I’m 24 years old and live in Scottsdale, AZ. I graduated from college with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism over a year ago, and I’ve been working ever since.
Recently, I’ve decided I want to pursue a career as a pilot. Given my age, financial situation, and the fact that my parents won’t be covering the costs, I’d like to streamline the process as much as possible. My goal is to complete my training quickly so I can start working and paying off my student loans while supporting myself.
I’m considering options like accelerated programs (e.g., ATP or Aeroguard), but I’ve seen some concerning reviews, lawsuits associated with them, and high drop out rates. On the other hand, I know that starting with a Part 61 school or a smaller flight school might take longer, but it could be a more stable option.
If you were in my shoes, would you go for an accelerated program, or would you start with a Part 61 flight school and take a more gradual approach? Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated!
First let’s clear up some terms. ATP is a Part 61 school. Part 61 vs 141 doesn’t refer to the size of the school, but to the program guidelines. Part 141 is generally more rigid and often doesn’t allow for accelerating the training if the student is capable. While ATP does use some Part 141 training for some of its ratings, again it’s predominantly Part 61.
Now as to what’s best for you, full disclosure, if you look up and to the left of this page you’ll clearly see the ATP logo. This is ATPs forum and ALL the mentors on it are former grads who are now successful airline pilots. We’re not salespeople and receive no incentive for you to enroll, we simply were all where you are at some point, did our research, decided on ATP and are very happy we did.
Now thats out of the way why ATP vs your local flight school, that’s easy. It’s because your local flight school simply isn’t equipped to train someone for a career in aviation. It’s not that they’re not good, they simply don’t have the resources (instructors, planes, sims, etc). Many people start training locally (myself included) only to find out after spending far too much time and money it just doesn’t work. You fly one week and it’s great. The next week the weather is junk, next the instructor isn’t available, next the plane isn’t available, etc etc etc. Next thing you know you haven’t been up in a month and have to relearn EVERYTHING. There’s a reason the airlines and the military train their pilots full-time and daily. Pilot skills are “perishable” and it’s skill is built on the last. Consistency is essential for success and I’m far too many cases that simply isn’t possible training part-time at your local school.
As for why ATP that’s even easier. They’ve been training pilots for the airlines for 40yrs and have had tens of thousands of pilots hired by the airlines over that time. They pioneered the Career Pilot programs which you now see everywhere and also the airlines partnerships. These partnerships allowed pilots to get preferential interviews, be hired with less time (went that was legal) and even bypass the Regionals and go direct to a Major.
As for the naysayers the sad reality is not everyone can or should be a pilot. While flying isn’t rocket science or brain surgery, it does require a fair amount of intelligence and coordination that not everyone possesses. For some that’s a hard pill to swallow and it’s much easier to point fingers than self reflect.
Ultimately Ashley it’s your decision. I encourage you to do your research and decide what’s best for YOU. The fact ATP created this forum for people like you which I believe speaks volumes as to their commitment to the community.
I was once in shoes very similar to yours. I was fresh out of college and needed to decide whether to work in my degree field of business, or go into the airlines. I had already gotten my private at a small, local school and knew that I did not want to continue my flight training there. The local school was well intentioned, but they simply did not have the resources to provide full time flight training. I had a cousin who had gone to ATP and based on his recommendation, I went there as well
I would absolutely recommend that you go to an accelerated program. Seniority is everything at the airlines, it will affect every aspect of your work life for the rest of your career. Going a slower route could have a huge impact on your seniority. I would look for a proven program that can get you where you need to go as quickly and efficiently as possible.
I also have a degree in journalism. I worked in that industry for 3 years before quitting my job for ATP and I’ll say it was the best decision I ever made. ATP made it so seamless to get to my goal. The curriculum is so organized, the timeline is realistic and the budget is set. All you have to do is show up and be willing to put in the work.
I’m a few days late to the thread, but I’m not going to reiterate what everyone said over again because I second what all the others have said. Being 24, you’re at the same age that I started everything at, I took my admissions flight with ATP almost 5 years ago to date, realizing 5 years later I’d be flying in the airlines (that was my dream). The bachelor’s degree is a great backup plan and will look good on the application as majors don’t required but prefer the education.
I strongly recommend that you take an admission flight with ATP, meet with current student and instructors. Then also take an introductory flight at another local flight school and compare. Find the pros and cons. While this forum is sponsored by ATP, we want you to make the best decision and choice for yourself. All the mentors are successful graduates and current airline pilots, we all went through ATP’s program and know what it’s like.
There’s one thing I continuously would say I wish I could change and that was starting sooner and starting from ATP’s footprint. I started at a Part 61 and while I loved it, I did obtain bad habits that I had to break from ATP, but I didn’t have the funds to start at ATP from Zero Time. Everyone’s case and scenario is different.