Becoming an airline pilot?

[kevkwondo08]

I'm sorry if I'm not supposed to put this here, but I couldn't think of any other appropriate forum. I'm currently going to be a senior in high school, and am planning to be a history or politics major in college. I have no interest to be an engineer. For my whole life, I have always wanted to be either a military or airline pilot. I understand how to become a military pilot- Annapolis/ROTC/OCS and then a hard selection and then flight school, but I have no idea how to become a commercial airline pilot. Will my liberal arts background hurt me? And I know that the business is bad right now, so is it difficult to get in the business?

 

[FLYTPAY]

I'm sorry if I'm not supposed to put this here, but I couldn't think of any other appropriate forum. I'm currently going to be a senior in high school, and am planning to be a history or politics major in college. I have no interest to be an engineer. For my whole life, I have always wanted to be either a military or airline pilot. I understand how to become a military pilot- Annapolis/ROTC/OCS and then a hard selection and then flight school, but I have no idea how to become a commercial airline pilot. Will my liberal arts background hurt me? And I know that the business is bad right now, so is it difficult to get in the business?

Amazonian Dance majors can be accepted for commissioning into the Navy. With that said liberal arts will not hurt you. Getting a high paying commercial job takes a great deal of experience which is incidental to a career as a navy pilot. You can get a flight instructor job paying $14 an hour and build time that way but it is pretty painful and not nearly as cool as flying around a carrier.

 

[scoober78]

I have no interest to be an engineer.

Doesn't sound like you have much interest in being an English major either.

 

[nugget81]

Check out colleges like University of North Dakota, www.aero.und.edu, and Embry Riddle. They are the two largest colleges offering bachelor's degrees in aviation fields. they both have campuses located in various parts of the country and you can get student loans and scholarships to pay for flight training. I graduated from UND last Fall and I knew guys who were hired onto regional airlines based solely on the flying experience they had at UND (they were not actively flight instructing either.) Of course the industry is cyclical and airlines are not always so easy to get on with, but much of life is all about timing.

 

[A4sForever]

.... For my whole life, I have always wanted to be either a military or airline pilot. .... so is it difficult to get in the business?

Send me $5000 and I will commence some meaningful research on your prospects ... ... I am here to help.

 

[WVUBetaHornet]

...also check out Southern Illinois...one of the better aviation schools as well as a HUGE party school...almost to the point of being detrimental...seriously...

Princeton Review's recently published Top Party Schools...

Back on top, twas only a matter of time.

The photo in the article is of my fraternity's bar, as 2 of my brothers purchased it last year...crazy place, of course..

 

[kevkwondo08]

Doesn't sound like you have much interest in being an English major either.

Ahh crap! I always make fun of other people who make mistakes like that too

 

[kevkwondo08]

So it would it be possible to go to a school like UVA, get a history major, and come out and go to flight school? I really want to get a job in an international carrier, such as British Airways or Lufthansa.

 

[WVUBetaHornet]

Just because you don't get caught doesn't mean it doesn't happen

Yeah but if you have to spend all your time worrying about not getting caught...you're wasting valuable time that you could be drinking..

 

[MasterBates]

I don't know about you academy guys, but I liked having a fridge full of beer, and a fully stocked bar I did not have to sneak into or out of.

That and being able to go where I please.

That was a bonus.

 

[phrogdriver]

So it would it be possible to go to a school like UVA, get a history major, and come out and go to flight school? I really want to get a job in an international carrier, such as British Airways or Lufthansa.

The first part, definitely. Again, the Navy and Marines don't care that much about your major.

The second....honestly, that's a weird question. Getting hired by a foreign coumpany is a whole other ball of wax. I'm sure the overall airline question is in another thread, but I'd try jetcareers.com or another industry site to try to find hiring info on foreign carriers.

You do know than American air carriers fly to foreign countries, too, right?:icon_tong

Also, think multi-engine platforms for selection, e.g. P-3 or C-130, not helos. Can be done, but it's much more difficult.

Lastly, don't go military if your true dream is in the airlines. Go the civilian route. That's not to say that it's evil or bad to think of the airlines when you leave, but think of the most direct point from A to B. The military may put you in helos, followed by a non-flying job, yadda, yadda. Then you're 30 years old looking for work, maybe with a wife and kid, etc. If airlines are your thing, go to a civ training program, the instruct, get on with a regional, and work your way in.

My .02--I'll defer to BoomBoom, A4, Hal, etc for more...

 

[A4sForever]

....I really want to get a job in an international carrier, such as British Airways or Lufthansa.

Uhhhhhh ..... Perhaps you're thinking of going to work as an investment banker ... ????

You need to take your international airline job search to another website.

We can't help you here.

 

[kevkwondo08]

Uhhhhhh ..... Perhaps you're thinking of going to work as an investment banker ... ????

You need to take your international airline job search to another website.

We can't help you here.

So is it feasible at all to work up from regional to a foreign carrier, or to get a job in a foreign country's regional carrier?

 

[scoober78]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Is this guy serious???

 

[kevkwondo08]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Is this guy serious???

I hate sounding idiotic, but I am completely clueless about this .