A320fan

hey guys,

like most kids here, i have a dream to fly for a major airline. i have a few questions about what i should do with the remaining 2 years of high school i have left.

-first off, im sixteen, going into junior year in high school

-im only in Geometry in math, but i plan to take another credit next summer so i can get into Trig senior year.

-i plan to take an online EAA aviation course next summer

-the summer after senior year, i plan to get my basic single-engine private certificate, then train further in college

-im gettin as involved as i can. this summer, i plan to park aircraft at the EAA Airvneture show in Oshkosh, WI with my explorer group.

-im in the process of looking for good airline training school (mainly mid-sized commercial aircraft like the 737, A320)

how does this plan look to you guys? any suggestions to improve it? im striving to be the best, especially on the college resume. so anyway, your thoughts?

rickair7777

Sounds good except for that last part about the mid-size airplanes. That kind of training is almost always provided by the airline you work for, but you won't get to that level for many years, probably in your mid-thirties if everything goes reasonably well. You need to worry about flying small airplanes first.

Do lots of reading on how to enter the flying profession, the various issues involved, get that private, then decide if it's a good choice for you.

de727ups

"first off, im sixteen, going into junior year in high school"

congratz, get a job and start working on your PPL.

"im only in Geometry in math, but i plan to take another credit next summer so i can get into Trig senior year"

No problems with that. I never got above algebra in HS.

"i plan to take an online EAA aviation course next summer"

that's a cool program, let us know how it works out and what you think.

"the summer after senior year, i plan to get my basic single-engine private certificate, then train further in college"

Why wait? I already had my IFR by then and was working on my commercial.

"im gettin as involved as i can. this summer, i plan to park aircraft at the EAA Airvneture show in Oshkosh, WI with my explorer group"

Cool, I got a job at the local airport pumping gas when I was 16.

"im in the process of looking for good airline training school"

That's where you lost me. If you find one, let us know. The more places say they "train you to be an airline pilot", the more I'd be skeptical of them. An airline pilot is simply a pilot who gets hired at an airline. You don't need to go to some special school to be an airline pilot, in spite of what some of the academy websites say.

WhiteH2O

This is from a UPS 767 pilot, who knows these things. It is a mistake that a lot of people make, the better the brochure doesn't equal better training.

SharkyBN584

Right now you have a ton of options and you need to research each one throughly to make the right decision. I could tell you what they are, but it would be a pretty long post. Talk to your high school guidance counselor and they should at least be able to get the ball rolling. The thing about this forum is almost everyone on here did it a different way so you'll get a thousand different opinions on how you should go about it. The main point is that in the end, they all did it. If you want to work for a major airline, you'll need a degree. Doesn't matter in what, but you'll need one. You'll hear people on here kick and scream about aviation degrees...and some are valid points. However, if you got an aviation degree it should teach you A LOT more than just how to be a pilot...if it doesn't, you got scr*wed. There's pros and cons to an aviation degree and getting a degree in something else. Lastly, that part about getting trained in a "midsize commercial aircraft" is a pipe dream and you won't find that until you get hired by an airline. You gotta crawl before you can walk...

de727ups

"There's pros and cons to an aviation degree and getting a degree in something else"

I'd agree. The main thing is that you need a degree if you are going to shoot for the top of the aviation career ladder. Personally, I think a non-aviation degree is best cause it can give you a fall back/second career to play with and no airline cares either way. If you can't get excited about an area of interest outside of aviation, then by all means, an aviation degree is fine. At 20, I couldn't define an outside interest. At 45, I look back, and wish I had tried harder. I think I could come up with about five now.

Anyhow, if we took a poll of successful professional pilots and their opinion on aviation vs non-aviation, I think it's safe to say the majority would push for non-aviation. I fly with way more guys with non-aviation degrees and I think that's what I've seen as the concensus at APC and JC.

A320fan

just so everyone knows, i can't afford any flight training until i get a job. until then, all i can do is wait. would not getting any certificates before senior year affect any potential airline jobs in the longrun?

SharkyBN584

There's this period of time between "senior year" and "airline job" called "your twenties". Use that time to go to college, build flight experience, and have fun. Apart from that, the recommendations above should get you started into looking at becoming a pilot and figuring out what you need to do...

I wouldn't sweat not being able to start flying now...the government usually appreciates it if their Private Pilot's are 17 anyways

de727ups

"would not getting any certificates before senior year affect any potential airline jobs in the longrun"

Uhhhh....no. Sorry to scare you.

My point is the earlier you start, well, the more of a head start you get. That's it.

Slice

No! You may want to look into glider flying right now. It's cheaper but still builds solid stick and rudder skills.