Steps to be a commercial airline pilot?

[Krazes]

First step is to get the medical class 3 certificate, what do I need to do next? (Detailed step by step guide to being a commercial airline pilot)

[Canada EH]

Airline pilots are over worked and under paid.

[Krazes]

Honestly I don't mind that, seems really fun to me.

[Crunchy Dragon]

6 hours ago, Krazes said:

First step is to get the medical class 3 certificate, what do I need to do next? (Detailed step by step guide to being a commercial airline pilot)

You need some kind of pilot's license. It's a good idea to get licensed to fly most of the common airliners, such as the A320, A330, A350, 737, 757, MD-80, MD-90, etc.

 

Beyond that, I don't know too much more about the process. @Computers_And_Tech_Is_Cool might be able to help.

[manikyath]

2 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

You need some kind of pilot's license. It's a good idea to get licensed to fly most of the common airliners, such as the A320, A330, A350, 737, 757, MD-80, MD-90, etc.

the "pilot license" to fly a cessna 152 (better known as a washing machine with wings) is the same as the license to fly an a380. commercial flying however requires a whole lot of extra paperwork, as well as experience in the specific plane (or planes) you'll be flying, the latter of which is usually achieved with a combination of simulators and being a co-pilot.

[OJTheAviator]

I don't know many details, right now I'm focused on getting my single engined private pilots license. I do know that there is more to it than being certified to fly a Cessna, from what I know, you'll need to be able to fly IFR (instrument flight rules), fly multi-engined complex aircraft, probably fly at night. As to being certified for all that, I'm not sure of the process needed to do that. As for airlines, you might get hours by getting a job as a flight instructor, or you might be able to go straight to a low cost or regional airline, those airlines often hire less experienced pilots to save money (also meaning salary will be less). My flight school works with Piedmont Airlines, the airline that operates American Eagle for American Airlines, so maybe find an airline like that. From there, you'll have a shot at flying directly for one of the major airlines. I recommend going to a flight school if you don't have your private license yet, I'm not sure exactly where to go if you have that taken care of. Just remember that I'm still a flight student, I may be wrong about some of this .

[OJTheAviator]

 

Oh and @Crunchy Dragon thanks for the mention! One thing, I don't know if getting certified for the MD-80 type is the best course to take, Delta is about the only major carrier with many in service and they are going to be gone from there by 2020. But yeah, it's a good idea to get certified for the most common jets like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. (Most people won't deal with the A350 and the like until much later in their carrier)

 

[Mr.Meerkat]

Note: I'm going to ignore Multi-crew Pilot's License (MPL) and only focus on the traditional Air Transportation Pilot's License (ATPL).

 

You want to become a pilot? Well you'll need a thing many flight school dub "frozen ATPL" which in other words is CPL+IR while you've passed all 14 exams but do not have the hours to hold a full ATPL. This "frozen ATPL" is the minimum required for a airline company to consider hiring you. 

 

In terms of getting this "frozen ATPL", most flight school follow a course structure something like this.

- Before you start training, you need a class 1 medical. 

- You train and get a PPL.

- You then get a night rating and start hour building while you typically also start ground school for the 14 exams.

- You then typically get your ME and IR ratings.

- You then sit the 14 exams and once you pass, you would start training for your CPL.

- You obtain your CPL, congratulations, you can now interview for commercial pilot jobs as a co-pilot. 

 

After getting into a company, you typically start training to get a type rating (i.e. what @Crunchy Dragon mentioned about A330, A320, MD90s ect.). 

 

You've flown for a couple of years and you've hit the minimum hours for an ATPL, congratulations, you are now a holder of a full ATPL and can be considered to become a captain. 

 

Well this is what I understand of becoming a commercial pilot anyway, hopefully I can start training towards my PPL this June!  

[TopDollar]

Not too familiar with the differences between UK and US, but typical path is something along the lines of:

 

Private Pilot License -> Instrument Rating -> Commercial Pilot License (Single Engine) -> Multi Engine addon (to include instrument and commercial)

 

From there, it's time to get a job and build hours. A lot of people get their flight instructor rating, others will work odd flying jobs. After some experience, you might look to get hired by a regional airline or similar to work towards your Airline Transport Pilot Certificate. At least in the US, a Bachelors degree is also going to be required to work for most of the major airlines.

 

I'm also working on my PPL at the moment. Already have a career though, so no interest in being an airline pilot.

[wasab]

Join your nation’s Air Force. After some years, you can try flying civilian air craft. Then be a pilot at an airport 

[wasab]

5 hours ago, Canada EH said:

Airline pilots are over worked and under paid.

Says every job occupations out there. Did you know Donald trump also thinks he’s overworked and underpaid? But he does not care cuz he billionaires.