you can spend well over $100k, doesn't mean you will be any better, or mean squat in your interview some day.

I think the third post in this thread nailed it...

They'll sort the resumes by flight time, and maybe 4 year degree. They'll call for interviews starting from the top.

Once you get your interview then technical knowledge (regulations for example), maybe a quick sim flight, and a personality interview are what get you the job.