After lurking around these forums for a while, I’m finally going to post my own situation.

(Sorry for the wall of text I just spent like an hour and a half on this. Very confused, if you can’t tell)

I’m at the time where I really need to decide what I’m going to do for a career. There’s really no competition on what I want to do for work- be a pilot at an airline. It’s really the only career I’ve ever wanted, to be completely honest. But I’ve always been looking way too far ahead- like what kind of plane I would want to fly, with which airline. I now realize that I need to look into my training.

So I’ve narrowed it down to five “schools”. ATP, Sevenair, Embry Riddle, Cadet Programs, or Independent Training.

My first option is ATP, who I’ve read a lot about on this forum and others. They seem really great for getting all your licenses quickly (my ideal path, honestly. I have no patience, which is a problem).

Next is Sevenair. Not sure if most of you have even heard of them. They are a training school in Portugal, who can get you from nothing, up to 500 hours with a frozen ATPL. They accept applicants from ages 17. I emailed them, asking if they take students from the US, and they told me that all their classes are in English, and that they can help me get a study Visa. The only downside to this school is that I’ll have a European licesnse.

And now, the infamous, Embry Riddle. They seem pretty great as well, I can get a bachelors degree, and get my
flight training at the same time. The problems are that I’ve read that the flight training isn’t as good, because it’s stretched out so long, you forget things. Also there are conflicting opinions on if a degree is even needed to be an airline pilot. Some say that it’s a good fallback, some say it’s necessary in order to go to some of the better airlines, and some say it’s just a waste of time and flight hours are all that matters.. so yeah, even more confusion.

Then, there are cadet programs. JetBlue seems good, but it takes FOR EVER. It’s five years long I think. And then I’m sure I would be locked into the company for at least another 5. AA is about the same, from what I’ve seen on their site. But, there’s also some good looking cadet programs in Asia, Scoot has a good one, I believe. So I’m not really sure if one of these is a good idea in the first place.

Lastly, there is independent training. There are tons of places to train here in LA, so that might be a better option than all of these others. Again, I don’t know.

I could also combine standard non- aviation college with independent training or ATP. I’ve also looked at military but the minimum service time is 8 years, right? That’s too long for me.

Thank you, if you read all this. I just really need help narrowing down my options, and who better to ask, than people in the industry? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

 

ERAU is insanely expensive for what you get.
ATP doesn't have a collegiate partner that I'm aware of.
Look for a state school (ASU, Mt Sac) that has a flying program.
If their locations don't work look at Liberty.

 

I just realized read your post. If you're in Socal look at Mt Sac in Walnut. They train out of Bracket field next to Pamona.

 

Go to a community college that offers flight technology as a major (think of it as paying yourself a $100,000 signing bonus by choosing this option over riddle) and get your associates in aviation while you get your ratings.

Afterwards work as a CFI and get a bachelors degree (online is best as it’s flexible and you can do work between students). Get the bachelors in business or something else to have as a back up if airline pilot doesn’t pan out.

Then try to get on with the first operator that will give you pic turbine time.

 

On March 3, 1969 the United States Navy established
an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots.
Its purpose was to teach the lost art or aerial combat
and to insure that the handful of men who graduated
were the best fighter pilots in the world.

They succeeded.

Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School.
The flyers call it:


TOP GUN

 

It'll also depend heavily on how you plan to fund your training

Sent from my LG-H931 using Tapatalk

 

The JetBlue program is stupidly expensive, not worth it.

 

Kstoves,

Is there a benefit to getting a two-year-degree and a four-year-degree, as opposed to getting only a four-year-degree?

 

Two diplomas. Make sure you have the wall space first.

 

Soon out of High School? Enough $$ to get started?

If airline pilot is what you want, I’d go to a 4 yr school with a(‘fast track’) pilot program.

Oftentimes the ‘fallback’ career is more to do with the individual than any degree. What I mean by that is, a motivated individual will always have a job, regardless of the state of the economy.