Some are saying Right & Some are saying Left

[imm]

The title is to attract you guys. Hope I am a bit successful in attracting you.
I graduated from an American High School from Doha-Qatar in May 2011. As usual a childhood dream to fly & become an airline pilot. Since this May I am just surfing net how to start my airline career. Met a Captain who had flew more than 40 years of his life, asked him what should I do. His answer was just join ATP flight school (USA) get your ppl,cpl & try your best to get an instructor job there. Fly more than 1,500 hours & apply for ATPL. If you are successful in getting your ATPL then try some airlines you can get a job as a pilot there. Meet a first officer he gave same advice. Both of them are currently working at Qatar Airways. I met them in personal.

From internet I came to know that training is not enough I have to get a degree or a bachelor.

My brother meet a second officer who did his study South Africa for "5" years, he got a cpl with a degree in aviation.


If the degree is important so is it necessary to get a degree in aviation or it can be in any field or a diploma can be also enough to get a job in airline.


I really need your help guys. I am stuck in between advises. I don't want to waste money because someone is else is paying my father is dead:( & I belong to working class family. I have to pay him back.


Please help & if anyone wants to make fun so on another thread.:rolleyes:

[imm]

Really nervous waiting for your comments:ugh:

[cyrilroy21]

May I ask what is your citizenship ? What passport do you hold ?

To work in the united states as flight instructor you need to hold permanent residency rights ( green card ) or be an american citizen

[FlyingSportsman]

Different where I'm from, but as far as I'm aware, degrees aren't are pre-requisite to become an airline pilot.

[imm]

cryilroy21 I was born & currently living in Qatar & my father he fought 2 battles for Qatar but still without nationality. I got Pakistani Citizenship but never been to that country since I was 5.

Cant we apply for a work visa in USA. My question is that how should I start my career after high school.

Thank you very Cryilroy21 & flyingsportsman for your posts:D

[zondaracer]

In the USA, you will need a bachelor degree I you want to work for a major airline. You can work at a regional without a bachelor degree. It doesn't matter what your degree is in. Getting a degree shows that you have the commitment and ability to stick with something that is long term and complete it.

[cyrilroy21]

You cant apply for a work visa without an employer sponsoring you to work in the United States

In the U.S an employer has to prove that there is no qualified and able american citizen or permanent resident for a pilot position and only then can they hire a foreign citizen
Needles to say there are thousands of pilots in the U.S and all the employers require you to have the rights to work in the U.S before they even interview you

So working in the U.S is out of the question for you my friend

I know this very well because i learnt to fly in the U.S

All foreign pilots who learn to fly in the U.S go back to their country of origin once they finish their training

The U.S govt will not allow airlines or flying schools or any other companies to hire a foreigner as a pilot as there is no shortage of pilots in the U.S

[imm]

So what should I do I don't want to go to Pakistan. I want to come back in Qatar but i guess its hard to get a job in Qatar Airways with just a CPL or ATPL.

[cyrilroy21]

You could always go back to pakistan and try for a pilots job there but I do not know what the hiring situation is for pilots in pakistan

A college degree is required only by major airlines in the U.S most other airlines around the world do not require one

My suggestion would be to go to college and get a bachelor degree not related to aviation

You could become an engineer , doctor , lawyer etc . Work for a few years and save enough money to pay for a CPL your self . These professions are usually highly paid after some experience

If you go to universities in Europe , Australia , Canada etc you can also work in these countries once you finish your degree . This will give you the rights to live and work and maybe one day get a citizenship . Then you can apply to these cadet schemes or pay for flying school yourself

No airlines hires inexperienced foreign pilots ( Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific are exception )

Your degree / profession will also act as a backup in case you fail your pilot medical

[cyrilroy21]

So what should I do I don't want to go to Pakistan. I want to come back in Qatar but i guess its hard to get a job in Qatar Airways with just a CPL or ATPL.

If I were you i would go to the first place that gives me a job

PIA - About PIA (http://www.piac.com.pk/PIA_About/pia-about_Career_list.asp)

[imm]

^^Pakistan is out option I guess I got an american high school diploma they wont accept me in their universities or colleges. I cant live in a country like Pakistan no offense.


So I should apply other than USA.....What about South Africa & what do you mean if I fail medical. So far I know if I fail medical I wont get admission in any flying school. What about doing B.A & a cpl/atpl

[cyrilroy21]

So I should apply other than USA.....What about South Africa & what do you mean if I fail medical. So far I know if I fail medical I wont get admission in any flying school. What about doing B.A & a cpl/atpl

In order to get pilots license you have to get a Class 1 medical

A class 1 medical is valid for 1 year and you have to renew it every year for the rest of your life as pilot in order to keep your pilots license .

If at any point in your career if fail your medical test and remain permanently unfit you will lose your pilots license along with your pilot job

Every year a certain number of pilot lose their pilot license because they are unable to pass their medical test
In India once you get an ATPL you have to pass the medical test every 6 months
It becomes harder to pass the test as you become older

Its in situations like this that a college degree will become very useful

I am not sure about South Africa but I believe in order to work in South Africa you need permanent residence / citizenship
Its going to be that way in all the countries around the world

[cyrilroy21]

Different countries have different standards when to comes to medical requirements

You might pass the medical test in one country but you can fail the medical test in another country

India , China etc have very stringent medical tests , U.S and Europe are more lenient when it comes to medical tests

[imm]

Thats something new I came to know about medical tests. Thank You.

About PIA I will apply If I get a job so defiantly I will go for it.

So Cryilroy23 according to you even though if i got a ph.d in flying & if I fail my medical so I wont be a pilot anymore.

thanks alot for your advice.

[cyrilroy21]

A Phd in aviation or flying has nothing to do with becoming a pilot....

Pilots have licenses just like a drivers license . Its not a college degree . Your educational qualification will always be high school ( unless you get a degree ofcourse )

One of the requirements in order to maintain a pilots license is to have a valid medical . Your pilots license will become invalid if you fail your medical .

If you fracture your hand or leg your medical will immediately become invalid and you wont be able to fly with immediate effect
However once you are healthy once again you can regain your medical and
continue to fly

PIA requires you to hold a CPL issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan . They wont hire you with an American or European Pilot license

You will have to convert your license in order to apply .

[imm]

Thank you very much again. really never came to know about this all before.

Life was really easy when I was kid lol:rolleyes:


So ph.d or degrees got nothing with becoming a pilot. If I am just applying with a cpl/atpl will be there any chaces to get a pilot job in airline or is a better chance with a degree(FOR PILOT JOB ONLY).

[imm]

Which degree should I get?



its say Second officer....

[cyrilroy21]

Some Airlines prefer those with college degrees , some dont....

It all depends on what airline you apply to....

Take a look at the careers section of different airlines around the world and see what their requirements are for hiring of pilots

I would strongly suggest getting a college degree before embarking upon a career as a pilot

There is cadet program that you are eligible to apply for . The airline pay for all the training but you have to work with them for atleast 6 years after training

They wont come to Qatar for the assessment so you will have to go all the way to Hong Kong at your expense . Just choose Hong Kong as your 1st preferred location if you want to be called for an assessment

Cathay Pacific - Careers : Careers Home (http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/careers/flying/fdc_so_programmes)

[cyrilroy21]

A degree is not required for the Cathay Program .

It says either high school or a degree .

Do any degree dosent ,matter which one . Just dont do any aviation degrees as they are not of much use

I had given some options earlier Lawyer , doctor , business , engineer .
That is something only you can decide

[imm]

Thank you very very much. May God bless you & open all the door of success for you.


I guess I will do some degrees in business. How does that sounds.

[206Fan]

IMM,

As already stated above you DO NOT need a Degree to become a Pilot. The only door a Degree will get you through is the likes of the Cathay Pacific Cadet Programe in Hong Kong which accepts Degrees as an educational entry requirement to the programe but it is not required.

According to your profile your only 20 Years of age, plenty of time ahead of you. If I was you I would go to University and do a Degree completely unrelated to Aviation (Engineering for example).

What you could do is:

1) Go to University, do your Degree, get your Class 2 Medical and start working on your PPL License in your spare time if it isn't an issue.

2) Go to University, complete your Degree, get a good job after graduating then start worrying about the flying when you have a good income to fund it thus avoiding taking out any loans from the bank.

3) Go to University, get your Degree, get a good job as above and save for a few years then take the plunge and go abroad to do all the training when you have sufficient funds saved.


Remember that you will also have the Degree as a back up if the Aviation Industry decided to turn sour again down the line and you were out of a flying job.

That is my 2 cents but you may come up with a better plan to suit yourself.

Good luck with whatever route you decide to take!

[imm]

Thank you^^^


What if I do get a degree in bussiness.

[206Fan]

Electrical / Mechanical / Civil Engineering, Business, Law, Medicine and Dentistry are all good areas to study in not related to aviation.

Aerospace Engineering would be related to the design of new aircraft, though I wouldn't rule it out.

[zondaracer]

If you like business, get a degree in business. If you dont like business, get your degree in something else. I wouldn't count on strangers in an anonymous forum to make life decisions for you.

When and if you become a pilot, you wont be able to come on Pprune and ask what you should do next during an emergency.

[imm]

Thank you Davy07

Zodaracer I am not completly depended upon those advises but they were helpful. Before Cryilroy27's advise i thought without a degree in aviation field i wont get a job in airline.

Thank you Zodaracer for your post

[Luke SkyToddler]

It's only USA airlines that require degrees, Europe / Arabia / the rest of the world doesn't care about degrees so much as long as you have a pilot's licence. The problem with USA airlines is that 1) They haven't hired any pilots for the last 10 years and 2) they also require many thousands of hours in small aircraft before they'll employ you. So that will be your next problem even if you did have a degree.

PIA is a real mess from what I understand, I flew with a lot of ex PIA guys in QR and they certainly wouldn't go back there, so why don't you go talk to one of them about it?

My serious advice to you is go up to the Qatar Aviation College - it's round the back of the airfield, go up Ras Abu Aboud Street towards the construction site for the new airport and you'll see it on the right a few hundred yards past the Marriott hotel - go and talk to them about your options. They're a nice bunch of guys and understand the unique Qatari situation a lot better than everyone else on here giving you well meaning advice.

The fact that you are already in Qatar and you appear to like the place, is already a huge tick in the box for you should you apply to Qatar Airways. They do have an ab-initio cadet scheme for hiring pilots fresh from school and you really really really should apply for that since you're already in country. You've obviously got money in your family since you are studying at the American school, so that would indicate to me that the best option for you would be to go study at QAC for your Qatari pilot's licence, it's JAA compliant so you shouldn't have too much trouble converting it to a regular European or Asian one at some future stage should you get offered a job elsewhere in the world.

Go read THIS THREAD (http://www.pprune.org/middle-east/422773-qr-second-officer.html) for info regarding the QR cadet scheme - although there's a lot of guys talking a lot of crap in there too, like most things with Qatar it's a lot about who you know not what you know.

And don't put silly titles about "left" and "right" on your threads - you would have got better information if you had put something relevant as the title.

[dl_88]

i shall throw my 2 cents worth. Getting a degree or not depends on the country or airline culture that you planning to work for.
Its increasingly becoming an unspoken requirement to get a degree to work for some of the major airlines in Asia. To have a better chance, i would recommend that you have a degree to have a better leverage against the competitions in getting that interview. And also for a backup career path when the economy goes bad.

[Piltdown Man]

I'm afraid young man that your biggest problem will be finding the cash to finance your training. Your next problem will be finding a airline in a country where you have the right to work. Assuming you have cracked this little nut, actually getting a job might prove to be a challenge as well. So the best advice would be to prepare for what you know for certain you can do with the best qualification you can possibly earn. Then, once earning a living, save to finance your training while you research where you have the right to work. You might even get a PPL in this period, just to see what flying is actually like.

Whichever route you take will not be the easy because of where you want to live (and where you don't), local hiring practices, pilot requirements and... Oh Yes! The minor requirement for cash.

Best of luck!

[imm]

Luke skytoddler>thanks for comment. I did go to American school just for a year. I know where is Qatar Aero college, I went there. I am not having $140,000 to pay & even though I meet a Yemani guy who just got his CPL with good ratings but he was crying for a job in QA. So it means the job in QA is not gurantted if you got your license through Qatar Aero College. About the title so its not silly I guess. Really few are dragging me on this site & others on that side. I know a co-pilot in QA who got his license from Qatar Aero College. His advise was go out of Qatar.

Piltdown man>thank you alot for your comment. Yeah you are right finacing is a great problem.

Dl_88>thanks for your comment. Yeah I am looking forward to degree. But dont know before or after CPL.