Hello, I have wanted to be a pilot ever since I was very young. I didn't know what type of pilot I wanted to be, I just knew I wanted to fly. I just turned 17 years old and I am living in Canada. The last few years all I could think about was flying. I decided I want to be a commercial pilot, and to eventually work in a major airline one day. (Far away, I know)

I have been browsing these forums for a few days now, and I just joined because this seems like a really good site for information.

So, this summer I will be graduating high school. My plan was to go straight into a flight school and acquire my Private Pilot's License, and then my Commercial License, and needed ratings. After browsing these forum's I quickly realised that to be able to get hired at a "half decent" airline, I will need a degree. I might as well do this while I'm young, instead of waiting a long time. I decided I am going to get a degree in business (finance). It's a 4 year degree at a university where I live and it seem's like a good fall back if being a pilot doesn't work out for whatever reason. Should I get the degree with a business degree, or with a bachelor of arts? Because there is two options. Does it matter if I want to be a pilot?

Once I finish my degree, I plan on doing flight training to become a pilot. Should I just get my PPL, then CPL? Then hope to get a job? Or am I missing some facts here? Keep in mind I am still in high school and have time to get everything set in stone.

Thank you.

 

Get the degree first, that's your priority. It doesn't really matter what the degree is in but if you're serious about aviation, do get a degree which will provide a fall-back career opportunity if (when) aviation lets you down. Finance should work, as would accounting, pharmacy, computer programming, even engineering.

Get a PPL when you can, no hurry. Then fly around for fun and work on your instrument rating. Graduate from college and get a real job. If you're still having fun flying on the side, then look at Commercial and flight instructor training. Try to keep your real job as long as it makes sense while training...money is the biggest hurdle to pursuing a pilot career. The first ten years of aviation involve high training costs and poverty wages (gradually improving to typical blue-collar wages).

As a Canadian you may need to come to the US to get entry-level flying jobs, those are harder to come by up north.

Training and licenses are very similar between US and Canada, conversion between the two is simple.

 

Hi. Thanks for replying.

Yeah, I am going to be doing Finance next year. It seems like a good fall back, and a good career even though being a Pilot is my number one goal.

You say no hurry, but, shouldn't I do it as soon as possible (after the degree) I know once I get a job as a pilot, the first few years will be very low paying. So shouldn't I do that younger while I am still living with my parents and don't have many living costs?

The thing I am scared about, is, once I get a degree, and get a job in that field, I won't know if I'll have time to do the PPL and then Commercial. Even though my mind and heart is set on becoming a pilot, what if thing's don't work out? I'll regret it for the rest of my life.

Would I have to get my American Citizenship/ Dual Citizenship to work in the US? Or can I get a visa. I wouldn't mind moving to the US for a bit to get experience, but I hear how low paying the jobs are there. Where I am living right now, Minimum wage is almost $11/hr which isn't good, but it's not that horrible.

I have Citizenship for a country in Europe. But I don't think that would be an option early on.

So, if I happen to make it as a pilot, then be experienced enough to apply at a regional/commercial airline (not sure on the terms yet) would the Business - Finance degree "work" as a degree? I don't know if that made sense, but as I have been reading around here, I found many people saying to use a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Thanks for the help

 

Why would someone who spends $100k on a pharmacy degree, then leave said profession to be a pilot? PharmD programs are 6+ years and recent graduates start at $80k+; some earn in excess of $99k the first year. Sure beats $23/hr at a regional.

If you are going to put the time, effort, and money into an degree like engineering or pharmacy; One should stay away from a flying career.

 

I never said I was going to do engineering or pharmacy. Stated I was going to do business.

 

I got an engineering degree, and despite a full scholarship ride the whole way through on tuition, came away with $65k in debt for school loans. It costs money to live, around $15k/ year these days for a human church mouse, plus I spent quite a bit on flight training on the side. So, going to be a pilot was not an option for a while coming out of school. On the other hand, jobs like those I got with my engineering degree pay so well you can easily get out of considerable debt in a few years as I did. You'll be spending money like a student as you leave school anyway, not a problem.

So, worst case is you need to pay down your loans first, but we are talking a few years to accomplish that, time which may be handy for adding other flying qualifications. I entered the flying industry with minimal debt. Engineering is not quite the total investment that some professional careers are, doctor for example- but as a baccalaureate degree it is not a bad choice for aspiring pilots. A bit overkill maybe for some, I just got interested in the science of flight and enjoyed the in-depth study. I doubt it really made me a better commercial pilot, just a backup gig. Commercial flying is more about safety than figuring out how to make better airplanes.

 

Read the threads just like your's before posting. Use the "search" feature. Stop and ask, "Am I the only one to ever ask this question, or has someone else already done so?"

Good luck and sincere best wishes.

 

It could let you do what you want, give you enough $$$ to own a plane, get type ratings, maybe do by contract very specific types of flying, maybe some form of corporate? You'd have some great options. If it takes at least 10 years at a regional to get to a major, why not "invest" that time in something significant? I'm not even counting training time to get the pilot's certs and undergraduate.