Once I completed my hours, I heard back from my current company within a month or two. Although receiving your hours and ratings are the bare minimum to be considered for a job at a commercial airline, when hiring they also look at moral character. Now, aspiring pilots from the flight school can find pilot jobs online and at airshows around the US. Before the pandemic, these airlines would recruit new graduates from the program. My flight school, Paragon Flight Training, has relationships with the regional airlines. I currently work for one of the regional airlines in the US, which means we're contracted for certain routes on major partner airlines you've heard of I went to flight school full time and did not have a job during that time.įor context, a pilot for a commercial airline might have a starting salary of around $40,000, but it could range to upwards of $200,000 by the time you retire. It could be less or more depending on how fast you go through the program and the type of program you choose. This rating teaches students how to fly the aircraft solely based off of instruments inside the aircraft while communicating with air-traffic control (ATC). It's like when you get your driver's license - you can drive a small car, but you can't drive a semi-truck.Īfter that, you need your Instrument Rating (IR), which means you can read the gauges in the plane and fly in the clouds. (Editor's note: 35 hours is the minimum if you go through an FAA Part 141 program, 40 if you go through a Part 61 program.) Once you get your Private Pilot License, you're able to fly small aircrafts that are less than 12,500 pounds, and it doesn't require any additional ratings. You start as a student pilot, then once you've flown for a minimum of 35 hours, you can take the test to receive your Private Pilot License (PPL). As an aspiring commercial pilot, you need to go through several steps before you're able to take to the skies professionally It depends on how available you are and how quickly you want to graduate from the program. You can go as often or as little as you want - one time a week, four times a week. If you decide you want to move forward, you pay out of pocket - per flight, or for the whole program. They take you up in the plane and show you how it works and to see if you're comfortable in the air and on the controls. The first thing you do when determining whether to go to flight school is a discovery flight Thanks to the Marines GI Bill and some financial aid from my parents, I was able to afford flight school. During that time, I was not a pilot but helped support the F-18 squadron. I started my career in the Marines working with F-18's. Despite the US pilot shortage, the airlines are not skimping when it comes to safety - and my time in training is a testament to that. I'm a 32-year-old commercial pilot and recently landed a job as a first officer with a regional airline in the US. The following has been edited for length and clarity. They've asked to remain anonymous, but Insider has verified their identity and employment. This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with a 32-year-old commercial pilot from Wayne, NJ, about training to be a pilot during the pandemic. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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