What is a pilot?
“You may be within your weight limit, but if the balance is off, if the center of gravity is off, it can be very difficult to lift the nose or lift the tail, just like a teeter-totter,” says David Dornaker. Flight simulator and academic ground school instructor at CAE USA, a major defense contractor that provides flight simulation training for the military. Dornaker was previously a pilot for 14 years with ExpressJet Airlines (formerly Expressway), where he served as first officer and then captain, and before that was an air traffic controller for 20 years in the United States Navy.
Preparing the plane for takeoff “isn’t just about loading the plane and filling it up and going. You must actually have a plan. You need to know how much fuel you’ll burn to get to your destination, you need to have fuel in reserve to meet federal air regulations, and you need to have enough fuel in case you need a replacement. Until I get to that other airport and then we have enough fuel on the plane,” Dornaker says.
Once the pre-flight tasks are done, the pilots have the difficult task of getting the plane safely in the sky. The pilot files the flight path, requests clearance from air traffic controllers, lands on the runway, performs final checks for the plane, checks the engines, and then climbs at the appropriate speed, Dornaker says. to reach the assigned cruise altitude.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics divides pilots into two categories: airline and commercial. Airline pilots usually work a fixed schedule for an airline as they transport people and cargo to their destinations. Commercial pilots typically perform unscheduled flights for corporations, wealthy individuals, air tours, charter flights, and pesticide applications.
According to the BLS, ambulance service is expected to be a large area of growth among commercial pilots in the next decade, as pilots will be hired to transport patients to hospitals and other health care facilities.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment growth of 5.7 percent for pilots between 2021 and 2031. During that period, an estimated 7,700 jobs will be created.
How much does a pilot earn?
How to become a pilot?
Pilots get a lot of on-the-job training, but “Typically, you get training from a scheduled operator instructor,” Dornaker says. There are Part 141 schools which are schools that actually have a curriculum for it. Their cost is moderate to expensive.”
Military, college or civilian schools are common paths to becoming a pilot, says Shane Biss, chief operating officer at NetJets, a private jet company based in Columbus, Ohio.
“With college and civilian training, one usually starts out as a student pilot and works through their commercial pilot’s license,” said Bise, who is based in Cleveland.
At that point, they have a few options. Most of them become flight instructors. However, some look for banners in tourist areas. “Sometimes, one can get lucky and find a smaller operator willing to give them a chance as a part-time pilot, but those opportunities are few and far between. After building between 1,000 and 1,500 hours (of real time Flying Pilot), more opportunities open up by qualifying for an ATP license, the highest license available for a commercial pilot.
If a high salary is important to you, Durnaker says consider attending an aviation college, which can almost guarantee you a job after graduation. That said, tuition and other fees can cost you as much as six figures.
“It’s not very lucrative to start out because typically in your first year, the salary is between $30,000 and $50,000 as a first officer,” he says. “The more senior you get, the better flying jobs come and pay better. Current salary as a senior airline pilot at a place like FedEx, UPS or Delta can be upwards of $350,000 per year.
If you’re considering becoming a pilot, Dornaker says you’ll need to pass a medical exam. “The first thing I would do before spending any serious money on flight training is see if you can pass the FAA Class 1 medical exam, because if you can’t, there’s no point spending money on training. If you can You can at least become a corporate pilot with 2 medicals but no class 1. You must have a FAA class 1 medical to work for a scheduled airline.
Pilots also need to have strong math skills and a good understanding of mechanics, Bise says. One skill that I think is often overlooked is customer service. … A pilot telling passengers what’s causing the delay is a very small thing, but it goes a long way in conveying confidence and peace to passengers, especially those on nervous flights.
“It’s good to be a good 3D thinker because you’re operating in a 3D environment,” Dornaker adds. Let’s face it: we take a very heavy aircraft/vehicle, put it at 37,000 feet at three-quarters the speed of sound, flying pressurized and comfortably air-conditioned. “You have to be able to tie all of these things together and be a quick thinker when something goes wrong and have a solution.”
In these quick-thinking situations, Dornaker says, pilots rely primarily on the aircraft’s manuals to determine the appropriate solution and are expected to remember only a few things.
While continuing education is not required to become a pilot, “you do have to prove yourself as an airline captain every six or nine months, depending on the airline and the FAA,” Dornaker says.
For that, you can expect to spend several days in ground school, which includes any changes in rules and regulations, company policy updates, and crew resource management guidelines. “After you do that, you then move on to the flight simulators.”
Job Satisfaction
The average American works well into their 60s, so workers may have an enjoyable and fulfilling career. A job with a low stress level, good work-life balance, and strong prospects for improvement, promotion, and higher pay make many employees happy. Here’s how the pilots Job satisfaction is rated in terms of upward mobility, stress level and flexibility.