I'm a young professional dissatisfied with my current occupation.
I've spoken with a career counselor and one of the career options that came up was pilot. I have a university degree in an unrelated field.

Looking into the corporate pilot thing. What's the path to that? I'm starting from ground zero. I know bits and pieces but I'm having a very hard time finding a source that outlines a practical course of action.

Thanks! Any input appreciated.
-Peter

 

Check this out, it's airline oriented but entry-level pilots all start out the same way:
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/fl...reer-read.html

A few thoughts...

First off, get a private pilot license (PPL) and go fly around for fun a little bit to see how you like it. If you are having a blast, get an instrument rating and if you still having fun then consider a career.

Don't go into debt, keep your day job and train on the side paying as you go. After you get your CFI, then try to teach part-time at a nearby airport(s) to build time. Since this industry is extremely volatile you never know from day-to-day what employment opportunities will exist so don't quit a good job until you absolutely have to in order to move on.

The regionals are full of five-year FO's who are making $850/month training loan payments on a $30K/year salary...not a great way to spend your best years. Don't go into debt.

 

Great advice. Take note!

 

Agreed! Especially rickair's part about getting your feet wet to even find out what you really like and don't like about aviation. Even then you have to keep in mind that professional aviation and recreational aviation are two different animals.

USMCFLYR

 

Read up on the medical regulations and get checked out by a non aviation doc. Get everything squared away (if needed) then get a 3rd class medical.

It'll get you used to the med certification process as well as confirm that there is no disqualifying condition for higher classes needed for commercial/ATP if you do decide to go that route.

Good luck!

 

I usually agree with this, but if you are interested in going commercial aviation, the first one you get might as well be a 1st class just to be sure that there are no disqualifying conditions. You can let that 1st class degrade over time and continue with appropriate medicals as you progress through training until a 1st class is again required. But if you cant pass a 1st class right now (depending on the problem of course), things rarely get better with time and you should find this out BEFORE you sink money into a career that you won't even be qualified for at a later time.

USMCFLYR

 

And I'll disagree with that. Go for the 3rd class medical first. If you can't pass the 3rd class, you definitely won't pass the 1st. I had a student who was a born natural. I pushed him to go for the medical exam ASAP. After 3 lessons, he found out he had a major heart problem and had to quit flying. Save your money on the 1st class. You will have plenty of time to upgrade when necessary.

 

If you are doing it with career aspirations, even tentative ones, get the first class up front. That way you know where you stand before you start making decisions about prioritizing your time and money.

Not a bad idea to pay for an EKG on your first medical, even if you are too young to require it. That may save you a bad surprise at age 35 after investing a lot of time and money.

 

my advise as a 20 year pilot....

DONT

 

THIS:


NOT THIS:

This is terrible advice if you are wanting to fly professionally - as has been said, you could end up having spent tens of thousands of dollars and be unable to hold a first class medical.

Also, as has been pointed out, flying for recreation and flying professionally are vastly different - don't make the mistake of confusing the two (and unfortunately, it's difficult to understand the latter until you're well into the career). Corporate on the whole may be marginally better than the airlines, but that's due to the wide variation in the quality of operations - some are simply awful (far worse than the airlines), and some are wonderful (FAR, FAR better than the airlines) - you can guess what the competition is like for the good ones.