Airline Career Expectations

Because of this, and because of my own experiences, I am only going to cover the road to commercial flying for the airlines or a corporate flight department. I'll cover some of the pitfalls that you can expect to see along the way, and some of the different ways to get noticed. Although this material is only focused on landing a job as a corporate or airline pilot, much of the information presented here is generalized in nature and will apply to many of the various specialties within the industry, particularly the first few pages about getting noticed and getting your foot through the door.

There are many ways to get a job with an airline, but the most common are either by flying for the military to working your way up the food chain by flying other various jobs to gain the necessary experience to get you into that big plush seat at the front of a Boeing 747.

Conversely, corporate flying jobs are often more difficult to come by (particularly the highly coveted ones). Corporate flight departments often have much higher experience minimums than airlines, often require flight experience and certification in the type of aircraft they fly, and almost ALWAYS require you to have some sort of inside contact to get through the door, but more on that later...

If you plan on the military you can expect some major differences when you do join the ranks of "civies" flying around out there- different procedures, different rules, different priorities. Some people do fine making the transition, for others it can be a very trying time.

If you come up the ranks in the civilian side, you can expect to pay large amounts of cash and time to gain the initial training and experience needed to get an entry level job, then making small amounts of money for some time once you do get a job. The aviation industry can have its big pay outs in the end, but unlike many other professions, it  requires some smart planning, patience, and determination to make it work.

The average flight instructor makes around $10-15K a year. The average first year pilot at a regional airline makes around $20-25K. Pay scales really don't jump up until well established with a company and flying as a captain. And unlike just about every other job out there, pilots are required to have annual or semi-annual physical examinations, as well as regular recurrent oral and practical examinations, and on the spot inspections and line checks by company instructors and the FAA. At times it can seem like an awful lot of trouble just to collect that little paycheck once or twice a month... especially when you are home in your own bed only 10-12 days a month.

Even so, thousands of people do it every day- and they love their jobs (Myself included)... If nothing else, the office view is great!

So if you are interested in getting your foot in the door read on!