Hello I am very interested in becoming a pilot for a major airline like delta, united, or southwest. I came to see if I was on a good track in order to become eventually qualified for this position, I am currently a licensed 25 ton maritime captain but decided to switch careers, i’m 20 years old, I have a high school diploma, an associates degree, no debt, and a good amount in savings. About to enter ATP or my local flight school to eventually achieve my ATP certificate, Will I have a good shot of being hired by one of those main airlines either regional or major? Besides a bachelors degree and accumulating all the necessary flight certificates and time, is there anything else I can do to improve my chances of having a successful career as a pilot? Any Advice would be greatly appreciated.
Jake,
The Majors hire well trained experienced pilots. Having a 4yr degree will definitely help as will having a clean record both personally and professionally. More than anything be a good pilot and focus hard on your training. EVERYONE wants to be a pilot these days, wants to fly for a Major but asume the training is just a box to check. It’s not, do poorly and it will definitely impact your career options or worse.
Beyond that it becomes a matter of being a good employee as you climb the ladder and picking up positive feedback and recommendations. Think about it, EVERYONE who gets an interview meets all the airlines requirements and checks all the boxes. So why should they hire you? Rarely it’s something on your resume and most people can put on a good face during an interview. They want to hear from others you’ve worked with that you are in fact a good fit and not someone they’ll want to strangle after a few hours in the flight deck.
Have a good attitude, a good work ethic and treat everyone you work with respectfully and you’ll be fine.
Adam
Hey Jake, good luck with your decisions. You are definitely still young enough to get all the boxes checked. I’m 36 and a fellow maritime captain looking into making the switch from water to air! I would think with you already having an associates degree it wouldn’t take a full 4 years to complete a full degree. There are many topics on this forum about this subject of acquiring your degree after your training and while putting in your time as a FO at the regionals.
Jake,
At your stage, without having stepped foot in an airplane, it’s a moot type of question to be asking if you can make it to the majors. To answer your question, yes. You seem to be on the right “track,” I suppose. Getting good grades and staying out of trouble is important.
That said, you have a long way to go. I think that it is okay to keep your eye on the prize, so to speak, but as you learn about the steps required to take to become an airline pilot you also need to focus on what’s right in front of you.
We have several helpful articles in our FAQ section that I think will be a good place for you to start.
Lastly, if you know that you want to attend ATP why not do all of your training there? This topic is also discussed in the FAQ section, but I just have to ask the question since you brought it up. I did my private elsewhere, but if I were to do it all over again I wouldn’t have. It was more expensive than advertised and I didn’t feel like the school was anywhere close to ATP’s caliber. Just something to think about as you continue exploring the right path for you.
Tory