becoming a pilot?
 

Hi,
I am 16 and upon graduating planning on going to a flight school to become a pilot. No one seems to be able to answer my questions so maybe someone here can. What school would be good to go to get all my ratings and also get a college degree? Is it best to get a college degree to become a pilot or not? Also, is there a good chance of becoming a pilot at the age of 23 or 24? And, not very important, but I heard that some pilots make around 200,000 USD a year. Is this true or not? What is the average salary for a commercial pilot?
Thanks for all the help

I can't answer all your questions, as I'm UK based and have little experience of the US training system. I'm sure others will help with where to go.

As for a degree, I believe that all the US majors require their pilots to have a four-year degree qualification, so you're going to have to get one!

23 or 24 is a quite normal age to be entering the profession; some do it earlier, some much later.

The maximum earnings in the US majors is in excess of $300,000 pa for a senior training captain on B747/777s. However, earnings on regional airlines can be below $20,000, and it takes a good long while to get up to the seriously-well-paid positions! You have age on your side, so I wish you luck.

1HOT56,

Yes, the majors do require a 4-year degree, allthough it doesn`t really seem to matter from which field of study.Of course a degree in Aeronautical Science would be preferrable...
There a plenty of Universities that offer combined flight training and college courses, most of which combine the two so that obtaining a certificate (i.e. Private Pilot) counts as a fullcredit course.

I`ll name a few; Embry Riddle Aeronautical University ( www.erau.edu ), University of North Dakota - UND (some claim that this is the best place), University of Anchorage, Alaska - UAA.

There are several others, but these were the first that came to mind.Some of these also give credits if you already have some certificates, so you can actually start your training right now!;)

Most likely you will need to become an instructor after gaining your commercial certificate, just because that almost nobody will hire a pilot with as little as 250 hours total time.There are several "add-on" ratings, and of course the more you have the more attractive you will be on the job-market.

Scroggs is right about the $$$ within the majors (and commuters).Keep in mind that the big bucks are being made by senior training captains, and that these guys and gals have been flying about 40 years!So don`t expect to be making that kind of money flying anytime soon...

It seems that you`ve got a plan and it definitely pays off to look around with regards to flight traing and degrees.You probably have a couple of aviation magazines lying around too... look at the ads, get a hold of the web-sites or just give them a call, as they will be happy to send you info about theri school and why YOU should do your training with them.Also keep in mind that when you get your pilot certificate(s) it will not say WHERE you did your training... and keep an eye on the prices...;)