Dream Job Pilot?: The Pros & Cons of Becoming a Professional Aviator

By Doris Daily

DREAM JOB PILOT?  

The Pros & Cons of Becoming a Professional Aviator 

An Insider Aviation & Pilots Guide 

Everyday Life of Helicopter and Airline Pilots



This first book in a 3-part series is a brand-new insider career guide for future aviation professionals. Pros & Cons of becoming a professional aviator are discussed in detail, from training requirements, work-life balance, health and mental issues, and career prospects. The everyday life of helicopter and airline pilots is described - together with the necessary ground- and flight training. Last but not least: How to land a top-paying pilot position with all the necessary steps to reach this goal.



How to Become an Airline Pilot… The "dream of flying" influences the career aspirations of many young women and men. Until now they have hardly had the opportunity to find detailed background information on their career choice. The author’s own experiences as a commercial pilot and flight instructor complete the aviation information. 



The second guidebook in this series describes the worldwide training paths, starting in Europe, according to the latest European training regulations, the JAR-FCLs, but also the training opportunities in Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the USA. Pilots also learn how to transfer licenses obtained in other countries.



The third guidebook in the series discusses career opportunities, explains pilot test preparation courses, lists training costs, and quotes salaries worldwide. Job search opportunities are outlined, with a comprehensive list of addresses for your pilot application. And numerous professional application and interview tips are added. In the appendix, aviation jargon is decoded and abbreviations are explained. Dozens of search options are listed for further online research.

• Language: English
• Publisher: 111Publishing
• Release date: Oct 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781988664415

Book preview

FOREWORD

AN INSIDER AVIATION & PILOTS GUIDE

According to several student surveys, of all the professions they would like to pursue, being a pilot was in third place. This ultimately means that hundreds of thousands of young people are interested in working as pilots. The COVID-19 pandemic only postponed the inevitable: there will be a shortage of pilots worldwide. Securing a pipeline of new pilots has become a primary concern for airlines around the world.

If only I had known all this beforehand, my flight training would have been very different, I often thought in retrospect. Why could I not find any advice on the subject? Now I know why: The work involved in finding these details is incredibly complex. But I tackled this task and really enjoyed gathering all of the information and compiling it for future pilots. Years of research and countless interviews were necessary for this comprehensive book, covering all aspects of professional flying.

In order to provide readers with an objective guide, the less positive sides of the profession, in particular, have of course been pointed out in detail. This bible for prospective pilots not only deals with international pilot training and career opportunities, but it also aims to show worldwide aviation perspectives. The advantages and above all: the disadvantages and the dark side of this profession are described in detail in this first in a series of three guidebooks. Flight training tips and pilot position searches are the topics of the other two books.

How to Become an Airline Pilot… The dream of flying influences the career aspirations of many young women and men. Until now they have hardly had the opportunity to find detailed background information on their career choice. The author’s own experiences as a commercial pilot and flight instructor complete the aviation information.

The Series Dream Job Pilot? is divided into three sections:

In this first guidebook, the pros and cons of being a pilot are discussed, as are other topics such as training requirements, work-life balance, health and mental issues, and career prospects. Job opportunities for professional pilots are explained, and the working life of aviation is described. Pilots report from the cockpit on their field of work and their everyday life, from night-cargo pilots to executive pilots and long-haul and freight pilots, test and survey pilots, military, and helicopter pilots. Last but not least, the job profile of air traffic controllers is set out.

The second guidebook describes the worldwide training paths, starting in Europe, according to the latest European training regulations, the JAR-FCLs, but also the training opportunities in Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the USA.

Pilots can learn how to transfer licenses obtained in other countries. For example, how to get a European license after they trained in the US or Australia. Ab-initio (from the ground up) training, which is now offered by major airlines in Asia, the U.S., and Europe, is described. Also, continuous training or the combination of flight training with bachelor studies is dealt with in detail. The motto of this second in the series is: How to Train and Become an Airline Pilot.

The third guidebook in the series discusses career opportunities, explains pilot test preparation courses, lists training costs, and quotes salaries worldwide. Job search opportunities are outlined, with a comprehensive list of addresses for your pilot application. And numerous professional application and interview tips are added. In the appendix, aviation jargon is decoded and abbreviations are explained. Dozens of search options are listed for further online research.


 

Chapter 1

THE REWARDING PILOT PROFESSION

The parents were respectable people, but the son became an aviator – that’s how people used to joke in the early days of aviation. A little envy of this dream job could be heard, however. Of course, it was not only the sons who took to the skies but also the daughters: Melli Beese, Raymonde de Laroche, Hélène Dutrieu, Marie-Louise Driancourt, Harriet Quimby, Hilda Hewlett, Harriet Quimby, Katherine Stinson, Bessie Coleman, Marga von Etzdorf, Elly Beinhorn, Hanna Reitsch, and Beate Uhse, to list just a few names of famous female pilots during the times of early aviation. Even today, the social prestige and fascination of this profession remain undimmed – at least among lay people.

Being a pilot is officially not a profession at all, for example, in Germany not yet, in contrast to Switzerland and other neighboring countries. Despite decades of intervention by professional associations, Germany has yet to create an official job description. Indeed, this profession has only been practiced for about 110 years… Despite this: It is the most beautiful job in the world, many pilots claim. And you have to agree with them: it is really fascinating to experience the natural world and technology at the same time.

The highlights of my own life as a pilot: Amazing nature impressions. Who else can work surrounded by bright sunlight almost every day? Observe weather phenomena and natural forces throughout the year? Who can see the stars up close at night, maybe even the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights? Who can nearly reach out and touch shooting stars? Or who can jet over a sea of fog, from which, like a romantic toy-train scene, the milky lights of towns shimmer through the haze at night?

If you haven’t experienced it yourself, you can’t understand the uplifting feeling you get when, after hours of instrument flying through inhospitable weather with no connection to Earth, you emerge from the clouds on the ILS approach and the glistening, brightly lit runway appears right in front of your plane’s nose. Whether it be a lunar eclipse, the northern lights, or a sunrise over the alps, the views are unbelievably spectacular.

No two flights are ever the same. Each day presents a new challenge and provides another opportunity to learn something different. Flying these days is portrayed in the media as being repetitive and mundane, and of course, there are periods of low workload during the cruise, but something new always comes up every day.

Despite all the navigational instruments and careful training, flying still has something of a miracle about it. Who can marvel at huge thunderclouds, from which countless flashes of lightning shine every minute, from a safe distance, during summer or near the equator – searching for a path between all the mighty towering cumulonimbus clouds?

Famous aviators also wrote about this fascination: Saint Exupéry’s romantic descriptions of his night flights still have their justification – despite all the modern technology and digitally overloaded cockpits. The French writer, aviator, poet, and author documented his adventures as a pilot in works such as ‘Wind, Sand and Stars’ and ‘The Little Prince.’ He received his pilot’s wings during his compulsory military service in 1922, around which time he also began to write. His adventures as a pilot would supply the inspiration for all of his literary endeavors.

He published his first work, The Aviator, in 1926, the same year that he returned to flying as a mail pilot with the aviation company Aeropostale in Toulouse. In 1943 Saint-Exupéry returned to France and rejoined his squadron, insisting on flying despite his age and infirmities. On July 31, 1944, he left Corsica for a reconnaissance mission over occupied France. He never returned, and when neither he nor his plane was found, he was deemed killed in action. In 2004, a French underwater salvage team has discovered the remains of the plane of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of ‘’The Little Prince,’’ six decades after his disappearance.

Of course, technology fans are also in their element as pilots, because there are so many gadgets and electronics in every aircraft that need to be learned and mastered. Boredom is also rare because there is always a lot of activity in the sky and even more so at the airports. And when there’s not much going on, you place bets with fellow pilots on the extent of the day’s delays. And once landed, you meet colleagues and exchange the latest news, while business-jet pilots visit each other in their planes during waiting times.

As an airline pilot, there are plenty of opportunities to see new places all over the world. When you have a layover somewhere, there’s usually time to explore, especially if you are a long-haul pilot. Most airlines offer their staff some form of travel discount for themselves and their family. Those working for the large flag carriers receive an ID90 ticket, that is you get a 90-percent discount off of fares, and its use is unlimited. This means you can end up traveling business or first class across the globe for a few hundred euros or dollars, as much as you want.

Last but not least, becoming a pilot makes you smarter. You will gain knowledge that you never thought you would need to know. You will become a better planner, a logical decision-maker, and a meteorologist. You will also learn good resource management, how to be patient, and how to operate safely, with a sense of urgency.

Chapter 2

THE DARK SIDE OF THE PILOT PROFESSION

Anyone who takes a critical look at the field of aviation will notice that the flair of the big wide world is unfortunately no longer present. At least not to the same extent as they were a few decades ago. Today, anyone can travel around the world at a low cost without having to work as a pilot. The latter cannot choose their destinations themselves. However, very few pilots fly long-haul flights (but rather mostly medium-haul and short-haul flights), which can be very strenuous.

More than ever, pilots want greater predictability. Adding to the Covid crisis were the psychological effects of layoffs, global lockdowns, and other aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have all conspired to reshape how many employees view their job and their importance to their lives – think schedule flexibility. As a business aviation jobseeker, (corporate and executive flights, medical emergency flights, test flights, etc.) what would be your top consideration for accepting a position? A quick 2022 NBAA (National Business Aviation Association) poll, showed that these were the priorities:

Work schedule flexibility (Work-Life-Balance) 37.97%

Salary 32.91%

Company strength and stability 13.29%

Long-term career potential 13.29%

Benefits 2.53%

Work-Life-Balance

Family life, circle of friends, and the job can rarely be reconciled. Frequently changing duty rosters, off-days, and stand-by times – where pilots have to be ready to take off around the clock – almost always clash with family celebrations, important medical appointments, and vacation requests.

The fact is that the day-to-day job of an airline pilot is very similar to that of a bus driver, but with added responsibility for many hundreds of lives and millions of dollars worth of aircraft is far greater – plus the obligatory standby times.

Pilots must be ready at all times of the day or week. A suitcase must be packed with fresh pilot shirts or blouses because the world of pilots is not only the cockpit but also the hotel rooms at airports around the world.

Having your own car is mandatory because even if public transportation makes the airport easily accessible, it usually doesn’t leave at 4:00 in the morning and after midnight. Pilots need to be able to drive to the airport around the clock.

Private life? Family? Can work, but all too often, it does not. Many partners have little understanding of the duty schedules. Friends and relatives are not exactly thrilled when excursions, family celebrations, or other planned get-togethers are once again canceled in favor of the work schedule or unforeseen flight appointments.

Conclusion: Airline and other professional pilots are demanded