My Future, need some answers plz

[calgary]

I am planning to take this 2 year aviation degree at mt royal college in calgary next year, here is a link for the details on the program:

http://www.mtroyal.ab.ca/Calendar/diplomas/ADftr.htm

some questions I have though are:
1. When I finish this course how will I be able to build my hours, and where, will I get paid becuase when im done this course i wll be 25 000(cdn) in debt

2. How much income do commercial pilots start off at(cdn$$)

3. how many years does it take to become the pilot in cmmand flying major jets?

4. does this course cover everything i will need to become a commercial pilot?


I want to go all the way and am willign to devote lots of time to achieving my goal of becoming a commercial pilot for a major airline.

[redsnail]

To get hours you'll need to get a job. Getting the first job in any profession is hard work. Aviation especially. So, you'll probably have to head out into the provinces and do some bush flying. Scenics, charter what ever is going. I am not sure if the degree will give you an instructor rating. That is another option (it'll cost extra). I'd start researching the companies right now to see what they want. Use a phone book or a tourist agent to find out what companies are around.
How much are new CPLers paid? Not much. Sad but true. I'll let the guys in the area tell you that.
How many years till command in a jet? Depends on many variables. How good the economy is, how big the company is, are they expanding etc etc. Can be 5 years, can be 20 years.
The course will teach you enough to get a start. It won't teach you every thing. You'll learn plenty on the job.

[calgary]

Hey, Thanks for the info, I know it iwll be toguh to find the first job but I am willing to reloacte and pretty much do whatever, I heard of a place in eastern canada where you go there and work for 6 months and then they will help you get your hours does any one have any more information on that?

[calgary]

has anyone here ever been in a program like that?

[Gand]

Calgary,
Good to see another fresh face in the Calgary aviation community. I know a handfull of MRC grads and even more current students. I'm hearing mixed reviews about the college way, but it will definitely give you the basics needed to get your first job. Going to MRC will cost you more than doing it elsewhere, the advantage being that you get an aviation diploma, which looks good later on. My recommendation is to look at all the options and don't just take the first one. I initially wanted to go to MRC but am happy with the route i took instead. There are plenty of options for building time after your done "training", the most common being instructing, in which case you'll have to invest more money and get an instructor rating. Have you started your private license yet? If so where at? Finally, don't worry about the money. Expect to get little in the beginning and anything better will be a nice surprise. In the end we all would like to make big coin, but if you love to fly and your getting paid to do it (enough to get by) then your better off than most of the working population out there. If you haven't already, check out the sites below and learn as much as you can. Hope that helps.

Gand. :D

http://www.pilotinterviews.com/
http://www.studentpilot.net/ (American)

[calgary]

hey, thanks

yea I'm gonna wait till I get accpeted into the program, I have made a reservation at springbank to get my private pilots liscense. (I dont have the money to pay for the private's course so I am waiting to see if I get accepted before I take out the loan or get my parents to pay for it)

I know when i graduate from that course I will have to spend a couple years, at least, building hours and hopefully getting paid,
I am wondering how much Ill make and what "enough to get by" would be around, I'm guessing at least $20k per plus the fact that your getting paid to fly.

I also know the airlines are in a slump right now and no matter how many times I hear from the schools "theres never been a better time to be a pilot" how hard it will be to get assigned on to a major airline, and what pay to expect from a major airline?

[calgary]

ps that first sight listed there has answered alot of questions I didnt think about asking, thanks.

[Canada Goose]

Hi Calgary,

How are the Chinooks these days !? ;)

Gand has already touched on some on some pointers, but I'll add a few cents of my own.

Firstly, are you sure the total cost for 2 yrs at college to get a diploma which results in you getting a CPL Multi IFR is only $25K. Seems pretty reasonable to me ! I don't know anything about MRC but you could try posting on http://www.syz.com/avcanada/forums/
The site is down for a few days but when it's back up, I'm sure a few other people can give you some info as well as other pointers in commercial aviation in Canada. Right now is not a brilliant time to looking for commercial work (fresh CPL or otherwise), but things will probably change and when they do, you'll hopefully be graduating with a spanking new CPL.

Good luck.

Cheers,
C.G.

:)

[Gand]

Calgary,
If your going to do your private license at springbank you may want to do it with MRC. Again, it will be more money but if you want into there program that may help you get in, it's never to soon to start though. It will always take longer than expected, and if you want into MRC then you'll have to finish your license before September. I don't know for sure but from what i can remember MRC makes decision of enrollment to late to start your PPL. Best thing to do if you haven't already is to go Mount Royals campus and go upstairs and talk to them. They'll be able to answer any of your questions better than anyone on this forum. Specifically ask them about the cost. $25,000 sounds fair for the aviation related costs, but that's probably not including the tuition for each semester. Make sure you know what your getting into. Next, there's no way to predict how much you'll make with your first job. I know people who would have made more on unemployment than they did flying, but some do better. As for information on the airlines, search this forum. This site has plenty of info already on it about what airlines are like. Lastly, don't go into aviation for the money. I know big airline money is tempting, but your never going to make it there if you don't love doing it. So good luck with the private license and get started. See you at Springbank this summer. Cheers!!

Gand :D

[calgary]

Hey, Thanks alot... I'm not complaining baout the costs I was just sayint that when i get out im going to be in debt alot.

I was at mount royal today and hended in my mid-term marks and my statement of intent and will go back tomorrow to sign up for the PPL course. The course at Mount Royal is oversubscribed so I want to know if I get in first before I start my PPL because its still quite expensive and then I will just be paying off a debt all next year.

I have also read/heard many stories from pilots that their first job working in the bush/artic has been the greatest one of the greatest experiences of thier lives, and I'm a outdoors/adventurer kind of guy so I think that I would enjoy my first job regardless of the pay.

But I want to fly regardless of what happens

but I have heard of a progream in ontario I think it was where you go there and work for 6 months and then they let you fly thier aircrafts to build hours, have you ever heard of that?



thanks alot for all the help

[Otterman]

Hello Calgary,
I did the Mount Royal program back in 1985. So I am an old fart I guess. I subsequently was out of work for about 9 months before getting a shot with an Borek out of Inuvik. The first job was indeed very hard to get. I lucked out two years later and joined a big major airline out of Europe, and I have been flying the Boeing 747 for 14 years now. Out of my class about half gave up on the whole scene, others went to the air force and some finally made it to Air Canada or Canadian and a few are still with the Regionals. Finally two joined me in Europe. It means chasing your work, and things don't always turn out the way you planned or wished. I am happy in this business though. I developed no great admiration for Mount Royal, it was a cozy retirement club for ex-air force people. They have you for two years and the things that they manage to teach you had little relevance to what you experience in the real world. The ab-intitio students that join my airline with 250 hours total time, after two years at our company's school are much better prepared for the job ahead. The math an physics the first year are too stupid to mention. They caused the largest wash out in our class (we started with 40 graduated around 20). They have no relevance to what is ahead of you. Lots more attention to modern systems, CRM, and airline operations. This is the goal for most people there, and would be more usefull. The airlines have the pick of the litter at the moment and a college degree is something that you can put in your plus column, so it is pretty important. Use your two years well. Good luck.

[calgary]

I'm pretty sure it's like that though in any course you take in college or university(you have to learn irrelevant ****) but that is no problem for me seeing as how im one of those odd people who like math and physics and naturally do well at those courses if I have a teacher who knows what their talking about.

Your saying the course doesn't really prepare me for for the workforce, where would you reccomend me going? If you could send me a website link to a school close to calgary that would prepare me better I would really appreciate it.

Oh yea, Thanks for all the info

I was also wondering, Do you think there will be a need for commercial pilots in the next 10 years or do you think it will be in a major slump?

[Otterman]

I have been away for a few days, so I didn't get a chance to reply to you. I think you are going about your search in the right way, geting a lot of information. In Europe most of the majors pick their future pilots right out of high school. Put them in their own schools for two years, before they jion the compnny outright. Only in times where there is rapid growth along with retirements do they hire from outside. They pay for the training themselves trhough loans. They then pay off those loans when they start earning money. So they tend to join us in their earry twenties. The cost of training is very high (170,000 canadian dollars). That is an awesome amuont of debt, but they do join a major straight away at a pay of around 60,000 C$. It takes about ten years to pay this loan down, at which time their income will be closer to 160,000C$. Top pay is close to 300,000C$. The requirement for these schools are high, but the course is closely tied to what they need to know. If you live in Calgary Mount Royal is a good option, it will keep the costs down, if you can live at home and the program puts you in a good starting position for eventual employment at a bigger airline. I don't know of any better alternatives in Canada, all the schools are about the same. If you have language skills or anoter nationality besides Canadian, it might be interesting to look at the school that belongs to the major of that country. Good luck.

[calgary]

Hey, Thanks alot, that helps aot.

I was wondering, could I do that out of mount royal?

I would like to do something like that and I wouldn't mind relocating or paying the price. I still got lots of time to think about what I want to do after I graduate from mount royal, but from all I heard that soundslike the best option so far. Can a person just apply for that training through the company or is there a special way to do it?

Thanks again

[Otterman]

The KLM flight adademy has a website but it it in Dutch, I am sure that won't be of use for you. But just to check something else out take a look at some of the airlines ab initio programs through your web browser. (google.com is a good search engine I find). Just for something to look at check out this site maybe it will be of help. Greetings. http://www.panamacademy.com

[calgary]

That has been a great help, I've even bookmarked that website.

Thanks