Expert: David A. NewMyer - 1/21/2011

Question
i am in class 12th ,my dream and my aim is toa become pilot:i need full information tht how could i get succes toa coplete my dream.wht education is req. ,colleges etc.    plz rply....f   thnk u.

Answer
Dear Rohit:

Thank you for your question!  I will try to assist!

First of all, working in aviation is a very worthy dream--you are right, however, to get as much information as possible about your dream field of work.

In terms of becoming a pilot, you will need three basic things:

1.  Certification as a pilot by a government-approved flight training organization, company or university....here in the USA, the government agency that approves flight training is the Federal Aviation Administration.  They approve private flight schools as well as university and college aviation flight schools.  Your first step in this process is normally to earn what is called a Private Pilot Certificate or Private Pilot License  (PPL).  Normally, this takes from 40 to 55 hours of flight training (mostly in small aircraft and in flight training devices or simulators).  Once you have completed the private, you go on to earn the Commercial Pilot Certificate with an Instrument Rating (allows a pilot to fly in poor visibility conditions once you earn it) and a Multi Engine Rating (allows you to fly twin engine aircaft).

2.  To fly commercially today for most larger airlines, it is important to have a collegiate education--usually a baccalaureate degree is needed to be competitive in the job market.  In the USA, it is possible to COMBINE the flight certification mentioned above with the college or university education by attending a university aviation degree program.  There are over 100 differnt universities and colleges in the USA that offer flight training and many of these schools are members of the University Aviation Association or UAA.  Go to their website at www.uaa.aero and then click on "colleges and universities" to find links to the websites of members of the UAA.

3.  Once you have your flight certification and your college education, your next step will be to gain flight experience as a pilot.  Many pilots obtain flight instructor certification so that they can then turn around and teach others to fly, thereby gaining flight experience by teaching others to fly.  Other pilots earn extra flight time by flying for small for-hire charter companies, or flight sightseeing companies or by flying for parachute jump schools.

I hope that this information is helpful in terms of providing the three basic things that you must do to work toward the dream of becoming a professional pilot.

Very best wishes to you,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
http://www.aviation.siuc.edu