I’ve loved planes as long as I can recall, being in them, and I got to fly a few through my teen years. Now here I am looking into becoming a commercial pilot, and all my family thinks I would regret makinh such a big commitment at a young age (24 in December). What’s it like when you’re up there? Did any of you wish you had chosen something else?
I’ve already studied a decent bit about planes through my high school years, enough to have a basic understanding of yaw and pitch, ailerons and flaps etc… Just want to be sure this is the right decision for me!
I can’t speak for anyone else but personally I LOVE MY JOB! As far as I’m concerned I have the greatest job on the planet and I don’t just mean now, I felt the same way when I was at a Regional. I get paid well to fly a REALLY nice shiny new airplane all over the world while spending time with my friends! What’s not to love? Yes at the beginning you have to pay some dues. The pay isn’t great (although it’s gotten much better than when I started) and your schedule might not be great but again I’m still getting paid to do something I enjoy. I’ve seen the World and so have my children, made lifelong friends and it’s never boring. My only regret is not starting when I was your age!
Sounds like a wonderful career! How did you survive through the training though? I worried I won’t be able to afford keeping an apartment for 6 months of full time class! I think that is my last debate. Other than that I just have to get ready! Can’t wait to be in the clouds!
Planning and sacrifice. I actually borrowed extra money on top of my student loan to keep me a float during training. That and I tightened my belt to the very last hole (maybe even had to add a few). No going out, no restaurants etc, only the essentials. To be honest when you’re in training you don’t have much time for anything else so it really wasn’t that challenging. To me it’s a matter of keeping your eye on the prize and knowing there’s a light at the end. A very bright beautiful light in the sky!
Yeah, I figured it would be along those lines! I’m hoping to just save enough to hold me over while I’m in training! Thank you so much for being an inspiration! Do you fly small planes for fun when you aren’t put commercially?
To jump in here, I do not fly small airplanes, but I know many pilots that do. I feel too spoiled by Boeing jets to get into a small airplane that is missing half of the equipment that I am used to. There are days though when I look up and would really like to get into a small plane and go fly wherever I want to.
Honestly I don’t but I know many pilot’s who do. Being an airline pilot you get REALLY spoiled and frankly kind of lazy. We show up the plane is fueled, all the flight planning has been done, weather checked etc (we obviously review everything) and most importantly ATC keeps you pretty safe as far as airspace goes. I’ve been up a few times since leaving ATP but not often.
As for your original question regarding regrets, a few years back when I was still at ExpressJet it was a beautiful Sunday and I was off. The family was away and I really had the urge to fly but I was no longer single engine current in anything. I called scheduling to see if they happened to have anything and they were looking for someone to ferry a plane to CLE. I said sure. Instead of me dropping a few hundred dollars to go fly I got paid to do it! That’s when I first realized I had the greatest job on Earth!
Thank you so much guys!! I really appreciate all the information! Can’t wait til I get to join the ranks! How hard is it to manage family life as a pilot? I’m sure there will be some pre long away from home trips, and some relocation involved as well. Did you have any choice in what school you instruct at, or where your airline bases you when you start?
As far as time away from the family in the beginning it can be tough since you’ll be junior and your schedule will be less than great. As you gain seniority you’ll be able to get better schedules and trips.
ATP asks you for your top 3 choices in location and if they can accommodate you they will. As for the airlines that depends on you. The nice thing is you can literally commute from anywhere for your job BUT it can be difficult and you lose a lot of time off doing so. Many people pick the airline they want to work for based on bases or will move to as not to have to commute. Choice is yours but you’ve got plenty of time before you have to make that decision.
United has many different bases. I have chosen to live in southwest Michigan, even though I work in New Jersey. In the industry we refer to this as “commuting”. The downside to commuting is that it takes your own time and resources to do this, the upside is that it enables me to live anywhere I want. I would say though that if you want to have a family I would strongly advise you to live wherever you are based.
Check out www.pilotjobs.com it has a good map on it that shows all of the bases for the various airlines.
Yes, United is a major airline. Without a degree it would be very tough to get hired at a major, but the good news is that you can use your time at the regionals to take classes towards a degree. Many people do this online while they work and are thus able to move onto the major airlines.
Commuting does mean that you fly from wherever you live to where you work. You have to do this on your own time, but it is an option that many pilots partake in.
The airline does not pay for the travel, but the travel is free. The only caveat is that you have to fins a flight that has open seats on it, so most pilots travel to their base several hours to a day before they start their trips.
Now I’ve read that as a pilot you are not allowed more than 100 hours a month? That is barely over half the hours of a full time job. Are there ways to pick up extra flights or exceed that number? Approximately how many hours were you getting when you started at a regional airline?
The 100hr limit is a federal regulation and no, you cannot by law exceed that limit. This is the reason people get all excited about how wealthy all us pilots must be. If you’re earning just $100 hr x 40 hrs a week that’s $4000 a week! We must all be millionaires! It just doesn’t work that way. That limit is based on what’s called “flight time” and by definition is the time the main cabin door closes before push until it opens after you land (this can vary with contract, some it can be the cargo door, some it could be when the aircraft starts rolling). What you need to understand is while an 8hr day doesn’t seem that long, imagine being behind the wheel of a car for 8 hrs driving non-stop. Even with cruise control it’s a long day. Now imagine doing that 6 days in a row. After much research the FAA determined that 100hrs is the maximum a pilot can fly and safely manage their rest and fatigue.
All airlines (Regionals and Majors) have a minimum monthly credit (typically 75hrs). That’s the least amount you can fly and it’s the least value the airline will build a line worth. You can either bid for higher value lines or pickup extra trips but again at no time will you be allowed to exceed that 100hrs. For example if my line value was 99 hrs but my last flight of the month to JFK was delayed on the ground and then the winds were excessive so instead of the planned flight time of 9hrs it took 10.5, I would not be legal to fly back because that would push me over the 100hrs. I routinely fly the legal max and also did when I was at the Regional.
Okay, that makes sense, still makes for a decent living wage if you fly 75 hours. I’m going to assume that if you want more flight hours is where seniority comes into play? Naturally those who have been flying forever get first dibs on hours, trips etc?
Seniority is a VERY relative thing and it’s easy to assume that means you can’t or won’t get what you want which isn’t necessarily the case. The best way to try and think of seniority is that it allows you to get first dibs on what the MAJORITY wants. Let’s take an easy one, Thanksgiving. Most everyone wants and bids for Thanksgiving off but only the most senior will get it. Something like more flight hours is different. The pilots at the top are making a higher hourly wage, are getting the lines they want so most don’t pick up extra and many don’t want to fly a lot. Just because you’re hungry doesn’t mean they are so you may very well get the hours. There’s an old saying, bid what you want NOT what you think you can get. Chances are you’ll be wrong!
If you legally time out they’ll get a reserve to fly the trip and stick you in a seat in the back (you can’t work the flight at the controls but you can deadhead in back). In that case you’ll actually get PAID for over the 100 hrs even though you can’t actually pilot them.
Thank you so much for all the information, I really appreciate it! I guess my final question is, when ATP places you in an airline, do you actually start out as a pilot, or do yoy get stuck as a copilot or something else at first?
