Sky Dreams

Have you ever considered a career as a pilot?

Here are some basics about the requirements:

You may take flying lessons at age 18, and with 40-60 hours of flight time obtain a pilot's license; however, if you plan to become a pilot as a career, flying passenger planes or other types of planes, the requirements become more stringent:

You must have a 4 year degree, preferably but not exclusively in Aviation. You must also.....

• Obtain a 1st Class Medical Certificate from an FAA medical center
• You must get your private pilot's license first
• Then you must be certified in commercial and instrumentation flight
• Complete the certified flight instructor rating
• Then, begin working at a flight school
• Work on your multi-engine Certified Flight Instructor rating
• Airlines that fly passengers typically require you to have 3000 hours or more of flying experience
• The first 1 to 5 years you will be a flight engineer
• After flight engineer, you may advance to 1st Officer
• After 5 to 15 years as a 1st Officer, you may be promoted to Captain, also depends on seniority
• Captains must be experienced in night flying as well as 'instrument flying' (to be prepared for flight in bad weather)
• You must pass psychological tests to prove you can handle the stress
• You must pass an eye examination (if your vision can be corrected to 20/20, you can be a commercial pilot. If you needed glasses, however, you cannot be a pilot in the military-check with your choice of school to be sure)

The different types of piloting include:
-Private, where people simply fly for convenience and no money is exchanged
-Recreational, where planes fly for fun and do stunts
-Agricultural, planes flown to spray crops or to help put out fires
-Flight Instructor
-Charter-This includes 'hiring' a plane and pilot for a specific trip
-Medical/airlift (a type of charter)-This includes transporting people to medical centers, and also human organs for transplants
-Corporate-When companies own planes to fly clients and staff
-Commercial-planes used for business, such as FedEx



-and the 'top of the line' job: Airline Transport Pilot, which is someone who works for a major passenger  airline. This pilot has passed the most demanding training and certifications.

What schools offer degrees in Aviation?
Embry-Riddle Aeronautics University in Florida      http://www.erau.edu/
Ohio State                                                             http://www.aviation.ohio-state.edu/
St Cloud State University, St Cloud, Minnesota      http://www.stcloudstate.edu/aviation/  

Check out the FAA (Federal Aviation) website for more job info:
http://jobs.faa.gov/

After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree, pilots can also be trained in the Air Force, Navy, Marines, or Coast Guard. This training typically takes a little over 12 months. There is quite a variety of different planes and helicopters used in the Armed Forces, and pilots will often specialize in one particular type, including: Trainers, Transport, Fighters, Reconnaissance, and bombers.

Here is the Air Force website for more information: http://www.airforce.com/?m=2011EASearch&pl=Google&med=CPC

If you're into planes but don't necessarily want to be a pilot, here are some other careers that are related:
Air Traffic Controller
Flight Attendant
Airplane Mechanic or Engineer (may design planes)
Marketing/Sales
Computer Technology with an emphasis on aeronautics
Airline Security

If this is something you're interested in, do some more exploring. You might find a good fit...in the sky.