Gary I want to thank you for all of your help as I was reading through all the other posts on here.  Currently I am in Columbia, SC and debating about moving to Florida to get my airline flight training compleated.  As I have stated in my heading i am a single parent! Well I am living with some one of whom is medically unable to work. So its all on me.  My full time position is with Delta Global as a ramp agent as of last Nov I have been out from tearing my left knee in half and been going through rehab and surgery.  Due to all of this I have had to have some serious consideration to a change in careers.  I do not have a collage degree.  For what ever reason school is not for me.  I have compleated half of my A&P through Spartan and Tulsa Tech.  None the less, would love to finnish it.  My ultimate goal is to fly for a corporate company in the long run after I have the hours built with the regionals etc. 

In regards to school I can do the hands on with no problem but put a book in front of me and i am nearly worthless.  I learn by doing. 

Guess my questions are as follows:

1. Is there any were that you would recommend to attend?  Check out?
2. Is there any financial help for "Disabled" pilots?(I can get around fine, I am not in a wheel chair)
3. How/ were should I start out? (Sport/ Private?)
4. What type of school should I look for? (Part 61/141 etc)
5. Would you get a collage degree first? Before getting into the airlines? Is it required?

Thanks
IFR Flyer...

I just came across this post.  I am far from having a license, but do enjoy the thought of being a career pilot.  I have zero formal training at this point.  I am 31 years old and certainly cant afford to drop the $70k or so needed to get this license.  Is this something that is likely out of my reach?  Should I be content sticking to flying for recreation only?  I am in Ohio, and not sure what programs or financial aid are available in my area...

Thanks for the input...

Mike

To be a competitive pilot candidate, you will need your degree. The regional airlines may settle for a 2 year (maybe less with an ATP and some serious flight experience behind you) but the major airlines and the corporate world are VERY competitive. A degree puts you on the same level as the other candidates.


1) Depends on your time line and obligation as a father. You could chose to do your training locally for cheap in your free time after work with a nearby school or flying club and still be near your son OR chose to get it all out of the way ASAP by going away for an "academy style" program. You need to make alist of options close to home plus a few fast track type options then go out and see what they have to offer. 
2) Nope.
3) Private Pilot. If you want a career, Sport Pilot is not the way to go.
4) Depends on your budget and your time frame. Part 61 may be more suitable to your family needs as well as budget while a "Career Track" program such as the one offered by ATP Flight School for $50K (which is one of the cheapest) may be what you want. I know 2 ATP grads who went from zero hours to airline pilot in 14 months.
5) As mentioned, get at least your associates. That will keep your resume out of the "circular file".

I was a career changer myself at age 30 and I cannot under estimate the sacrifices you and your family will have to make personally as well as financially to make this dream come true. You need to arm yourself with as much information as possible to make an informed career change choice.

To do so I suggest visiting the "career changer" message forums at http://www.jetcareers.com  Their boards also have many, many topics about schools all across the country. Additionally, check out my site http://www.pilotcareer.info & http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com

Good Luck.

A degree can mean the difference between getting called for an interview and not.

The regionals are pretty desperate these days so you will be able to get by with an Associates Degree or maybea H.S. diploma with some seriously high time in your log book (don't count on it though). If you ever want to work for a major airline you simply need a degree to be a "competitive" applicant.

You see, there are two kinds of hiring "minimums"  aka "mins":

• the airlines published minimum requirements
• the average qualifications of those that were hired

While anyone who meets the basic mins may get called for an interview, realistically most of those hired also meet the airlines unpublished competitive minimums. Airline prefer to hire the most qualified applicants, right? So competitive mins are basically an average of their new hires qualifications. At the regional airline level, the difference between the two is not much. At the major airline level it is huge! Major airline pilot applicants consistently have thousands of flight hours above the published minimums.
 
To see what pilot applicants have these days in terms of flight experience and education and who got hired, visit the http://www.aviationinterviews.com website and look under each airline you are interested in flying for to read candidate experiences.

Since you say you need a school where you can use your GI bill, I suggest finding a place to get your flight training and Associates degree out of the way. While an aviation degree is limited in its usefulness, you could get college credit for all your ground school making the degree seems a little less painful. San Juan College, affiliated with Mesa Airlines is a good option or check out this list for some schools.


Unless it is specifically related to aviation, I am not sure that it will make a difference to the HR board.

I majored in aviation. It interested me at the time so that is what I went with. If I had to do it again, I think I'd change my major. Who knows, if I ever lose my medical, I am going to need something to fall back on.


It is not your college major the airline cares about. They prefer applicants with a degree as that implies the pilot has developed critical thinking ability, study skills and that they can apply themselves. Qualities that are good for a pilot to have!  Especially with all the study that you will have to do for aircraft systems, proficiency checks and recurrent ground schools.