Hi,
I'm 14 years old and I have loved airplanes all my life. I used to live in Arlington, VA near Reagan National Airport, and now I'm living in Beirut, Leabnon right in front of Beirut International Airport (that tells you why I love airplanes ). I know I am still very young, but I want to get a good first step, and I don't want to make any mistakes that would leave me having to work 2 or 3 jobs when I'm older. I will move back to the USA for college, so I don't want to worry about International Regulations right now. Thanks to everyone who offers advice!

 

For starters, you can go for a discovery flight and then pick up some books on private pilot certification. You're still under the age requirements for receiving your private certification, but that doesn't mean you can't get started on the knowledge areas required of you. Ask your parents if they will be willing to pay for your certification for private pilot right now. And if you have free time, I would start thinking about ways of saving money. Get a part-time job to help but don't sacrifice your time for study in school to make a little bit of money. Your grades/scores are important for your future college entrances. The key to an aviation career is very simple. You're going to need money. The more of it, the easier it will be. And avoid taking out a loan at all cost because it will only hurt you later in life. So if you can work it out so that you pay for all your flight training in cash, you'll be in great shape! Good luck!

 

My 2 cents, get your private, maybe your instrument rating, and apply to the military for a pilot position. Get paid to get your ratings and get some great flying with all turbine time, and serve your country as well. You will have alot less debt and you will make some great contacts for your future jobs in the aviation industry. Plus, if in the future when you are getting ready to go to the airlines, if they suck, you can just lengthen your committment. Great job secruity.

 

Arlington, VA to Beirut International Airport??? I won't even ask what kind of cool stuff ur dad gets to do for a living

Are you a U.S. citizen??? If so, you would probably be better off doing your training here...it's usually cheaper than anywhere else...and believe me, I mean anywhere else. I've looked into schools in Pakistan, Phillipines, Ukraine, Slovenia, Hungary, and Croatia, assuming that I might be able to take advantage of the exchange rates with those countries...every school outside the U.S. seems to be more expensive--even in countries with cheap oil (Venezuela).

1) Don't major in Aviation in college--no reason to. It will have zero impact on your ability to get an airline job once you have your ratings.

2) Don't go to Embry-Riddle University, no matter what U.S. News says about their status as the "#1 aviation college" in the U.S. (they don't compare Embry Riddle to the thousands of other non-college flight schools in the U.S.--which makes it the most misleading statistic in that ignorant publication).

3) If you're a U.S. Citizen and medically qualified, go to college near a major Air National Guard base that flies KC-135 tankers or C17s, and major in something that will get you a high paying job with flexible hours. Do a minor in USAF Aerospace Studies (but don't join ROTC).

4) Summer after your Sophomore Year, knock out your PPL & Instrument

5) As soon as you have 90 credit hours (Junior year, and will be graduating within a year), apply to the Air Guard Unit for a KC-135 or C17 pilot slot.

6) (Hopefully) you get a pilot slot. Go to USAF pilot training (1.5 years), start logging heavy jet time at only 300-400 hours TT.

7) Once you have enough heavy jet time to get a regional job, get a regional job.

8) Once you have enough heavy jet time/regional jet time to get a major job, get a major job.

9) Fly for a major, finish out your guard committment, be happy.

 

I completely agree with #1, but as for #2, you don't have to present false information to disparage ERAU. The facts are good enough. An aviation major is an overpriced (outrageously so in ERAU's case), deadend, useless degree which provides nothing more than the right to check "yes" in the "have degree" box of a job application.

Just for clarification, the US News does not call ERAU the #1 aviation college. There is no such category in the US News rankings. The ranking ERAU DID get in that publication is for their aerospace engineering degree, which is #1 in the "Best (aerospace) Engineering Programs Where the Highest Degree is a Bachelor's or Master's" category. Of course, this is totally unrelated to the aviation program.