Becoming a pilot?

[VictorOfHungerGames]

I've been hearing alot about pilot shortage lately. Some are predicting that there would be 800,000 new jobs in the next decade for commercial pilots. I looked into it and seems like once you're licensed as a pilot, you would have to do about 1500 hours of flight before you can become a commercial airline pilot. Depending on your situation, that would be possible in a few years.

Anyone interested? haha I am!

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[dingdong28]

Not a pharmacist: I'm a current medical lab tech looking for something outside of healthcare and considering aviation. Here's what I've found out from a few pilots, both military and civilian:

If you get a BS in something aviation related, the time required is cut to 1,000 hours. You'll graduate with ~200 - 250 hours with your commercial pilot's license. That's where the difficult part is: Gaining another 800 hours or so to finally apply for a job with the regionals with all the debt from training (could be looking at $80k, depending on the school part 61 vs 141). Starting at the regionals will put you around $50k (not including bonuses). If you want to fly for the legacy airlines (American, United, Alaskan), you're looking at a minimum of 4,000 hours of flight time and will need TPIC (turbine pilot in command) time in addition to those 4,000 hours.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet: If I can convince my girlfriend to let me train with the Air Force (I'd like to fly the heavies, not fighters), you commission and receive a paycheck while learning to fly. Flying for the military also reduces the 1,000/1,250/1,500 minimum flight time to 750 hours when applying for airline jobs. If you commission into the guard/reserves, you'll payback your time serving as an ART for (I think) 6 years with your unit. The positive thing about commissioning in the guard/reserves is that you know what airframe you'll be flying, whereas active duty trainees make a dream sheet of what they want to fly. You'll also be eligible for retirement after 20 years of service.

PM me or comment and I can try to help with whatever you need.

Home | AirlinePilotCentral.com is a good website and has tons of information. It's similar to SDN, but aviation related.

 

[JustFillIt]

Good idea Victor.. I want to let you know of a different opportunity that is much more suited to our skills.

Nursing home administration is a perfect fit for a pharmacist with leadership, and goal driven, qualities. The salary is about 100-110 yearly.

I have started building a network of contacts in this field and I feel like it is a great backup plan. You should check it out.

 

[mustang sally]

Does anyone see the next bubble coming up in the pilot workforce?

Ha ha, seriously though, my older child is somewhat interested in this career path. Hard for us to find the money for flight training though, so right now he's just working on a non-aviation related degree at a state school.

I could see it being feasible for some pharmacists to pay for the training (assuming they could work their way through). Maybe ATP all day and pharming at night? Could be a haul.

 

[greenteapanacea]

Not a pharmacist: I'm a current medical lab tech looking for something outside of healthcare and considering aviation. Here's what I've found out from a few pilots, both military and civilian:

If you get a BS in something aviation related, the time required is cut to 1,000 hours. You'll graduate with ~200 - 250 hours with your commercial pilot's license. That's where the difficult part is: Gaining another 800 hours or so to finally apply for a job with the regionals with all the debt from training (could be looking at $80k, depending on the school part 61 vs 141). Starting at the regionals will put you around $50k (not including bonuses). If you want to fly for the legacy airlines (American, United, Alaskan), you're looking at a minimum of 4,000 hours of flight time and will need TPIC (turbine pilot in command) time in addition to those 4,000 hours.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet: If I can convince my girlfriend to let me train with the Air Force (I'd like to fly the heavies, not fighters), you commission and receive a paycheck while learning to fly. Flying for the military also reduces the 1,000/1,250/1,500 minimum flight time to 750 hours when applying for airline jobs. If you commission into the guard/reserves, you'll payback your time serving as an ART for (I think) 6 years with your unit. The positive thing about commissioning in the guard/reserves is that you know what airframe you'll be flying, whereas active duty trainees make a dream sheet of what they want to fly. You'll also be eligible for retirement after 20 years of service.

PM me or comment and I can try to help with whatever you need.

Home | AirlinePilotCentral.com is a good website and has tons of information. It's similar to SDN, but aviation related.

I looked into this also. I believe the active duty service commitment for pilots is 10 years, not 6 years. Also, pilot officer selection is very tough. I believe having a private pilot's license can help you if you're looking at the guard/reserves.

 

[JustFillIt]

I’m just going to say - if you are a 30s something adult (or older) with no background in flight whatsoever... I think it would be a very difficult transition into this profession. I would venture to guess at least 75% of commercial pilots are ex Air Force.

There are much smarter moves outside of our profession to make.

 

[VictorOfHungerGames]

I’m just going to say - if you are a 30s something adult (or older) with no background in flight whatsoever... I think it would be a very difficult transition into this profession. I would venture to guess at least 75% of commercial pilots are ex Air Force.

There are much smarter moves outside of our profession to make.

Such as? I wanted to know more about pilots since there is potential to make about the same amount of money with much better job growth. Im skeptical die to money i have to spend to get there though haha

 

[greenteapanacea]

There's a few good youtube channels on flight school and careers. The initial few years on the job, from what I understand, are a lot more brutal and less well-paying than pharmacy.

 

[mentos]

OP did this trailer inspire you?

 

[confettiflyer]

Not an entirely bad idea. If you’re an American trained pilot, the explosive growth in China and their lack of pilots is leading to a lot of froth in salaries there.

So long as you don’t mind an idiot FO who puts newspapers over the cockpit windows and turns off the circulating air/smokes a cigarette every now and then.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

 

[BidingMyTime]

I've been hearing alot about pilot shortage lately. Some are predicting that there would be 800,000 new jobs in the next decade for commercial pilots. I looked into it and seems like once you're licensed as a pilot, you would have to do about 1500 hours of flight before you can become a commercial airline pilot. Depending on your situation, that would be possible in a few years.
Anyone interested? haha I am!

What DingDong said. It is *very* expensive to get the training and hours required. Plus after that, you have to have a lot of job experience at considerably lower pay with very small companies, before the big airlines will even look at you. You also need nearly perfect health and eyesight. It's a great career trajectory for someone starting out, but if someone already has huge pharmacy loans, going into more debt is not a good idea (assuming they can even get more loans on top of their pharmacy loans.)

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

I've been hearing alot about pilot shortage lately. Some are predicting that there would be 800,000 new jobs in the next decade for commercial pilots. I looked into it and seems like once you're licensed as a pilot, you would have to do about 1500 hours of flight before you can become a commercial airline pilot. Depending on your situation, that would be possible in a few years.

Anyone interested? haha I am!

What’s your vector Victor?

 

[VictorOfHungerGames]

OP did this trailer inspire you?

Oh cool. Didnt know the second one coming out.

 

[dingdong28]

I looked into this also. I believe the active duty service commitment for pilots is 10 years, not 6 years. Also, pilot officer selection is very tough. I believe having a private pilot's license can help you if you're looking at the guard/reserves.

I know it's 10 years for active duty. I thought it was 6 for guard and reserve after training and holding an ART position for the remainder of your time, but it would make sense if it was 10. Another good point about already needing your PPL for guard/reserves. Most, if not all, require a PPL for any kind of interview, in addition to "rushing" with the squandron (almost like a fraternity, minus the hazing).

If I may make a suggestion: If money is a big motivator, why not look into air traffic control? One of, if not the most stressful job in the world and you start making close to 6 figures in your first year. Over time, you cap out at about $185k and mandatory retirement is 56. I believe you can receive training from the FAA and after you made it through, you'll work at wherever there is a vacancy. Spend 20 years in the tower and you have yourself a nice retirement.

 

[APN-59 rph]

There are a couple of web sites that cover some of this.....BASEOPS is more military oriented....AIRLINE PILOT FORUMS.....tends to cover both. In this case they are "read only". You likely have nothing to contribute..
Both the military and airlines are screaming for pilots..but the job CAN BE and HAS BEEN very tough with furloughs...(extensive furloughs) driven by economic downturns. Busting a physical can ground you in a minute. But for the right person well worth looking in to. In general the pilot personality and the pharmacist personality are "180 out"...

 

[Sparda29]

I actually took a couple of discovery flights (they let me takeoff, fly the plane into position for landing, descend to 500 feet, and then the instructor took over for the touchdown) but I don't have money in the budget right now to pay for all the PPL lessons.

The part of becoming a pilot that sucks is building up hours to get hired by a regional airline. People usually get their hours by becoming certified flight instructors but the pay is kinda trash. And then the pay and schedule for the regional airlines is also pretty trash. You don't really make the big bucks until you become a First Officer or Captain at a major airline.

I heard the Asian airlines are paying a crapton extra because of the lack of English speaking pilots.

Emirates also pays really good and is tax free up to the first $101k and they also provide pilots with villas in the Dubai area.