Expert: D. Norkus - 10/11/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
   I am currently graduating from high school and I want to become a
commercial airline pilot. I wanted to see what you thought of my plan for
after college. I have applied for San Jose State University with a major of
Aviation. I know that this will help me get my license but it will not help with
all of the hours I need to build. Would joining the U.S. Air Force be the best
way to build up my hours? Or is there a better way to build up my hours
without going to flight school?

ANSWER: Richard

San Jose State is a fine choice. If you want to major in aviation great, and if you can get scholarships to attend even better, but know that an aviation degree is not necessary to become a pilot. Many major in aviation as that is their main interest but if you were ever to become furloughed during your career an aviation degree is pretty useless. (I know, I have one!) A two year in aviation with another major might also be an idea. Pilots do not start out making much, so the amount of debt you go into this career with can profoundly affect your lifestyle after you get hired. Bottom line: major in what you really want as your grades will be better and that will help you the most later on when applying for a job.

Regarding joining the Air Force:
No, it is not the "best way to build hours" for an airline career but either way you must go to "flight school". If you simply want to become airline pilot, do not consider joining the military simply as a means to that end. You should do it if you want to serve your country but don't think of it simply as a way to get "free flight training" so you can become an airline pilot.

In all reality, it's not truly "free" and the openings for military aviators are fewer and more competitive than they have ever been. If you somehow manage to even get accepted into the service as a pilot candidate and make it through flight school, you will be committed for a decade or more. You could also get killed in the line of duty.

In years past, the major airlines drew almost exclusively from former military pilots. Former military pilots either dominated the hiring boards or they would recommend their friends who were getting out of the service and looking into airline careers. This big "squadron buddy" network was how the majority of pilots got hired.

That is not the case today. For several years now the airlines have been increasingly hiring pilots from a civilian background. According to statistics compiled from Air Inc, about 65% of new hires are civilian. This is partly the result of a smaller pool of military pilots available to the airlines than in decades past and the increase in the number of civilian trained pilots with previous airline jet experience. Almost all the regional airlines now fly jets, many that go higher or are more advanced than mainline aircraft. Additionally, most pilots looking to move onto a major carrier will have several times over the amount of flight experience as a military aviator because of their regional job. So, if you are simply looking to build experience to get hired at a major, the civilian  training route (be it a flight school, flying club or airline oriented flight academy) will be a much faster path to a career at a major airline than the military. I have met a few pilots who trained, went to a regional and were hired at majors all by age 27. If you joined the military, you'd have several more years beyond that age to fulfill your military commitment.

I suggest these links for getting informed with what you need to know to help you make your career decisions:

http://www.pilotcareer.info
http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com
http://www.jetcareers.com

Hope this helps
Dottie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: You made a very good point about how I could screwed if I were to become
furloughed. I thought my background would look better if I had a college
degree in aviation, but that is a very good point. So now that I can rule the
USAF out, would a effective way to build the rest of my time be to become a
CFI? Thats what I hear is the quickest way to build your time. I just don't want
to spend most of my life trying to qualify for an airline job and I don't want to
have hundreds of thousands of dollars in training.

Answer
Richard,

You won't have hundreds of thousands in debt, unless you go to a school like ERAU for about $100K. That would be the pricier end of the scale. However, you can expect to rack up at least $40K on this endeavour on the low end. Flight training and aircraft rental is simply not cheap.

"[What] would [be an] effective way to build the rest of my time be to become a CFI? Thats what I hear is the quickest way to build your time."

You need either 190 or 250 hours to get your commercial depending on how you train (FAA Part 141 or Part 61 school). After that, you will need at least another 250-350 to land an interview as many regional airlines are now accepting applicants with 500-600 flight hours.

To get that experience some common jobs are banner tow, flying skydivers or you get your CFI and teach. Read about time building jobs and how to find them at the link I mentioned earlier, http://www.pilotcareer.info
You can also get some ideas here- http://www.flightinfo.com/buildtime.htm

You also have the option of going to an academy program for all your flight training at a cost of about $45K then getting a guaranteed interview with 300-400 hours as a program graduate. Check out the ATP Flight School Career Track and Mesa Pilot Development programs.

The CFI is a good way to go though as you will learn a lot but of all the routes, the academy program will probably be the quickest. This is due to their guaranteed interview opportunities and the reduced application requirements.

Good Luck
Dottie