mark hughes

Hi, my son is a freshman at Embry-Riddle. He isn't pursuing a pilot career. He is interested in aerospace engineering. What I recommend is this: get excellent grades in high school. When my son applied, the school offered him a $10000 academic grant per year. I thought, "If they are offering this type of scholarship without even asking, what will they offer if I ask?" They ended up offering a 50% scholarship!

So, get excellent grades as this will keep the college costs down.

Good luck!

sourdough44

Where about do you live? There are options besides Riddle and the other big names.

There are things you can do now to get going. How about a simple and low cost 'private pilot ground school' course? Sniff around a local airport or online for information about offerings.

flynhighaf23

Go to medical school and become a specialist of sorts and make quarter to half a million a year then buy a plane

Military is great IF you can get in. If not then get a technical degree that you can use as your backup plan if flying doesn't work out then just knock out your ratings and build hours. You'll never go straight to Fed Ex or UPS without having to do something first (regional, 135, military, etc), so find a couple routes that have worked for others and replicate that, or take the road less traveled. Either way my guess is even if you started now that you might not make it to where you want to go until you're 30 or so.... So, ya know, live your life and have some fun, learn some things, but work towards that goal every day and don't ever give up.

nick42

The guard /reserves is a great option. Get your degree and a couple licenses and you can rush a squadron. They will send you to military pilot training and help you build hours. If you find a heavy squadron many of the pilots will fly for the airlines and can offer good advice. PM me of you want a more detailed description.

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galaxy flyer

If you're in a fighter squadron, there'll be lots of airline pilots, too.

GF

ethanroy

In order to get hired by fedex you would have to:

Finish high school.
Go to a 4 year college, be in perfect health, have no criminal record.
Get a 3rd class medical certificate by seeing an FAA doctor.
Have no mental illnesses
No illnesses affecting your abilities to fly

Have piles and piles of money!! (get a decent job)

Stay away from drugs.

1- Get your private pilot license through a flight school by logging 70 hours.

Go for your instrument and multi engine ratings.


2- Log 280+ hours and get your Commercial Pilot license, before getting the commercial pilots license you should get the second class medical certificate.

3. Log 1500 hours, get your Airline Transport Pilot's License, before getting your ATPL, get a first class medical certificate.


4. Work towards your certified flight instructor single and multi engine certificates

5. Instruct people to become pilots at a local flight school for 3 to 5 years, expect to log another 500 to 1000 hours.


6. Get hired by a small airline that flies turboprop or turbofan airplanes.

7. Log some 3000 to 4000 hours flying turboprops or turbofan airplanes.

8. Get hired by a major airline.

9. Pass an interview and a series of checkrides.



10. Work your way up to the left seat as captain.


If you want to fly 747's, you'd have to work your way up from co pilot to captain. It will take many many many many years before you can become captain of a 747, it's called seniority.

Otterbox

Thankfully that's only been an Air Force trend so far. Navy and Marine Corps still let you fly manned aircraft out of flight school, and so does the Coast Guard. There are more UAVs coming online but as of right now in the Navy you're garunteed to fly your first tour.

GucciBoy

This is not accurate. I don't think there were any UAV assignments in '14 for UPT grads and the AF now has a specific AFSC for UAV pilots. I'm sure they are still pulling from current pilots to fill billets but not from UPT grads, at least not in any significant numbers and most definitely not 50%. It's definitely a possibility for any active duty pilot in the future so the point is still valid.


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Adlerdriver

If he wants to fly for Fedex (UPS or any major airline, for that matter) he he's going to need a first class medical. So, while he may only need a 3rd class to start with, getting and maintaining a first class is probably a prudent path. It's always easier to deal with health issues and regain a first class than try to get one initially if health issues come up before you ever got one. Bottom line, he should get a first class ASAP to be sure he can get one before he pursues a career that requires one. If he wants to let it lapse to a 2nd or whatever after that, that's his call.

If he wants to fly for Fedex, why is getting hired by a major airline a requirement?

I also don't understand why getting to 747 Captain is part of this discussion. He wants to fly for Fedex or UPS. FedEx has no 747s. He didn't say he wanted to fly 747s. If he gets hired at UPS, his stated goal, then 747s would eventually be an option. The traditional incentives of max pay for 747 flying are less of an issue at UPS since they pay based on seniority rather than aircraft size. The only guys who fly 747s there are those who enjoy the type of flying, it's suits their lifestyle or have no choice due to seniority.

He might need some extra money to go the civilian route, but plenty of pilots have been hired at FedEx and UPS without "piles and piles" of money.

SkylaneRG

Absolutely. It's important to have a four-year degree in something that isn't professional flight. Aerospace engineers are in high demand and the pay can be quite good.

I did my private through my initial CFI while I was in college for business. I didn't even start flying until my junior year of college. I have watched my get aviation degrees that take significantly more money, and even more of a time commitment than I spent during college. I do not recommend getting a degree in aviation... always have a backup plan! You have plenty of time in college to learn to fly on the side if you schedule classes correctly. Good luck!


PS: Freight doggin' is a good choice. Boxes don't complain.