The career of an airplane pilot

Once you have finished the commercial course with all the qualifications you have had the opportunity to obtain (Instrumental Rating, MCC, type rating…) you will be ready to look for work. What can you do? There are essentially three paths you can take depending on the qualifications you have obtained.

Possible careers

First way

The first is to join a scheduled airline as a co-pilot: there will be selections based on qualifications, simulator tests and you can start with internal training to enter the operations.

Scheduled airlines have Human Resource offices and everything is very standardized and formalized. You have to make an online Application, interviews with the psychologist and complete various steps, but then you will have made it!

Second way

The second way is that of the “non-scheduled” airlines – the so-called Air Taxi. The presentation methods are the same as scheduled airlines but normally the qualifications you will have to have will be more specific, the shifts will no longer be scheduled and you will have to be more available because you will fly based on customer requests.

It is a very interesting and varied job and you will be in direct contact with passengers so there will be more responsibility and more commitment. This job certainly offers experiences that the line cannot offer you and 360-degree training in the aeronautical world.

Third way

The third entry point refers to flight schools: at the end of your course you can decide to invest the last part of your budget in the qualification as a flight instructor and perhaps stay in your Academy to carry out this role.

It takes a lot of passion and propensity for teaching but the satisfactions are certainly enormous when you follow a student from the first steps of his training until he becomes your colleague.

Advice

Service note: as soon as you receive your commercial pilot license, remember to register with the ENGA: “national body of air people” or the professional register of flight personnel (today the ENGA no longer formally exists, in fact all its functions are carried out by the National Civil Aviation Authority).

In Italy, this registration is essential to be hired as a pilot.

The pilot market is very fluctuating: years in which they are looking for hundreds of pilots and years in which not even commanders with thousands of flight hours can find employment.

We recommend, in addition to looking for work as a pilot, to try to approach the aeronautical world in all directions: joining a company as a dispatcher, assistant or even as a secretary/secretary will give you the opportunity to understand this complex world from the inside.

As good as flight schools are at preparing you, you need to be on the ball to understand the specifics, make yourself known and continue to grow professionally by adding skills to your CV for when it lands on the right desk.

HOW MUCH DOES A PILOT EARN?

We imagine that the last answer you want at the end of all these tutorials is: “how much does a pilot earn”.

Don’t trust anyone who throws random numbers at you… there are many, too many variables to give a clear idea: course costs, armament base, type of operations, tax office of the company…

No, we don’t feel like telling you 1000, 2000, 10000… we will give you information that is not correct! Remember that our mentoring service also serves to give you advice of this type.

If you have any questions or curiosities, fill out the information request form.