Wondering if any Airline pilots can answer a few questions
Hello, I am a college student and I have an assignment that I have to do for my College Seminar class. The assignment is about our desired career after graduation and part of it requires that we interview someone in that career field. The questions we must ask are.. 1. What is your title? 2. What is the required degree within your field? 3. How many hours do you work per week? 4. What are your job responsibilities? 5. What is a typical day like? 6. What is one challenge that you face in your position? 7. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? 8. Is there anything in life that helped your prepare you for your current job? thanks in advance
1. What is your title? Pilot jobs have no "title" other than "pilot". Company designations of "Captain" and Co-Pilot" or "First Officer" are not titles, but refer to which position in the aviation field each individual is allowed to fill by that company
2. What is the required degree within your field? None: It is similar to an apprenticeship - some formal training, some "on-the-job" training.
3. How many hours do you work per week? 40 or so - too many. You have to define "work" for a true answer
At the stick.
At the job of piloting (off the aircraft, but "working" the flight)
Away from home, as required by the "work".
4. What are your job responsibilities? Flying aeroplanes! Duh!
5. What is a typical day like? Tiring, most days. Exciting some days.
6. What is one challenge that you face in your position? The job involves flying people safely. The last flight was safe - the next flight should ALSO be safe. Running each flight like the last EXACTLY is the challenge.
7. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? The amazing things you do with the aircraft in challenging conditions. The amazing things you see sometimes.
8. Is there anything in life that helped your prepare you for your current job? An abiding interest in aviation. - Note: This is the major requirement for interest in this job. There are many who enter the profession WITHOUT that interest - and suffer for it, for their entire career.
Thank you Checkboard for answering my questions. On question 3 I would define work as the first two points you made and can you be a little more specific on question 4, pre-flight checks, paperwork, ect..
2. What is the required degree within your field? None...however professional certification is required by the nation of your choice. Airline Transport Pilot is the certification with applicaple rating for the plane you fly. A college degree is helpful. Of any kind!
3. How many hours do you work per week? Sometimes none, sometimes 96...daily no more than 8 hours of domestic USA flying...no work on the 7th day! Some time at work is waiting at the airport and not actually in the air.
4. What are your job responsibilities? Commanding an aircraft, insuring the safety of crew, passengers and those innocents on the ground beneath the plane.
5. What is a typical day like? Get up early, without impairment, evaluate weather, coworkers, mechanical soundness of the aircraft, and the airport. Evaluate security, manipulate controls and fly the plane to destination*s, make sure crew gets adequate rest.
6. What is one challenge that you face in your position? Too numerous ...a pilot is a pilot, lawyer, meteorologist, mechanic, statesman and more.
7. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? The money! The pretty flight attendants, but most of all the satisfaction of safely handling a large aircraft and meeting the challenges of nature and man.
8. Is there anything in life that helped your prepare you for your current job? Reading about flying, making model airplanes. Watching movies about flying (The Spirit of St. Louis) . Political Science, Leadership, time in the US Military.
1. What is your title? Captain if you're SLF, but onboard I encourage a first name basis amongst my crew for CRM purposes.
2. What is the required degree within your field? None.
3. How many hours do you work per week? Varies. Sometimes many, sometimes not so many.
4. What are your job responsibilities? Transport a metal tube safely and still be employed at the end of the day.
5. What is a typical day like? Tiring, usually. Early starts with a long multi-sector day ahead and a 200hr wonderkid in the RHS are usually the worst.
6. What is one challenge that you face in your position?
Avoid having the blame put on me for the idiotic mistakes of other departments (rostering, engineering).
7. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? The pay. Used to be the flying till 1985 when the profession slowly started to go downhill (Google Frank Lorenzo).
8. Is there anything in life that helped your prepare you for your current job?
1. Love of flying. Doesn't necessarily mean one loves one's current airline fleet assignment. 2. Listening to wise old skippers as a FO. 3. GA* - a good training ground for learning the basic survival skills, and a time when one can decide if the commercial flying racket is what one really wants as a lifetime career.
Location: Salt Lake City, UT or on a fire somewhere
Posts: 967
Being from the "dark" side of helicopters----thought you might like this response to Question 5. (I am a fire pilot....but have done the Hawaii tours, powerline and pipeline patrols)...enjoy
The Life of a Helicopter Pilot:
Grand canyon tour, Get up at 4.30AM, drive 90 miles to the ditch, have 5th cup of coffee, preflight, pee, get in start up, load up the midwestern beefeaters, fly for 30 minutes, fly for 30 minutes, fly for 30 minutes, fly for an hour, fly for 30 minutes, fly for an hour. Can I have a break? No, ok, fly for 30 minutes, fly for 30 minutes, fly for 30 minutes, fly for 30 minutes. fly for 30 minutes, fly for 30 minutes, fly for an hour, get out tie down, PEE, drive 90 miles home,eat, sleep, repeat.
Hawaii tour See above but get to wear funky hawaii shirt and shorts...
Offshore Oil: See above but the tourists smell bad and the river is a lot bigger...
Tuna Boat: See above, but you get to chant: Where da fish, where da fish...
Powerline patrol: See above but you get to say: tower one, tower two, tower 3, tower 4, tower 5......tower 496, tower 497, etc...
Pipeline patrol: See above but you get to say: yup it's a pipeline. yup it's a pipeline, yup it's a pipeline, yup it's a pipeline. yup it's a pipeline,.....Sh# theres a wire, ok, yup it's a pipeline, yup it's a pipeline, yup it's a pipeline....
EMS: Get to work, have 7th cup of coffee, preflight, pee,news, eat, sleep,eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat, sleep, BEEP BEEP BEEP, motorcycle vs a big rig, fly 20 minutes, load patient, Yuuuuuuko!!! That looks like it hurts, fly 20 minutes, off-load, debrief, eat, sleep, eat sleep, eat, sleep, go home...
Logging: Get up at 5, have 3rd cup of coffee, preflight, comin up, log, log, log, log, log, log, log, log, log, log, log,log, Wipe up CP's puke, log, log, log, log, log, log, log, log, log, log, etc.. .Shut down go home drink a massive amounts of beer with hookers.
Fire: Get up at 4 AM, drive an hour, have 9th cup of coffee, mission plan, you want to WHAT? Put on bucket go to fire. OH! big fire! Up down, turn around, fetch a pail of water, repeat 160 times. Shut down, wait untill 14 hours is over. Out of duty time, find tent, eat at base camp, visit little blue room, sleep up again, at 5am repeat...for 11 more days then take 2 days off.
CFI: Get in at 9am, have 10 cups of coffee, 3 cigs,and wait for no shows, Non english speaking student shows up, preflight, flight, SCREAM: I HAVE THE CONTROLS!!, repeat 20 times, After hour flight, clean short, repeat 5 times, go home knowing your the pilot god that saved the R22 from the clutches of the student pilot, get on PC and type resume, yup getting 252.4 hours. look for way to get turbine time job with out flight time, go to sleep thinking how great it would be working as a real pilot!
I've modified Gordy's Grand Canyon tour for a skydive pilot:
Get up at 6.30AM, drive 90 miles to the DZ, have 5th cup of coffee, preflight, pee, get in start up, load up the adrenalin junkies, fly for 20 minutes, fly for 20 minutes, fly for 20 minutes, fly for 20 minutes, fly for 20 minutes,fly for 20 minutes,fly for 20 minutes,fly for 20 minutes,fly for 20 minutes. Can I have a break? No, ok, fly for 20 minutes,fly for 20 minutes,fly for 20 minutes,fly for 20 minutes,fly for 20 minutes, get out tie down, PEE, drive 90 miles home,eat, sleep, repeat.
The following day: Get at 6.30AM, drive 90 miles to the DZ, have 5th cup of coffee, preflight, pee, get in start up, load up the adrenalin junkies. Shut down for weather hold, weather hold, weather hold, drink more coffee, weather hold, drink more coffee, weather hold, weather hold. give up, tie down, drive 90 miles home without earning a red cent ,eat, sleep, repeat.
1. What is your title?
For company purposes "Captain". For CRM purposes "hey you". For domestic purposes "wife".
2. What is the required degree within your field?
No degree. Airline Transport Pilots Licence as set out by the regulatory authority.
3. How many hours do you work per week?
No idea, it changes. When on tour, maximum is 60 hours.
4. What are your job responsibilities?
Primary job is the safe and efficient transport of the owners.
Secondary job is to delegate appropriate tasks to the First Officer, check catering, check maintenance docs, check the flight plan(s), weather & notams for the day. Order the fuel, organise cleaning and a myriad of other tasks. Collect the Owners, brief and take care of the owners, sometimes including serving food and drink. Load and unload their luggage and make sure their onwards transport is in place. Tidy the aircraft post flight. Amend onboard documents when required.
5. What is a typical day like?
No such thing. See above. Sometimes early starts, sometimes late starts, sometimes 1 sector, sometimes 4 sectors, sometimes in snow and ice other times desert..
6. What is one challenge that you face in your position?
You're only as good as your last landing.
7. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
A happy owner. Making a difference to their day in a positive way.
8. Is there anything in life that helped your prepare you for your current job?
Bush flying in Australia.
