I have a few questions for you and I wanted to start by telling a little about my self , i am a senior in high school and i wanted to become a pilot since i was a sophomore, i haven’t done anything and i feel like im behind since im 18 and I want to be a commercial pilot , i wanted to ask if you think going through the ATP way is better then going to the army and try to become a pilot there.Thank you for your time.
Christopher,
First off, you’re 18, you’re not behind. In fact, you’re at the age where you should be focusing on college and getting a degree (a 4-year degree). While airlines don’t require a degree, it is very vital to still get one as many factors can go into why you should get a degree. The degree serves a multitude of benefit(s) from maturing to life experience. Think of it as a backup plan if something in aviation falls through.
While we appreciate and are thankful for those that serve our country, you shouldn’t go into the military solely trying to get a job at the airline. Understand the commitment you make when you sign up for the military PLUS the term agreement established. When you fly in the military most pilots have an 8- or 10-year commitment, which you don’t want to break just because your goal was the airline.
My recommended path for you would be go to college then attend a school like ATP (as you are seeking).
Brady
Hey Brady, thank you for responding to my questions , and about going to college and ATP, do I get into both at the same time , or go to college and try to become a pilot when I’m like 22?
Hey Brady , I forgot to ask this but I want to know what you recommend, someone told me to get my pilot certification first and then get my bachelor degree so when I’m out I’m ready to go , I also haven’t applied to any colleges yet but I might have some offers because of soccer but just in case I will be doing applying to colleges this winter break, but if you could give me an idea it would really help a lot.
Christopher,
You will NOT do both ATP and college at the same time, in fact, the students that fail out of ATP are typically the ones that secretly have side gigs or have too much on their place. I’ve seen way to many students try to have side hustles during attendance, causing them to either struggle (worse case, fail out) until I found the root cause and informed them they needed to figure out their priorities.
I’m not opposed to the private pilot certificate, but remember - ATP like the airlines, trains around consistency and proficiency. While it may be awesome to get the PPL out of the way now, you may end up paying a fortune. Flight training is serious, it takes commitment and dedication, it also takes finding the right school; doing research is extremely important.
My four cents (inflation caused my 2c to be more expensive) is, attend college, get the degree, then flight school. You will have plenty of time to do everything. I didn’t attend ATP until I was 24, now 28, in the regional airlines. You’re 18.
Brady
Okay thank you Brady for taking time out of your day to reply to my questions , And my last question is, do you guys do like tours so I can visit out the place ?
Christopher,
I recommend checking out this link, which will provide the above question’s answer(s):
Brady
Christopher,
You are in no means late for anything! The best thing you can do now is to do really well in school. Your high school GPA and transcript will be reviewed for any future airline interviews. Then focus on going to college and getting your bachelors degree. That degree is becoming more and more important again.
If you are itching to start flying right away, you could look into aviation degree programs where you fly along with your studies. They can be costly and don’t leave you much of a backup for future airline furloughs. We recommend getting your degree on a budget in something that you enjoy. Then once you graduated, you can begin the enrollment steps for the fast track program.
Hannah