The Pro Pilot Path

And if someone were to tell the young you that becoming a professional pilot would be one of the best, most rewarding, and highly respected jobs you could attain while ultimately earning well into the six figures—without the decimal point—you’d probably run faster than my dog sprints to the kitchen when hearing the cellophane coming off the slice of cheese.

Where you start this journey can be as important as choosing the right path. And to be clear, the right path for you may not be the right path for another aspiring student.

The good news is that there are many different routes to becoming a professional pilot. The bad news is that there are many different routes to becoming a professional pilot. It’s a double-edged sword. Choosing the right path begins with a basic understanding of the different approaches to becoming a pro pilot.

In these days of social media, instant TikTok trends, and immediate gratification, the first thing to remember about this journey is that the process is slow, deliberate, and sometimes frustrating. Let’s not forget the cost. While the investment you make in your flight training will ultimately come back to you many fold, unless your daddy owns a successful electric car company or your momma is a media mogul whose name rhymes with okra, chances are dollars spent will matter. That said, to begin your journey there are a few primary routes to take.

While we usually think of going to a university for many typical careers, this route is off the radar for most prospective pilots. However, there are many universities that specialize in aviation programs and professional pilot training. Not only will you be able to get a solid education with a major that could provide a security blanket to you as a backup to your aviation career, but you will also have the benefit and security of an accredited college to back up your education and investment.

Professional pilot Chuck Osearo graduated from college with a music education degree with a bachelor’s degree in science.

“I started out teaching elementary junior high school band and music and happened to stop by my local airport,” Osearo said. “I had never even been in a ‘small’ airplane before but decided to take an intro flight. The rest is history.”

And that history has been in the making for decades. Osearo has been flying for UPS for over 24 years, eight of which has been as a captain flying an Airbus A300-600.

You’ve seen the advertisements. You probably have even spoken to one of their graduates. All the national flight training academies have a full complement of late-model aircraft, instructors, flight simulators, and everything that one could imagine with all the bells and whistles useful in obtaining your commercial certificate and beyond.

Many of these academies specialize in ab initio training, which is taking a student from zero hours all the way up to their  airline transport rating (ATP). If your personality is the type that craves a strict organized approach in a professional, almost military-like environment, and you want to take advantage of the curriculum that a Part 141 school (more on this later) can provide, this might be your ticket to the world of professional aviation.

However, this training choice comes at a price, as these types of schools generally cost more per flight hour (and ground school hour) than some of the alternatives discussed, including the mom-and-pop shops and even the university route. But for the right type of personality and someone with serious motivation to get the training done in as little time as possible, dedicating yourself to a flight academy just might be the best path forward.

Some old-timers (perhaps I should include myself in that not-so-flattering category) remember the days of walking into your local FBO where they not only sell fuel but will teach you how to fly that bird. Here, the variability is great. Some have shiny new airplanes. Some have, um, let’s call them experienced trainers with the best avionics the 1970s had to offer. Some have a perplexing mix that appeals to a wide spectrum of cost tolerance. 

Speaking of cost, a small independent aviation business could be dramatically easier on your pocketbook compared to one of the national academies, or even the university route. In fact, most of these types of schools operate under Part 61 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR). 

At a basic level, this means that they have much more flexibility in how they approach the training of each of their students. It is not typically a cookie-cutter approach and one that might be able to provide you with a more personalized experience, catering to your personality, schedule, and abilities. It’s likely many Plane & Pilot readers have successfully obtained their certificates at one of the hundreds of independent schools across the country. 

Simon Richards is one such student. His domicile is now Detroit. But Richards came from Australia, where he took his first GA flight and knew then and there that he wanted to earn his living flying. He succeeded, but not without some challenges along the way.

”Some of the larger flight schools may not seem to have the personalized experience that you could get at a Part 61 school,” Richards said. “[After soloing at 15 hours and two hours into solo flight experience] my CFI told me to go out and practice stalls, where I proceeded to do just that. But, on my third practice stall all of a sudden I was looking at the ground and entered what would become an incipient spin.

“With the ground rising up quickly in the windscreen, I heard my instructor say, ‘Simon, if you don’t get yourself out of this, you are going to die.’ Since I had read the section about spins in my Jeppesen book, I was able to take the theory and get out of the spin.”

What his CFI did not show him was how to avoid and recover from a spin. Lesson learned, and he now makes certain when he instructs at his local independent FBO that spin avoidance and recovery are always on the training curriculum.

For Richards, the Part 61 route was his ticket to a professional pilot career. He works at Mountain Air Cargo flying for FedEx in ATRs.“[I can’t stress enough] the importance of looking after yourself on this journey, because you are only one bad medical away from losing your career,” he said.

Because of that, it is also good advice that prospective students obtain their first-class medical prior to investing in flight training. Basically, as Richards reminded, the medical certificate is a “pre-purchase on your own body.”

Additional advice is to have a fallback career as well, should your flying career end prematurely. A college degree might be helpful in that regard, as well as providing a little boost on your résumé. Food for thought in your pro pilot journey.

While enlisting in one of the branches of the military that offers flight training, you would first need to become an officer. That would require qualifying as an officer in the military. This, of course, requires a college degree.

As a sidenote, the other flight training alternatives discussed here do not necessarily have a college degree as a dependency on becoming a professional pilot. Although, as mentioned earlier, a degree could potentially give you a backup plan should your flying career be cut short for medical or other reasons.

As far as cost, there is a commitment of time that needs to be served in the military, and it could be argued whether the cost/benefit ratio is really any better than shelling out cold, hard cash to obtain certificates.

On the other hand, serving in the military, especially now, represents more than a means of learning how to fly. For many this would be an opportunity to not only learn to fly but to serve the nation as well. This route would be a personal choice that would need to be considered very carefully.

Age, of course, will also play a role in the decision for military service. If you are 30 years old and above, this will not likely be an option for you due to the age limits for flying in the military branches.

Anything worth having will also present some obstacles on the way. Becoming a professional pilot is no exception. Your route to the left seat won’t be as smooth as felt on a pool table, but the bumps you roll over will ultimately be the price paid for the ticket to earn a living in the aviation world.

Some of those bumps will be monetary. It simply costs money to obtain the ratings and hours required for a pro pilot vocation. Other obstacles will include the occasional CFI who you might not mesh well with and in fact inhibits your learning. (Note to self: You are the customer. Request another CFI if that’s the case.)

Weather. One of the things we simply can’t control. Some parts of the country can cause challenges and delays in your flight training due to poor visibility, icing conditions, and the like. This is where the geographic choice of your flight training might be a determining factor. As you decide on the best flight school for your particular situation, look closely also at the location and use that as another factor in choosing the right school for you. Why do you think there are so many schools in Florida and Texas?

It’s critical to evaluate more than one flight school.

“Don’t necessarily go to the closest school,” Richards said. “Drive to get the best flight school. I recommend flying with different instructors along the way. Look for the best personality that blends with yours and match that with the talent for teaching.”

Also, Richards recommends that you do not prepay for your flight training more than you care to lose, as there have been horror stories in the past where flight schools, large and small, have unexpectedly closed shop with students losing all of their funds.

Now for a sobering fact. According to data from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), around 80 percent of flight training students drop out before completing their training. That means four out of five students quit before obtaining any FAA certification. For those 1 in 5 who succeed, it’s important to improve the odds by researching and taking the advice of those who succeeded.

“There is no successful path to becoming a professional pilot that is a lazy man’s path,” Osearo said. “You have to commit, fight for interviews, network with others, pay attention, and do things by the book. You also need to be flexible and move to the geographic areas where the opportunity presents itself. Take every initial opportunity that you can. Move if you can to get the flight time. Never pass up an upgrade.”

The good old days weren’t really all that good in comparison to today. The pay was not even at the poverty level. The living conditions were horrific. Deadheading to your base could have added many hours to your working day. And the list goes on.

Much has changed. Some of the changes include much better pay, less deadheading, and much better living conditions in general. Some of those changes were the result of the Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash in 2009, which killed the two pilots, two flight attendants, 44 passengers, and one person on the ground. The result of the investigation led to new safety regulations, including strengthened pilot training and qualification requirements. Plus there is simply more demand for pilots.

You have been thinking about becoming a professional pilot for a long time. You know it will take dedication, focus, a huge investment of time and money, and likely the need to avoid some obstacles along the way.

But you also know that the result will be a rewarding career admired by many, with better-than-average pay, and the ability to enjoy your work more than most earthbound workers. Besides, not many can boast of an office 30,000 feet in the air with a view unparalleled and unmatched by most professions.