How to become a pilot

CONTENTS

1. Routes to becoming a pilot

2. Skills you’ll need

3. Finding work experience

4. How to get a job as a pilot

5. What it's like to be a pilot

Routes to becoming a pilot

To become a pilot, you’ll need to pass academic, practical and medical assessments to ensure you are capable of taking on the responsibilities that come with the job. There are various routes you can take to qualify but they all come with a similar cost. 

Undergraduate degrees

If you’re thinking of becoming a pilot, you could do an undergraduate degree in air transport or aviation that involves commercial pilot training with an approved flight training organisation. The flight training is an additional cost to the usual university fees and is around £80,000. 

Some degrees take three years while others include a sandwich year and take four. You’ll usually need three A Levels (or equivalent) and a minimum Class 2 medical certificate to apply. You’ll need to pass a Class 1 medical during your course to get your commercial license. With the training costs being so high, many people elect to get the Class 1 certificate before their course starts. 

Postgraduate degrees

Various air transport management and operations postgraduate courses are available to study if you have a related undergraduate degree. These sorts of courses are often suited to individuals looking to make a career move within the industry rather than progress as a pilot. 

Pros and cons for university degree route

Apprenticeship route

A more direct route could be through an apprenticeship-style scheme. It combines the academic study of aviation with practical skills. You might be able to secure an apprenticeship with the armed forces if you want to work in the military.

Pros and cons of apprenticeship route

Private pilot school routes

You could train with a private pilot training school and obtain your license that way. Unlike a degree apprenticeship, you will need to pay for this training. You will be taking one of three types of flight training when you follow this route – integrated, modular and multi-crew pilot licence (MPL).  

Integrated training all takes place at one school, and will take up to 18 months to complete. It takes a lot of effort and dedication to complete the training in this way, but allows you to go into it with no previous experience and come out with a frozen Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL). This will let you get jobs like co-pilot and first officer. 

Pros and cons of integrated training route

Modular training separates out each qualification so that you can get them in a more flexible way. This will take longer than the integrated route, possibly stretching to over four years, but it allows for you to work at the same time so you can pay for your studies. It’s also cheaper to do it in this way, but it is still quite expensive.

Pros and cons of modular training route

Multi-crew pilot licence is a route that people will take if they are looking to fly a particular type of aircraft for a specific airline. It’s more restrictive in terms of outcomes after your training, but it can be completed in a shorter timeframe.

Pros and cons of multi-crew pilot licence route

Skills you’ll need

To become a successful pilot, you’ll need the following skills:

• Attention to detail
• Excellent verbal communication skills
• Knowledge of maths and computer software packages
• Observation and recording skills
• Thinking and reasoning skills
• Ability to operate and control complex control equipment
• Ability to stay calm under stressful situations

Medical requirements

Being a pilot is a physically demanding job, which is why there are medical requirements that you will need to take into account even before you begin your training. Pilots will need a Class 1 Medical Certificate. 

A Class 1 Medical Certificate include a physical examination, eyesight tests, Lung function tests, haemoglobin blood tests, an electrocardiogram, a urine test and will look at your medical history. 

It would be a wise choice to receive your Class 1 Medical Certificate before you pay thousands of pounds for your course. If you come to find you cannot get the certificate for any reason, you may not be able to get your money back right away. 

Finding work experience

Training to be a pilot can be extremely expensive so it’s a good idea to be sure this is the career for you. The Honourable Company of Air Pilots run an aptitude test for people with little or no flying experience. This will help you establish whether you have the potential to succeed in this industry.

You could also join your local gliding and flying club and explore getting a Private Pilot’s License. This would give you an advantage of gaining houts of flying time, as well as potentially learning to pilot different types of aircraft. Plus, you will likely meet other pilots who could give you advice on your training.

Some airlines have work experience schemes offering you the chance to take a look at different roles in aviation. While this may not give you hours towards your flying time, this can show you opportunities that you did not know existed within aviation. It also shows enthusiasm for the industry, letting flying schools or employers know that you have explored different roles surrounding pilots. 

How to get a job as a pilot

The industry is very competitive, and it can take time to find your first role. Some newly qualified pilots could be waiting for 12 to 18 months to find their first job. Some pilots might even need to look abroad for work. 

There are a lot of factors that can affect the job market for pilots. Whether its global financial markets, environmental factors, or events like the Covid-19 pandemic in the early 2020s, these all can make it a somewhat volatile career path to follow. 

General aviation is the largest sector and includes flying schools, companies operating their own aircraft and air taxi operators. You could also look at scheduled airlines like British Airways, chartered airlines like TUI group or freight airlines like TNT. 

Alternatively, if you opted for an airline-sponsored scheme as your route for learning, you might be offered a job on successful completion. Many airlines run their own schemes, paying to train up pilots, which can lead to a job for you and a new pilot for them. Win-win! 

This can help solve the problem that a lot of aspirational pilots run into – how to afford pilot training. It’s an expensive vocation that can result in up to £100,000 worth of fees. Being sponsored by an airline could be that your funding may be partially or fully taken care of.  

Each of the airline-sponsored schemes is different and can offer up a variety of benefits. For example, Ryanair’s Future Flyer Academy lets you get experience with state-of-the-art equipment and planes, including the Boeing 737 8200 Gamechanger. The Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programme has been made in collaboration with CAE training centres.  

Researching what different airlines offer their pilots as part of their training is as easy as exploring their websites – most of them will advertise what you could experience up front. .

What it's like to be a pilot

Depending on your role and specialisation, your tasks could include:

• taking turns to fly the plane or communicate with air traffic control
• working out the best routes using weather reports and air traffic control data
• creating a flight plan including details of fuel required and the height you'll need to fly
• carrying out pre-flight checks of instruments, engines, fuel and safety systems
• briefing cabin crew
• taking instructions from air traffic control
• following procedures during take-off and landing to cut down noise pollution
• checking data during the flight and adjust the route where necessary
• keeping passengers and crew informed about journey progress
• writing reports about in-flight issues

You’ll be based on an aircraft often in quite cramped conditions and work long hours away from home. You’ll start as a co-pilot and will need to complete at least 1,500 flying hours to progress. It usually takes between three and five years to qualify as an airline captain. With experience and further study, you could become a flight training instructor or an operations manager on the ground. 

As with many jobs, your salary will grow as you gain more experience as a pilot. A pilot's salary is often incremental, rising with each year of service with the company. Starting around £20,000 to £30,000 a year for pilots who are training or have just qualified, captains can eventually earn up to £150,000 a year. In addition to this, benefits for pilots usually include a discounted travel and a pension scheme. 

Want to know what sort progression you can expect in your salary as a pilot? Check out the table below... 

Bear in mind that these are averages based on standard commercial pilot salaries. Becoming a pilot for long-haul flights, for example, can mean that your salary could go even higher than £150,000. 

Is a role as a pilot right for you?

A role as a pilot is a highly skilled and rewarding career but it can be stressful. The Covid-19 pandemic has also had a huge impact on the aviation industry so it’s worth doing lots of research to establish it is right for you before committing time and money.

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