It is, perhaps, the most common question we get here at The ATM headquarters. “What
should I do?” Knowing we have all walked a path to get to our “dream job,” there is a
lot of mystery around the multitude of ways to get to your final career stop. And, more
importantly, there is no shortage of pilots, instructors, professors, friends, relatives, and
recruiters who will tell you that this way or that way is the “best way.”
The truth is, it is far more nuanced and personal than that. There is no one “best” way
to get to your first, second, or last job. There is simply the way you choose to take and
making the best of the time you spend at each of the stops along the way. Only you can
answer what is more important for you in a given situation. Are finances a primary
concern as you build your time? Is location more important, given that you may have
relatives close to a certain location? Is having a backup plan in case the family curse of
“insert family medical issue here” pops up and sidelines you from your plans for a few
years, if not permanently?” These are just a few examples of what can be most
important to you, when choosing your path in the aviation business. Ultimately, the final
goal is probably to get to your dream job in the most efficient amount of time possible.
The good news is that the general path to get to your job looks very similar for
everyone. See below:
Over the past decade as airline hiring has ramped up across the industry, airlines have
developed programs that add a new dimension to this question and may affect the
above flow progression. Pipelines/flow-throughs/partnerships/Cadet Programs. They all
go by different names, but the general theory is the same, to get you to sign up early in
your training to eventually fly for their company and in some cases, eventually their
parent or partner company.
This brings up many questions. Should I join a pipeline to a specific airline whom I
won’t be working directly with for another 5+ years? And the many questions that
spring from that first question such as that companies’ general health and longevity,
leaving room for your own change in mindset as you grow, and whether or not you may
want to fly professionally after you get your certificates and ratings. But let’s say you
are thinking of applying to one of these programs.
It may be faster to go to a fast-track program that gets you into a pipeline in a short
amount of time, but what pipeline should you chose? Most flight schools, universities,
and pilot development programs will have multiple different options to choose from. You
don’t have to go with ANY of them, to be clear. But sometimes the benefits outweigh
the costs after you consider your own priorities and questions from the beginning of
this article. If you find yourself considering these options, then the next question to
answer is “which one is the best for me?”
While you are, truly, the only person who can answer that question for you, you will find
very quickly that many of the recruiters for these programs are going to tell you how
their program will fit “perfectly” for you and your life. Here is the deal, while all of these
programs have their benefits, all of these programs also have their drawbacks. Again,
the only way for you to know which program truly fits you the best, is to know what is
in them.
Here is where our new tool will come in handy. We built the Pilot Pathway
Comparator tool to help focus the main points of each of the programs into a
spreadsheet for you to compare and contrast the many high and low points of each
program.
This is a work in progress, so if you see something that is incorrect, incomplete, or just
worded funny, please contact us and we will change it! This tool is only as strong as the
information you deem to be important, so help us build this into a powerful career tool
so others may also find it helpful.
Happy planning!
- Richard, Jolanda, & Andrew