Hi all. First I want to thank any and all who take the time to read and answer my random questions, because i have quite a few and they all dont fit into one category. One of my goals is probably the same as many others on this forum; to make the big bucks flying comparable planes for the even bigger companies. Answering the questions I have will help me to manage expectations and create a general game plan over the coming years if I choose to take this journey.
It seems like the general path would be training, instructing, regional flying, then eventually commercial. Did I miss any major steps? Do you get all the certs to fly commercial in the initial training? If so is there any upkeep to those certs? For example DOT health tests to keep you CDL active.
Has anyone started their journey without having any degree? If so, how did you manage the massive amount of debt you can put yourself into to get the education? Where the jobs along the way enough to keep paying the bills?
Are flight hours and having a bachelor’s the only things they really care about? What else should I get on my resume to edge above the competition?
That’s the general path. Through ATP you get all the ratings you need. There are others way outside of instructing but that is the most common and preferred method to build time. Your CFI can expire after two years but it can easily be renewed. Once you get to 1500 hours, the last certificate you need to be able to fly for an airline is the ATP (Airline Transport Pilot). After being hired by a regional, you will attend their training and finish with an ATP and a type rating in whichever jet you were trained in. After regional flying, the majors is the next step. Think of the legacies (Delta, United and American), LCC (Frontier, Spirit, JetBlue, Southwest) or Cargo (FedEx, UPS).
Many people struggle with the loan of flight training along with paying for school. The best thing you can do is save money where you can. Go to community college for the first two years and seek out low cost online degrees to finish your bachelors. As for flight training costs, ATP has a number of tuition reimbursement programs set up to help pay off your loan while building time for the regionals. It not easy, but it’s doable. You have to take some risk to have the rewarding career people dream of.
First and foremost is your training record. You want a clean checkride history. 1 or 2 failures isn’t a career-ender but 3 or more will make it an uphill battle. Hours are hours. It’s the quality of those hours that matter. Don’t build time doing VFR hamburger flights. Instruct, use your instrument rating and get as much multi time as you can. Lastly, you need a good education (3.0 or higher gpa), a bachelors degree and no legal trouble.
Thanks for answering my questions, but I may be out of luck to be a commercial pilot before I even start. Unfortunately I have a couple of misdemeanors on my record for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia a few years ago. Would holding a CDL and having a clean record since possibly offset this? I have passed federal backround checks to join a wildland firefighting crew before so I’m still holding out hope. From what I have been reading, I should be fine to get my license, but getting hired with the big guys are cut throat about it. Maybe United would go for me sisnce they seem to have some progressive hiring policies.
You asked what the airlines care about when reviewing an application. Of course they don’t want to see any legal issues in your past but it isn’t necessarily the end of the road. It doesn’t look good but you can’t change it now.
The best thing you can do now is put time and a clean record between you and those events. Show that you’re a different person now and have an exceptional training record.
The FAA and the airlines are going to have a big issues with drug related convictions. I would expect the FAA to put you through some serious scrutiny before they issue you a medical certificate, if they do so at all. Even if you do get a medical, the airlines are going to be very hesitant to hire somebody with a drug conviction. Holding a CDL does not matter one bit to the FAA or the airlines. I would contact the recruiting departments of several regional airlines and ask them directly about your chances of being hired. Be honest with them, the truth will come out during the application process anyways. After that, you should make an appointment with a FAA Aviation Medical Exa,iner to see about getting a First Class Medical.
Here is the decision matrix an AME will use regarding drug use. Note it mentions things you will have to provide the AME/FAA.
I would contact AOPAs legal department and/or an aviation attorney about how to proceed before an AME (for official appointment).
Likely cost a few thousand dollars at least and maybe 1-2yrs before getting medical (no guarantee though).
Expect delays getting your medical and expect delays getting airline job due to possible issues with being allowed into Canada (ask lawyer).