I wish there was a one size fits not all answer to this question, but there just is. The options and the possible paths are just too great.

However, with that said here are some on the best

Military

Becoming a military pilot is one of the best ways to become an airline pilot. When you become a military pilot, you receive some of the best training in the world and it is all paid for. This is the big benefit.

The down side is you are committing to several (up to a decade) of service in the military when you become a pilot. This can be a challenging lifestyle and there are no guarantees that you will become a pilot just because you have signed up to become one. The military controls your life and can (and does) change its mind at will.

When I was in college training to become a pilot many of my friends at Embry-Riddle where in ROTC and had been told they had flight training slots after graduation. Then just weeks before school ended most of these slots disappeared due to budget issue. There was nothing anyone could do about it but keep going and hope this training would come back.

Another drawback to the military pilot option is the need to be in top physical health. Things such as eyesight that is fine for civilians will keep you from becoming a military pilot. You must have 20/20 vision for the military.

Aviation College

There are many aviation colleges around that provide top-notch flight training along with a degree. These programs can be a bit costly but do provide a very high quality of background. Some schools like Embry-Riddle or the University of North Dakota go so far as to provide an undergraduate degree in professional piloting.

These programs are in touch with the needs of the airlines and often create training programs to help you prepare for these positions. You will also find these flight schools have advance aircraft for you to train with.

The down side of aviation colleges is the career path can be longer than that of a military pilot. What we often see is military pilots come out of the military and right into the major airlines or larger regionals. Aviation college graduates almost always need to start at the smaller commuter airlines or even air chatter operation then work their way up.

However, you will generally find both paths make it to the major airline interview phase of their lives at about the same age, just by different paths.

Consolidated flight training

With these programs you may spend between 6 and 18 months heavily involved in flight training but then go from nothing to fully qualified in that time period. These programs can be very expensive and because of the time involved often do not allow for outside jobs. This means you need to be ready and have the finances ready before going down this path.

With that said, I love these programs for people who know they want to become a professional airline pilot but have little or no flight time. In half a year, you can go from desk jockey to airline pilot, and because these programs are heavily structured, there is a great chance you will succeed.

These programs, just like aviation colleges, are tightly aligned with the airlines, some are even owned by commuters. This means they train you to the level and with the flight skills you much have to get into the airlines.

The path you take to becoming an airline pilot is all up to you. Each one has pros and cons. The key is to take the time and find the path that is best for you then stick with it. The greatest numbers of failures I see are from people who jump back and forth from path to path.

Here is one of those sneaky little problems most users don’t see when completely online applications but those of us on the other side see all the time. And this problem can create a bunch of big problems.

Here’s the deal…if you cut and paste material directly from a Word document into an online form often times extra characters are added. These are the Word smart tag characters and are great when moving from one Microsoft product to the next but not so great when filling out online forms.

What this can do is make your responses look funky when we read it after it has been entered. Because these are background characters you don’t see them right away but when the form is processed to put it into a database these come out.

This created two big problem times. The first is when the computers scan your resume and application for information. These smart tag characters add length and can break up what would otherwise have been great content.

The second time this is a problem is when someone like me needs to read your response. This extra junk looks bad and is one more reason for your application to be rejected.

So what should you do?

Never cut and paste information directly from Word into an online form. First cut and paste it to Notepad them to the form.

An even better way and I recommend this all the time is to put all your responses into a notepad texted file and save it. Then when it comes time to complete online applications you can quickly cut and paste for the notepad file.

If the Federal Aviation Administration gets its way, airlines will face yet another headwind: the rising cost of air safety.  In the biggest change to flight crew training requirements in 20 years, the FAA is proposing a new safety rule that would send pilots back to school.  The plan, which will be out for comment until July 19, would require airlines to put their pilots through “real-world” emergency training scenarios in flight simulators.

In addition to this enhanced individual training, flight crews also would have to train together, learn to coordinate their actions and fly scenarios based on actual events.  The new rules would require remedial training for pilots who have failed proficiency checks or tests or whose performance has been unsatisfactory.

This new rule represents the FAA’s second stab at beefing up flight training requirements in the wake of the February 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407.  That flight, marketed as Continental Connection under a code-share with Continental, crashed on landing approach, killing all 49 aboard and one person on the ground.  The crash was blamed on flight crew fatigue and inadequate training in how to recognize and respond to an aerodynamic stall.

No one argues that air safety isn’t a paramount consideration for all industry stakeholders: passengers, lawmakers, regulators – and airlines.  So what’s the problem?  In an industry already under siege from high operating costs and the whims of oil prices and travel demand, significant new costs can weigh heavily on margins.

The new FAA rule not only would force airlines to revamp their entire crew training programs, they would also have to dramatically expand the use of full-motion flight simulators.  In its first draft of the rule in late 2009, FAA estimated the cost of more frequent training and greater use of simulators to be $230 million over 10 years.  The Air Transport Association insisted FAA had seriously low-balled the cost, estimating the true cost to U.S. airlines at $3.3 billion.

I don’t think there is a professional pilot out there who has not at least thought about adding a little flight time to their logbooks that they never really flew.

In the jargon of the industry this is called pencil whipping or padding a logbook, the whipping up of flight time with nothing but your pencil. It can be as small as adding an extra tenth to two to each flight to completely fake flight and aircraft.

The reason this can be so temping is twofold, first flight time costs a lot especially when you are trying to build flight hours and second the need to have flight time, especially multi-engine hours, to get more flight time.

With a multi-engine aircraft costing $150 an hour to fly adding ten hours can easily save $1,500.00 plus. When starting out this is a lot of money.

It is never worth it

First because you are robbing yourself of much needed experience and it will show. Gaining flight time is about gaining experience and learning how to deal with problems. This lack of experience can show in check rides and interviews.

When interviews candidates those who have faked time stand out like a sore thumb. As professionals, we have an idea of the experience level that goes along with your flight time. Therefore, when you see a 1,500-hour pilot show up but they are completely clueless about bad weather…you just know something is off and they fail the pilot interview.

Oh and don’t think you can outsmart the interviewers. There are just too many little clues that give fake flight time away.

The second reason not to pencil whip flight time is it is illegal. I know this might sound high and mighty but the penalties are high, especially when you use this false time towards a rating. You are signing federal papers asserting you have flown the required hours. The FAA does not look kindly lying here.

When I was a flight instructor one student of from another school decided to pad their logbook by adding flight they never did.

All went well right up to the commercial pilot check ride.

The examiner, as they always do, flipped through the applicant’s logbook. There is a reason they do this not just to take up time. While doing this, the examiner can across a couple of these “fake” flights and started to question the student about them. One had been on a particularly harrowing flying day and some others on a friend’s plane that had not flown that much.

One thing led to another and a full investigation was started. To make a long story short the pilot had all of his licenses revoked, and destroyed any career chances this person had. Not the ideal way to end the dreams of becoming a professional pilot.

A third and powerful reason not to fake flight time is it can cost you your job at any pilot in your career.

Having your licenses revoked can kill your career, even if you are at a major airline. You will lose your job. You will also find most airlines are rules allowing them to fire you regardless of how long you have been at a company if you falsify anything on your application. Pencil whipped flight time qualifies.

It can and does happen. Aviation is a very small world, with very few secrets.

Pencil whipping, padding, just adding a little flight time, regardless of what you call it can be very tempting, but is never worth it. What you save in the beginning can easily cost you tens or hundreds of times more down the road.

How Do I Guarantee I Make It As A Commercial Pilot?

Your road to becoming a commercial pilot largely lies on your training, skills and determination.

One of the easiest ways to have a great professional piloting career is to do well in flight training; this will help you to stand out at every step of the process.

Aviation is a very small industry so your reputation is critical. A pilot just starting in his career does not know everything there is about being a pilot in the same way that a person who sets foot in a foreign land for the first time does not know which roads lead too where.

In the same path, becoming a professional pilot requires a quality mentor to help them through all the twists and turns of this career.

The best mentors are those who have already made it “to the top” of where the new comers hopes to go. To insure your success enlist the help of people who have gone before you, and take this honest advice, even you do not always want to hear it.

Flight School

Flight school is expensive so making a wrong choice here can easily derail your career aspirations. The expense of making an error in flight school selection can be very high so make sure pick the right school. Check out my flight school questionnaire to help you find the right school. You make a wrong choice and your career as professional pilot could be over before it ever started. A good mentor will help you avoid many of these mistakes.

Airline Career and Interviews

You have been to flight school, got your type ratings, and a very promising career is ahead of you.

After all, you are hard work of becoming an airline pilot do not destroy your dream by making poor choices. not only can a mentor help you learn the lesson you need to learn but can also be a key person in you getting the airline job you so desperately want.

A credible mentor also imparts pointers and helps their student prepare and do well in the interview itself. Big airline company interviews do not come knocking at everyone’s door so you had better be fully ready to make the most of your opportunity.

Along with your personal skills and excellence, working with a mentor with high credibility intensifies your chances of getting and making it through the interviews by major airline companies than those who have none.

Some of this depends on what you consider the “Big Money”, it also depends on what you are willing to do to make the extra money.

For the normal course of career progression as an airline pilot from the beginning to captain at a major airline can easily take ten to twenty years. To rise to the level of senior first office can take half of that, and many people in this level still make very good money.

To shorten the time it takes to make good money as a pilot there are several options. One of the quickest is to do contract work for foreign airlines.

This can pay very well but will generally require you to be out of the country for six months to several years. These jobs are also temporary so do come to an end leaving you searching for a new job.

The high pay of these jobs is often because the job is demanding and may place you flying in parts of the world that are more dangerous than the Continental US.

With that said, something else you should think about on top of pay is quality of life.

As you look around the airline industry, you will find a great number of professional pilots who have made the choice to earn less than the BIG BUCKS for a better lifestyle. They still make good money just not stellar.

Because the airline industry in heavily based on seniority many times it is better to make less but be senior. The big fish in the small pond.

This can allow airline pilots to choice schedules, routes and types of aircraft that better suites their lives.

As an example, by flying a smaller aircraft than I could I am able to have better days off and live where I want. If I were to bid bigger aircraft I would have to go back to working Christmas and spend more time in our hub cities. Not something I relish, but it would pay more.

How long it takes to start making significant money in the airline industry as a pilot depends on many things but if you are up for the challenge, you can be there in a very short period of time.

There is great competition in the industry so you need to be the best you can. Because of this, you need to make sure you, and your resume, stand out from the rest of the crowd. The airline industry can be challenging, even if you have the qualification to be hired in another industry, piloting may still challenge you.

Being a pilot requires a lot of qualification and certification, much like being a doctor that must be completed before you can apply for jobs. If you are missing any qualification of expect experience level can make it next to impossible to get an interview, not to speak about a job offer.

To become a professional pilot you need to have at a minimum a commercial pilot’s certificate and instrument license. You start with a private pilot license, which requires about 50 hours of flight time plus additional ground training. This is the first step to becoming a professional pilot; you can now fly for enjoyment, just not for pay.

The instrument rating gives you the flying skills to fly in the clouds without visual reference. The commercial pilot’s license is required to fly for hire and requires at least 200 hours of flight time and additional training. This is the minimum you need to become an airline pilot. With this, you now can what is required to be paid as a professional pilot.

In addition to the training requirement to become a pilot you also need to be in good health, not perfect but good. Most airlines expect applicants to have a four-year college degree, the exact degree is less of a concern. If possible it help to attend a professional flight school when you train, these programs are best suited to providing you the skills you need. However, you should have a background about the industry where you would like to work at so that you would become a productive member of the industry. To begin flight training you will need to get an FAA medical certificate to show you are in good enough health to fly. In addition to medical certificate, you also have to pass a required airline physical examination, and pass regular FAA medical exams, every six months for captains, once a year for everyone else.

To work in the industry you need to be able to meet these standards and qualifications. Failing to meet any of them might lessen the possibility of you being hired by a company. Also, keep in mind, flying is a very challenging profession so to do well you need to have a positive work attitude on top of the required skills. This includes good interpersonal skills so that you could easily deal with and handle people of different characteristics. This industry is always changing so you need to able to handle the change and find ways to take advantage of what is happening. Becoming an airline pilot is easier than many think, you just need to follow a good, quality plan.

This is the time of year for people to be making choices about what colleges and universities to go to. If you are looking at becoming an airline pilot, you will no doubt be looking at aviation colleges and wondering if it is worth it.

The real question is – what is the likelihood of becoming an airline pilot after you have paid for all the flight training on top of an already expensive college education.

To make a long answer short the likelihood is rather great. All things being equal with a quality education and top notch flight training there is no reason for you not to become a professional pilot.

The industry right now is in a downturn, but you need to be looking out several years from now.

The economy always swings back and forth. Right now, it is BAD but it will be swinging back strong sooner than you may think.

When I was in college getting ready to become an airline pilot was right after Eastern had disappeared, Pan Am was going into bankruptcy and the general thought was the airline industry was going to disappear.

Not the case!

The industry came back jobs were still around. I was even able to find an airline job quickly after graduation flying heavy jets.

Something to keep in mind – if you are a hard worker, friendly and know what you are doing there will always be work for you.

This downturn can even have a positive effect on your job prospects when you graduate from school.

You see, with the state of pilot jobs right now people are leaving the industry. The less committed are finding other careers. You will also find many who are “settling in” to mid-level airline jobs like commuter or regional captains and will stay there when hiring picks back up.

What this can mean for you in 4-6 years is there may be a lot few candidates applying for jobs when the industry picks back up.

With that said – Reality Check Here

Here is a reality of the industry you need to understand – with very few exception you will need to build experience (flight time) before become a nicely paid airline pilot.

These time building jobs are low pay and hard work jobs.

Depending on how hard you work and what you do to advance yourself you could spend several months to years in these jobs.

When you graduate college or earn your commercial pilots license you will have 250-400 hour total flight time. Expect to need 1,000+ hours to be hired with even the smallest airline.

Expect your first couple of years to be slim, but also know just about everyone else has been through the same thing. Looking back on it, it can really be a lot of fun.

If you love aviation and love flying, you will not allow any of this to keep you from following your dream.

As I said in the beginning – if you are just starting out right now there is no reason for you not to be able to become a professional airline pilot.

The odds are really good if you are starting out now or are in the beginning phases of training.

There is a current expected pilot shortage coming very soon and signs are already being seen in some areas. As the Vietnam era pilots reach retirement age or are forced to retire because of medical issues there simply are not enough young pilots coming in to replace them.

As this group leaves, the pilot rosters in the next couple of years there will be a defiant need for new commercial pilots.

This makes right now an ideal time to start a flying career. By the time you are done learning and ready to start a commercial pilot career there will be a need for you.

There will be bumps along the way to be ready for them. Another major recession or terrorist attack could cause the picture to momentarily be bleak. However, the ultimate demand is there and it will return.

The other variable in becoming a commercial pilot is you.

You need to take a good look at yourself and think if you are commercial pilot material.

Take some pilot lessons at the local airport to see how quickly you pick you flying, and how easily you understand the technical materials.

Go get a pilot aviation medical exam. Many local family doctors can do these for you for $100 or so. Get the First Class, which you need to be the captain on a commercial jet. This way you will know if you have any problems that might keep you from becoming a pilot.

Many people are surprised to learn they have medical problems that can keep them from flying professionally. It is better to know now rather than after starting an expensive college program.

If you are medically fit and can handle the flight training part of aviation there is no reason you can’t become a commercial airline pilot. If you are commit to aviation you are almost guaranteed to succeed.

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