This 100%. I highly recommend the OP explore all the other great options out there that get you the same thing at a fraction of the cost. Personally, as 141 flight school grad, I'd seriously consider a local FBO coupled with a college degree. Saves on cost, and if you end up going ANG, you get the reduced hiring hours anyway.



Hate to hear that man, I only passed my medical by the skin of my teeth...then almost washed out of UPT for medical (something else lol). But you clearly landed on your feet and seized some great opportunities.



I'm convinced that this is the only reason I was able to get hired in 2014. 141 school, military and I was working at a regional at the time. I still was not an IP in the military (passed up the upgrade to go to indoc at a legacy) at the time, while the only guys getting hired from my squadron were high time IPs. Standing out over your peers is huge in this business.

Excellent points from everyone.

Already have PPL through one of the expensive accelerated programs out there, through a scholarship that paid for all of it the summer before HS senior year. Did JROTC. Academies are a possibility but Embry's timeline for commitment is sooner than the academies make their offers. They have another accelerated program to get IR this summer (no scholarship), before freshman year starts, and that's the offer that expires soon. ROTC scholarships not posted yet either. Sounds like there are great opportunities to do really cool things in the summers with AFA. Landing on aircraft carriers with USNA is obviously unique.

Doesn't sound like there is any stigma against or preference for going through an accelerated program (Embry, AA, ATP) vs ANG/reserves vs Academy, which is great. Maybe that's because there's such a pilot shortage right now, no room for elitism. Have also read elsewhere that accelerated programs are available within the military route too, if the aptitude/ability is demonstrated.

Thinking if a door opens for an Academy, should go through it, because that window of opportunity is small, vs. Embry that will be there for those who can afford it for a much longer window of time. The advantages of the ANG/reserves option is worth consideration too.

If you go to an Academy or ROTC, keep in mind that you're an officer first and pilot (very distant) second. 4 years is too long to fake it, so you'll have to genuinely believe it. The govt always gets their pound of flesh, and the roughly $2M price tag of UPT commands a pretty hefty cut of flesh. Also, the military has a number of pit falls (or design features, as far as the govt is concerned) that are aligned with what's best for their mission, not your future airline career. Keeping the two aligned can be very difficult. Personally, I didn't sign up for the military so I could waste my 20s in the rural Midwest in exchange for a steady middle-class paycheck, so I volunteered for some pretty dangerous jobs and it almost got me killed a few times. I won't sugar coat the military as some "coming of age" story I fondly remember, however, the military is a calling and I know if I wouldn't have joined, I would've always regretted it. If that's how you feel, then I'd recommend going the military route. If not, the civilian route is likely the shortest path to the majors.

ERAU is extremely expensive and from what I can tell, doesn't count for anything more than checking the boxes for a college degree and ratings, but it does have laser focus on getting you from zero to airline FO. Mom and pop flight schools are much more affordable, but there is very limited quality control, you're subject to all of the typical small business rip-off shenanigans (milking you for flight time, lack of oversight, etc), and they typically have a smaller group of peers and instructors for mentoring. A network of informal mentoring/studying goes a really long way. Also, most people have a much harder time following through with "pay as you go" programs vs a structured 141 school. I don't have any specific guidance here, just food for thought for your personal situation.

I'd recommend getting a degree or having a skilled trade unrelated to flying so you can hedge your bets in case the industry tanks, which has been known to happen, and will likely happen again in the next 40 years. Also, whatever you get your degree in, make sure it adds value to your resume and can functionally get you a job. Lots of universities will gladly sell you a degree in art poetry for 6 figures of debt that will never pay for itself, so buyer beware. Everything in the US is subject to supply/demand, so good deals don't last forever and vice versa. Right now, being a pilot is a great deal, so the sooner you can get your foot in the door, the better IMO. You can also always do your pilot training first then go back for your bachelors once you're in the regionals, as opposed to piling flight training debt on top of student loan debt. I'm sure a degree is a leg up for getting an interview, but it's also 4ish years of time and a heavy financial investment, so I'll let you weigh that cost/benefit.

No stigma against, but if hiring gets selective, military anything is preferred and a good GPA from a good school will fast-track you for some of the top employers.

It's called "selectivity", and it's still there in that those people will get called first and fastest. The shortage will definitely open up opportunities for all demographics of turbine pilots, especially anyone with 121 experience.

I think you read wrong, mil is very egalitarian in that regard, everybody starts from the same place and does the same process (some airframe tracks take longer than others). They are experimenting with using more sims and less actual flight training, but that's not a shortcut time-wise, just gets you out the door with fewer flight hours.... good for the mil, bad for you.

You have to make that call. Few if any academy grads regret it.

It was "X" years of rated service when I signed the line. I was a OTS FISHPOT type.

My initial UPT commitment was for 6 years, when I showed up to UPT, they had just changed it to 8. We had 2 choices: sign for 8 or bail. I took the 8. Never looked back

My uncle paid for all my flight training, let me fly the best fighter ever built for over 20 years. Small price to pay.

Had I to do it all over - Guard. Follow the advice here about the Guard.

EDIT: for some reason u/Mary Edwards' post I quoted didn't carry over only Ricks ???

If your goal is to be an airline pilot alone, the active duty route isn’t really what you think it is based on your posts. I retired from active duty with around 5,000 hours. That is pretty low in the civilian world & something that 20-something aged RJ captains have.

Also, it’s a very narrow comparison between an ERAU aviation degree and a degree from USAFA. Although you graduate with an undergraduate degree in both cases, you will not graduate from USAFA with an aviation degree. Academically, it’s more of a traditional college experience than an aviation school, albeit one with a lot more core requirements than most colleges. While people go to both with a goal of flying airplanes, you actually do very little aviation related stuff at the academy relatively.

Yes, I think Riddle or another ITT Tech is the way to go to “stand out.” Sets the tone for the rest of the leg/trip/sim/hearing when you divulge that decision about yourself.

what do those military guys or the academies stand for anyway?……….something the shortcut underachieving opportunists never have nor will understand.

A lot changes in life from the time you're a high school sophomore to the time you start a job as a 777 first officer. For many of us a constant in all of that is a love of flying, but that constant can sometimes lead to some bad decisions and a lot of frustration. So it's really important to regularly take stock of your options, but it's just as important to regularly take stock of your motives. That's tough to do when you're 46 and very difficult when you're 16. A decision to serve is a decision to serve your country even if that service harms your career goals. There are also lots of ways to learn how to fly that come with much, much less debt than ERAU. Others have laid this out pretty well.

Most pilots think pretty highly of themselves then pretend to be humble. I'm no different. I'm yet another guy pretending to be important on the internet, right? For you this means all of our views are bent through the lens of our own experiences, ambitions and insecurities. Rather than solicit us for advice, I'd suggest getting out and observing us.

Go to some local airports. Hang out and watch the pilots for a bit. Figure out what sort of aviator you want to be. Go to a lot of different airfields. Compare and contrast. If you catch yourself thinking one particular guy is smarter than the rest of aviation, it probably means you need to broaden your sampling a bit. After a year or so of doing this you'll have some really good ideas of how to move forward. More importantly you'll have some really good ideas of who and what you really want to be. This sort of touches on mentorship, but beware people who are eager to be mentors.