1. It is very difficult to get a major airline job without a BS degree in TODAY's environemnt. A number of folks did in the past, but that was in the past. Unless you have excellent family connections at a major airline, your odds are very low. The BS is often used as a screening criterie to thin the resume stack before they even look at flight qualifications. Also the BS allows you to more readily get a non-flying job if/when you have medical problems or get furloughed (odds are quite good that you will experience one of these). Contrary to what you said, you SHOULD get a 4 year degree in a non-aviation field (or aero-engineering).

I admit I do know one guy who got on at SWA with just an AS (also inside connections), so I'd say that an AS is better than no degree.

2. Right now people are getting hired at some regional airlines with just a few hundred hours, but this is not the historical norm. The vast majority of civilian pilots worked as flight instructors for 1000-3000 hours before getting an airline job. 1500-2000 is probably the historical average. There are a few other things a low-time pilot can do to build time: Traffic watch, pipeline patrol, skydive pilot, etc. These jobs are not always readily available although there is currently a shortage of low time pilots. I would at least earn the CFI rating...it gives you a lot of flexibility because you can almost always find work (or freelance). Also civilian pilots who do not hold a CFI are usually considered substandard. Your only remote shot at being a 777 CA by age 40 would be to complete your training, build enough time to get hired at a fast-upgrade regional, set your sights on Continental Airlines and get hired there within the next 5 years. You'd better get moving...

3. Not a graduate although UND has a decent repuation in the industry. Don't know anything about the other one.


4. You will have two COMPLETELY seperate airline careers...the first at a regional, and the second at a major. Be warned, major airline jobs are usually VERY competetive and many folks end up staying at a regional for life (even though they didn't want to). Keep in mind that you are not just competing with your fellow civilian pilots. Major airlines hire a lot of ex-military pilots, and these folks are often preferred over civilians.. They all have 4 year degress, often masters, and are proven performers...they are not "average joes".

Progression at both regionals and majors is based on seniority, so you start on the lowest paying (smallest) airplane as an FO and move up to bigger airplanes as people above you leave or retire (attrition). If your airline is growing, you could advance more quickly also. There is no set time frame for upgrade to CA, it depends on growth and attrition. You also need to have a certain number of flight hours, but you will usually have this long before your seniority allows upgrade.

Regional pilots usuall spend 2-4 years as an FO (8-12 worst case) before upgrading to CA. Once you get 1000 hours as a captain (PIC), you can apply to most major airlines, 2000 hours makes you reasonably competetive. It would take about 2 years as CA to get 1000 hours PIC at most regionals, although it could be 1-4 years depending on circumstances.

Major airline pilots start all over at the bottom of their seniority list (each airline has their own list and you cannot "transfer" between them with very few exceptions). A newly-hired major pilot will be paid less than he was as a regional CA and start over as FO on (usually) the smallest equipment the airline has. A major pilot would probably expect upgrade after 7-15 years as a major pilot, but this could vary widely from 2 years (continental) to Never (legacy US Airways). It all depends on the growth at your airline, and pilot demographics...if all the CA's are over age 55, you will upgrade soon as they retire. If all the captains are in their 40's, you're going to be waiting for a LONG time.

A variety of cargo companies fly older 747's, and you could probably go from CRJ CA to the 747 FO or SO. Unfortunately most of those cargo companies pay poorly, have hard lifestyles, and may have safety issues. Most RJ CA's would rather stay as RJ CA's rather than go fly a 747 under those conditions. In order to fly a 747 at a passenger airline, you will have to have many years of seniority. I'm guessing 15-20 years at that airline...and that's for FO, not CA.

You are not locked into an airplane forever, but it is hard to leave an airline because you lose all of your seniority. Most pilots only want to do this once, when they go from regional to major.


FO's and FO's can have a pretty good lifestyle, they just get paid less than a CA. A senior FO will get his choice of schedule, while a junior CA will be stuck with leftovers or reserve (on call). For this reason many FO's delay upgrade to preserve their QOL.

5. Due to the shortage, you could probably get 30K as a junior CFI, maybe more at some schools. Regional FO pay varies greatly between regionals...work rules make a huge difference. You will want to do a lot of research on work rules...simply comparing pay charts will NOT give you an accurate read on what you'll get paid. Regional FO's make $18-55K, regional CA's $45K-$120K. There amny variables including the airline, the equipment, and your time with the company (longevity).

6. I think CAL does go to LHR, but all jets are pretty much the same from inside the cockpit. The only good reason to fly a 777 would be pay and lifestyle...and you might have a better mix of both on a different airplane. An aviation career is a crapshoot...if you hit all the "gates" at the right time to avoid furlough and seniority stagnation you can have a pretty good life...or you can end up like the legacy US Airways pilots: 25 year FO's stapled to the bottom of another airlines seniority list in a merger. You just have make darn sure your crystal ball is accurate when you select an airline to work for. Basically, there are no guarantees but most pilots experience some good and some bad...I hope to have all the bad behind me in my later years.

The good news is that the seniority system gives you a LOT of lifestyle flexibility. If you chose to pursue the age 40 777 CA goal you will not see your wife and kids until age 45...actually not much after that because you'll be divorced. But you could settle for less pay and FO on smaller airplanes and have a lot of time off whenever you want it, or shoot for something in the middle.