Hi,
I’m still in high school and graduate in June, while I’m keeping my options on my future open I’ve always wanted to be a pilot and I’m starting to take it more seriously, my question is once you finish atp, what’s the probability and availability of becoming employed or finding an airline to take you under thier wings and work your way up. I’m not so sure about how secure this job market is so that’s my main concern.
Thanks
Mohammed,
Welcome to the forum. Let’s clear a few things to. First, you will not be going to an airline after you finish training. You’ll need to build the legal minimum required 1500hrs. Second, airlines don’t “take you under their wings”. They hire well trained experienced pilots. So the process is finish your training, get a lowtime entry level job to build your time (like flight instructing) and then get hired by a Regional once you build the required time.
Now to answer your question the chances of finding a job are evened excellent. In fact the country is experiencing one of the greatest pilot shortages in history. Provided you do well in training you should have no problem finding a job.
Btw, you don’t mention anything about college. You should know you will need a 4yr degree to be successful as an airline pilot. The degree can be in anything you like but you will need one.
Adam
Mohammed,
Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting. After you get your licenses, you will still be well over 1,000 hours short of qualifying for the 1,500 hour requirement for the airlines. The vast majority of pilots build this time via flight instructing. Assuming you do well as an instructor, you should not have much difficulty at all getting hired as an instructor. I suggest you spend some serious time on this website and ATP’s website as there is a wealth of information on both.
Chris
Mohammed,
First, we recommend you go to college prior to starting flight training. You need a degree for the majors anyway or your career will be limited. Plus the study habits and work ethic you learn in college will help you be successful in the rigorous program that is ATP’s fast track. The ability for you to secure a flight instructing position after program completion relies solely on your performance through the program. If you were successful. you should have no problem getting a job. As for the regionals, right now the industry is faced with the biggest pilot shortage problem in its history. Jobs are there, you just need to do the work and have a good resume on the table.
-Hannah
Thank you for your reply, my next question is, once you take on college and finish with your degree, how stressful is it to balance the college student dept as well as the dept you get from ATP? To me it sounds extremely stressfull and difficult especially If you start young. also how far into your journey is it that you start making some income. Thank you again
Mohammed,
Debt can indeed my stressful which is why you want to keep it manageable and to a minimum. While the airlines want a degree, it doesn’t need to be from an expensive university. Community College is a great way to get your core credits and save a ton of money. Beyond that flight training is expensive and there’s really no way around that. The thing is the returns on your investment (and that’s how you should view the debt, as an investment in your future) can be significant. Senior airline Capts earn $350k+. There really aren’t that many careers that offer that opportunity. As to how fast you’ll start earning that can vary. A general idea is you need to figure 2-2.5yrs training and instructing to build your time. The positive is of you do well you can interview with a Regional and if offered a position you could receive tuition reimbursement which will help. After that time you’ll get hired by a Regional where first year pay is approx $40+ bonuses which should get you up to $60k. 2-3 years after that you’ll upgrade to Capt which will get you to the $70-80k range. A few years later you can apply to a Major where you’ll start at $80k.
Hope that helps some.
Adam
Hi, i am 18 and just finishing up my first semester of university. My passion is to become an airline pilot one day and i was further pulled in that direction by the pilot shortage. Would it be a bad idea to enroll in atp after completing my freshman year of college and then later completing my degree online after becoming a flight instructor? Also, what is the likelihood that i will actually be able to go to the regional airline of my choice? The flow through from Envoy to American seems like a good choice but im not sure if that is realistic for me to go after. Does the regional airline really matter all that much aside from where the bases are located? Lastly, what is a realistic time frame to complete atp training and a realistic timeframe to get to a major airline after getting hired to a regional. Thanks in advance!
Rakeem,
That would actually really be a good idea, assuming that you are dedicated enough to make sure that you later finish your degree.
Right now we are in a pilot shortage, so if you do well in training, you should have a lot of options available to you when it comes to picking a regional. Why would Envoy not be realistic for you?
The regional does matter in that more and more of them have pathways to the majors, so it is good to keep the eventual desired major airline in mind when picking a regional.
ATP’s program is seven months, there is a time line available on their website. Typically it takes people 1.5-2 years to build enough hours to be able to be hired at a regional. The time to the majors can really vary, anywhere from a few short years, to 5-10, to never as some pilots never make the leap. Most that want to go to the majors do eventually do so, but the timeline can really vary.
Chris
Thank you so much for the fast response! I do not believe that flying for Envoy is unrealistic I just wasnt sure if it was common for people to predetermine the regional they want to go to based on flow through and even potentially pay. Im sure i have enough drive to actually go back and finish my degree but id also like to get ahead and complete my training as im sure this is what i want to do and id like to advantage of the job market.
While i have you here id like to ask a few questions about the industry that im not sure where else to find the information at.
Rakeem,
Chris answered your first post really well, I’ll jump in on your questions.
The big 3 are pretty equal contract and pay wise. When you get to that level it’s really a matter of personal preference. It could be available bases, equipment or you simply like the paint job. You would be fortunate to fly for any of them and I don’t believe you could call one the “best”.
If it’s slight it shouldn’t be an issue. What does concern me is your admission that it only comes out when you’re anxious or excited. Flying (and flight training) can be stressful. Communication is vital, particularly during an emergency. This is something you’ll need to have control over.
There are many. Checkride failures, accident or incident during your flying career, no degree and criminal behavior on a background check are big ones. The intangibles are some people simply don’t interview well. Once you build the time and experience and meet all the requirements it then comes down to convincing the airline you’re someone they want.
I respectfully disagree with what you’ve heard. ATP instructors are incredibly helpful. What they’re not (and what is the source of the misinformation) are babysitters. Their goal is to guide and help you through the program, not spoon feed you the information. ATP was created by airline pilots to train airline pilots. Everyone LOVES the fact you can complete what usually takes years in just 7mos. What they don’t love is the fact that this requires a great deal of self study and hard work to accomplish. The idea is to prepare for the pace of the airlines and that means alot less handholding then many people are used to. If an instructor isn’t doing their job then by all means you could request another but if the problem is that it’s you not carrying your own weight a different instructor won’t help.
No apology necessary. All good questions.
Adam
Rakeem,
Adam covered these questions well. I would agree that if your stutter comes out in stressful situations, that might be an issue for you. Pilots deal with stress, so you will need to get a handle on that.
I would completely disagree with that characterization of ATP instructors. The vast majority that I have met are hard working and really want their students to succeed. From a pragmatic standpoint, it is in the instructor’s best interests for the student to pass, so they are going to make sure they give them every tool possible to do so.
On a completely different note, I would encourage you to work on capitalizing your "I"s when appropriate. It is just one of those small things that a potential employer will notice.
Chris