Want to be a pilot?
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Want to be a pilot?
Hi
Hoping someone out there can help me with this. Is it heard of for people with aspirations of becoming a pilot to first of all work as cabin crew? I have heard of this on the grapevine so to speak but I just wondered if there are people out there in this position, and if so is it a good plan and has it been worth it, advantages / disadvantages etc etc.
Thanks
Shed Rule
Hoping someone out there can help me with this. Is it heard of for people with aspirations of becoming a pilot to first of all work as cabin crew? I have heard of this on the grapevine so to speak but I just wondered if there are people out there in this position, and if so is it a good plan and has it been worth it, advantages / disadvantages etc etc.
Thanks
Shed Rule
Join Date: Oct 2004
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Very true,
Speaking of my own personal knowledge i have a friend that flies for a Portuguese Airline, he started flying has Cabin Crew then he got a chance and went on to fly the B737 and now he is flying the A310 ( Same Airline ).
The advantages, well you get to know people make contacts, you are already working for the airline which makes it easier interview wise, and market knowledge. Surely a plus.
Best of luck
Regards,
Cpt Efis
Speaking of my own personal knowledge i have a friend that flies for a Portuguese Airline, he started flying has Cabin Crew then he got a chance and went on to fly the B737 and now he is flying the A310 ( Same Airline ).
The advantages, well you get to know people make contacts, you are already working for the airline which makes it easier interview wise, and market knowledge. Surely a plus.
Best of luck
Regards,
Cpt Efis
Join Date: Oct 2004
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I am working as crew for Emirates at the moment and I am planning to do my Pilots ATPL.
The plus side is that if you work for an airline like Emirates where you tend to have a lot of time off then you can do your training around your work commitments.... however if like me you are trying to secure a Cadetship with a UK airline then it can be difficult to attend interviews.
I suppose it is always better just to go for it and make the financial commitment which i plan to do should i not ( and to be honest its most unlikely) secure a sponsorship.
I suppose on the other hand that a year or two working with pax gives you a better understanding of CRM and might look attractive to a future employer????
Any airline experience is an advantage in a highly compettetive industry !!!!!
The plus side is that if you work for an airline like Emirates where you tend to have a lot of time off then you can do your training around your work commitments.... however if like me you are trying to secure a Cadetship with a UK airline then it can be difficult to attend interviews.
I suppose it is always better just to go for it and make the financial commitment which i plan to do should i not ( and to be honest its most unlikely) secure a sponsorship.
I suppose on the other hand that a year or two working with pax gives you a better understanding of CRM and might look attractive to a future employer????
Any airline experience is an advantage in a highly compettetive industry !!!!!
Join Date: Mar 2003
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I worked for several years as cabin crew for a major UK airline, and as in this thread, got the bug and idea of moving forward towards the front. This is by no means an impossible mission (albeit one with which you will certainly have to persevere!) and anyone who has the idea I would actively encourage them to do it.
Look at all your options tho (to make it more realisable) I considered the JAR ATPL route (sometimes still do) but instead due to dual nationality with Canada, came out here to do my Canadian CPL/MEIR (ATPL in Canada kicks in at 1200hrs I believe but there is no "frozen" option) The cost saving in doing my licences here was pretty huge, but beware that not all ICAO licences carry the same value in the commercial pilot hiring stakes (luckily Canada seems to have a level par with FAA licencing, but not JAR, who want around £10K to convert!!!
)
Be prepared for some intensive work to get those licences and above all be patient. Getting a few lessons under your belt to get the "feel" for flying is a great idea, as it's not for everyone and does require a certain set of skills.
Good luck!
Look at all your options tho (to make it more realisable) I considered the JAR ATPL route (sometimes still do) but instead due to dual nationality with Canada, came out here to do my Canadian CPL/MEIR (ATPL in Canada kicks in at 1200hrs I believe but there is no "frozen" option) The cost saving in doing my licences here was pretty huge, but beware that not all ICAO licences carry the same value in the commercial pilot hiring stakes (luckily Canada seems to have a level par with FAA licencing, but not JAR, who want around £10K to convert!!!
)Be prepared for some intensive work to get those licences and above all be patient. Getting a few lessons under your belt to get the "feel" for flying is a great idea, as it's not for everyone and does require a certain set of skills.
Good luck!
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hi,
i worked as c/c for 8 years ......i started my pilots license ,somewhere in the middle of the 8years .....i did my private pilots license first ,just to check that what i wanted to do since a kid and what was the reality of flying a plane, was any different .there are a lot of c/c wannabe pilots ,because of the interaction with pilots .i suggest you think of the reasons why you want to be a pilot ....for me ,a job as a c/c provided the money to get my pilots license .....working and study-ing is not what i propose cause its hard to keep loyal on both ,and at times work gets in the way of studying (i failed exams because of poor preparation) ,forcing you to step back and try again,as well as extra cost....its not easy and if you r not determined and focused on what you really want to ,you may end up giving up .
what i am trying to say here is that ,if you want to do this for the wrong reasons(pilots look good in uniform?!!),you will end up giving up .
you have to realise that all your savings ,plus loans can bring nothing more than a comercial pilots license ,with no job in the horizon.
be prepared to be one of those unemployed pilots.....in my case that didnt matter cause flying was what i wanted to do and i was ready to take the economical risk of ending up unemployed.
....back to the advantages of beeing a c/c before flying the thing ,are :
-you get to know from experience what goes on behind you ,when you cruise at 35 th feet.....i remember getting upset when ,on short demanding sectors ,i was getting the captains call ,followed by dinner request ...in other words you are more aware of whats going on onboard ,and you try to help ,by not interapting them ,so much.
-as a c/c you interact with a lot of people,and you develop "skills" that help you state your opinions in a non threatennig way ,without beeing confrontational ,in an enviroment that at times is very ego driven
-i went from junior c/c ,with other c/c bullying me around to be their "boss".....beeing one of the c/c helped me see peoples real personas ,something ,that a pilot joining a company may never get the chance to see ,behind the fake smiles .the biggest change you notice when you jump in the pilots seat from the cabin,is c/c 's change in behaviour towards you .....i am glade to report though,that fellow c/c's that ,i thought of, as,genuine when i was a c/c ,and of the same rank,remained the same when i got promoted.
i am sure there are more things to be said here ,but i am feeling i waisted a lot of internet space here already.
....to end up ....
the tools you obtain from working as a c/c can be useful ,if used wisely ,and can help you be a better "commander",and decision maker....having said that i have be around pillots that lack c/c experiense ,but are by far , better than i am ,in what they do and how they handle situations .
regards
i worked as c/c for 8 years ......i started my pilots license ,somewhere in the middle of the 8years .....i did my private pilots license first ,just to check that what i wanted to do since a kid and what was the reality of flying a plane, was any different .there are a lot of c/c wannabe pilots ,because of the interaction with pilots .i suggest you think of the reasons why you want to be a pilot ....for me ,a job as a c/c provided the money to get my pilots license .....working and study-ing is not what i propose cause its hard to keep loyal on both ,and at times work gets in the way of studying (i failed exams because of poor preparation) ,forcing you to step back and try again,as well as extra cost....its not easy and if you r not determined and focused on what you really want to ,you may end up giving up .
what i am trying to say here is that ,if you want to do this for the wrong reasons(pilots look good in uniform?!!),you will end up giving up .
you have to realise that all your savings ,plus loans can bring nothing more than a comercial pilots license ,with no job in the horizon.
be prepared to be one of those unemployed pilots.....in my case that didnt matter cause flying was what i wanted to do and i was ready to take the economical risk of ending up unemployed.
....back to the advantages of beeing a c/c before flying the thing ,are :
-you get to know from experience what goes on behind you ,when you cruise at 35 th feet.....i remember getting upset when ,on short demanding sectors ,i was getting the captains call ,followed by dinner request ...in other words you are more aware of whats going on onboard ,and you try to help ,by not interapting them ,so much.
-as a c/c you interact with a lot of people,and you develop "skills" that help you state your opinions in a non threatennig way ,without beeing confrontational ,in an enviroment that at times is very ego driven
-i went from junior c/c ,with other c/c bullying me around to be their "boss".....beeing one of the c/c helped me see peoples real personas ,something ,that a pilot joining a company may never get the chance to see ,behind the fake smiles .the biggest change you notice when you jump in the pilots seat from the cabin,is c/c 's change in behaviour towards you .....i am glade to report though,that fellow c/c's that ,i thought of, as,genuine when i was a c/c ,and of the same rank,remained the same when i got promoted.
i am sure there are more things to be said here ,but i am feeling i waisted a lot of internet space here already.
....to end up ....
the tools you obtain from working as a c/c can be useful ,if used wisely ,and can help you be a better "commander",and decision maker....having said that i have be around pillots that lack c/c experiense ,but are by far , better than i am ,in what they do and how they handle situations .
regards
:-) (-:
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I flew for 4 years as a cabin crew and just left recently to become a pilot. I chose to work in the field to get some experience, but also to safe some money so I can finance my training now. I got my PPL 8 years ago. I signed up for a flight school, right now I'm in the states to get some flight hours, the rest of the theory will be done in my homecountry. If I'm lucky I should be finished with a "frozen" ATPL (will only become a real one once I flew 1500 hours) next summer. Then "all" I have to do is find a job...Studying next to working as a flight attendent is possible, but only if you are really comitted. I'm not the type. For me it was better to work a couple years, being dedicated to the one job, learn the in and out of it and environment and then take the money and do what I wanted - with the advantage of the inside knowledge already.
Wishing you good luck whatever way you choose!
Eli
