How to Start a Career as a Pilot

A pilot is someone who flies vehicles like helicopters and planes. Registered professionals may be hired by airlines carrying people, by shipping companies selling goods, or by police departments, fire departments, and other emergency relief organizations.

They need to know how to use the controls of the aircraft they are flying in order to operate a plane or helicopter, read the instruments that reveal information about the aircraft’s condition and respond to any weather or mechanical problems that may occur quickly and correctly.

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They usually work in teams like flight attendants, including the captain, co-pilot, and additional crew. They also meet with passengers, baggage handlers, aircraft mechanics, technicians, and air traffic controllers and work with them.

Career as a Pilot
To start a career, years of education and training are done. Photo credits to: https://www.traveller.com.au/the-big-issue-what-pilots-get-paid-gzm5y3.

Training to Become a Pilot

This career requires extensive training. Some individuals undergo military training, but others pay for private flight school training. In order to get students with no prior flying experience to the point where they are employable, flight schools offer professional pilot programs.

First, students in flight schools train on small, single-engine aircrafts or helicopters if they are in a flight school for helicopters. They learn the basics of flight, including taking off, level flight, twists, and landing.

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Flight school pilots also learn how to respond to stalls and other emergencies, perform advanced maneuvers, traffic patterns, and use aircraft navigation systems. Students who learn to fly helicopters can also learn how to handle external loads.

By taking students on actual flights, either with teachers or on solo missions, and using flight simulators, flight schools provide hands-on training for their students.

Average Salary as a Pilot

For a variety of reasons, people choose an airline pilot career. First and foremost, their love of flying and their sense of adventure as they see the world make people choose this career. With the increasing demand for commercial airline pilots worldwide, however, the wages for this job have become an excellent reason to consider an aviation profession.

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According to Epic Flight Academy, in the United States, the average annual pay was $114,200 in 2012. In this region, the top 10% of earners earned more than $187,200 and that year, the lowest 10% made less than $66,970.

Job Prospects for a Pilot

It can be difficult to find employment with a significant airline if you don’t have experience. Military pilots have considerable experience, but in recent years there have been fewer civilian pilots. Most flight academies are affiliated with airlines, and you may have a job offer after graduation if you complete one of these courses.

Alternatively, you can obtain the experience you need by first searching for commercial flight jobs, teaching at a flight school, or working as a charter pilot. If you are flying helicopters, you can find jobs with news organizations, medical rescue organizations, police departments, fire departments, tourism companies, and offshore oil and gas operations.

After your education and training, you can apply for jobs on these websites.

  • Aviation Job Search – This website helps with all types of flying careers.
  • Pilot Career Center – This website will help you search for jobs all over the world.
  • Flight Deck Friend – This website is a job searching site for all flying careers.

Conclusion

Professionals in this career will move up the ladder at their airline as they gain experience, starting as a first officer, and then as a captain. 

Also read – Discover the Most Luxurious Jets in the World

Also read – Start a Career as an Air Traffic Controller