My Plan for an Aviation Career

NadalWannabe

New Member
1) Get a PPL at age 16-17 (yup, I'm not even 16 yet. :rawk:)

2) Get hours over the summer before college.

3) Major in Aerospace Engineering and Minor in Chemistry.

4) Get hours during summer.

5) Hopefully have enough hours to become an instructor. Work as an instructor from 23-28 or 23-30.

6) Apply to work for Trans States Airlines or Air Wisconsin Airlines (if they are still alive :laff:). Work there from 30-35

7) Hopefully have enough hours for Southwest Airlines or US Airways. Work there until I retire.

Is this plan realistic?
 
It's good to have a plan. Just keep yourself motivated. If you play your cards right you shouldn't have to instruct for 5 years. There are many first officers at regionals under the age of 23. :) good luck to you
 
I would advise the one step at a time route. Rarely do people's plans go anywhere close to how they planned them. If you would have asked me at 15 what I would be doing now, it would look nothing like what I"m actually doing.

Here's what I would recommend as your 2 year plan ...

1) Learn to fly
2) Don't kill yourself in an airplane
3) Don't kill anyone else with your airplane

And nothing busts your plans like the dreaded blue "+" signs ... practice safe sex when you're old enough to have it.

Frequency change approved - g'day :)
 
It's good to have a plan. Just keep yourself motivated. If you play your cards right you shouldn't have to instruct for 5 years. There are many first officers at regionals under the age of 23. :) good luck to you

I just want a decent number of hours.
 
I would advise the one step at a time route. Rarely do people's plans go anywhere close to how they planned them. If you would have asked me at 15 what I would be doing now, it would look nothing like what I"m actually doing.

Here's what I would recommend as your 2 year plan ...

1) Learn to fly
2) Don't kill yourself in an airplane
3) Don't kill anyone else with your airplane

And nothing busts your plans like the dreaded blue "+" signs ... practice safe sex when you're old enough to have it.

Frequency change approved - g'day :)

Well I don't really have a girlfriend, though I have a friend that kinda likes me and I kinda like her. When I get my PPL, I'm going to take her on a flight.

And what is the exact age that you can start practicing safe sex? ;) You don't have to answer if you don't want to...
 
Well I don't really have a girlfriend, though I have a friend that kinda likes me and I kinda like her. When I get my PPL, I'm going to take her on a flight.

And what is the exact age that you can start practicing safe sex? ;) You don't have to answer if you don't want to...

Hey, no sex till marriage :D
 
Is this plan realistic?

Here's where I think your plan is not realistic: Naming specific airlines you want to work for.

Fact of the matter is that those airlines may not even exist by the time you get to that stage of your career. The rule of thumb when you get to that stage is to apply everywhere and work wherever you're hired.

Better just to say "regional airline" or "national airline" rather than TSA or SWA.

Plus...any particular reason you're interested in Aero Engineering? You certainly don't need that to fly, like a lot of people who want to be professional career pilots seem to think.
 
i would say your plans up to #4 are good... i'd hate for you to continue to #5 and realize it's going to have to change. I'd say when you get up the end of #3, re-evaluate #5 - #7..that way, you don't have a plan thats not attainable AND you keep things in perspective as you go along. Who knows if any of those airlines will be around when you're finally ready to apply or IF you even *want* to apply to them ya know what i mean?

Also, in #3, include a statement about keeping yourself current while attending school. you'll be able to accrue hours and get some of your ratings while attending college.
 
You will probably follow very little of your plan, trust me. Nonetheless, its still a good idea to have a plan. Adjust it to coincide with market conditions. If the regionals are hiring everybody under the sun you may want to cut instructing short. If the major offered you a job while you were instructing, it might be a good idea to take it (A man can dream :D). All I'm saying is, be ready for change, and be ready to adjust for it. Oh, and one more thing. Don't get into this career unless you absolutely love to fly.
 
Here's where I think your plan is not realistic: Naming specific airlines you want to work for.

Fact of the matter is that those airlines may not even exist by the time you get to that stage of your career. The rule of thumb when you get to that stage is to apply everywhere and work wherever you're hired.

Better just to say "regional airline" or "national airline" rather than TSA or SWA.

Plus...any particular reason you're interested in Aero Engineering? You certainly don't need that to fly, like a lot of people who want to be professional career pilots seem to think.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. The reason I want to be in Aero Engineering is because ever since I was 5 I have been drawing and designing airplanes. Then I realized that being a pilot would be cooler than sitting in a cubicle working on a computer all day.
 
i would say your plans up to #4 are good... i'd hate for you to continue to #5 and realize it's going to have to change. I'd say when you get up the end of #3, re-evaluate #5 - #7..that way, you don't have a plan thats not attainable AND you keep things in perspective as you go along. Who knows if any of those airlines will be around when you're finally ready to apply or IF you even *want* to apply to them ya know what i mean?

Also, in #3, include a statement about keeping yourself current while attending school. you'll be able to accrue hours and get some of your ratings while attending college.

How will I be able to accrue hours while in college? I'm not planning to go to a strictly aviation college.

Also, I saw this: http://www.bondaviationservices.com/ Could I go to something like during the summer to get Type Ratings, or is this for pilots who are already with airlines?
 
You will probably follow very little of your plan, trust me. Nonetheless, its still a good idea to have a plan. Adjust it to coincide with market conditions. If the regionals are hiring everybody under the sun you may want to cut instructing short. If the major offered you a job while you were instructing, it might be a good idea to take it (A man can dream :D). All I'm saying is, be ready for change, and be ready to adjust for it. Oh, and one more thing. Don't get into this career unless you absolutely love to fly.

Trust me, I LOVE TO FLY! :D
 
Definitely go to college and become an engineer. Fly on the side in order to get your certificates and ratings. If things do not work out trying to fly for a living, then you can do something else.
 
Well I don't really have a girlfriend, though I have a friend that kinda likes me and I kinda like her. When I get my PPL, I'm going to take her on a flight.

And what is the exact age that you can start practicing safe sex? ;) You don't have to answer if you don't want to...

The correct answer is "when you're ready" but no one really knows, so I would agree with the other poster - no sex until college. I waited until then and it worked out pretty well for me.

But above all else, treat women with the respect they deserve. You may not hit a home run every time you step up to bat, but it'll definitely extend your stay in the majors.
 
Well I don't really have a girlfriend, though I have a friend that kinda likes me and I kinda like her. When I get my PPL, I'm going to take her on a flight.

And what is the exact age that you can start practicing safe sex? ;) You don't have to answer if you don't want to...

Bring a barf bag...
 
Oh - and in terms of piloting advice since you seem to be a good kid (i.e., one who recognizes the importance of advice) - here is what Murdoughnut tells every student pilot he meets...

1) 9 out of 10 general aviation accidents are caused by people flying into weather they shouldn't, or getting too slow on climb out and approach. Never do either and you reduce your chances of dying in an airplane by 90%.

2) Airplanes are like wild animals - not inherently dangerous, just deserving of respect. Always remember that they are more powerful than you - and in the rare instance that they're not, mother nature will pick up the slack.

3) There are a lot of idiots with pilot's licenses. Unfortunately most of them spend their time hanging around airports telling you what you should and shouldn't do in an airplane. Go with your gut first.

4) Read NTSB accident reports like the bible. The information in there is more valuable than you could ever imagine.

5) Although increasingly rare, there are those of us who have never flown an airplane over max gross. Don't feel like any less of a pilot when you look someone in the eye and tell them you won't do it.

Tis all for now. Good luck to you!
 
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