Becoming a pilot in the US - is it even possible for me?
 

Hello,

I always had the dream of becoming a pilot and I am very happy that I am now almost done with my EASA CPL with frozen ATPL. I am doing the training at the European Flight Academy (Lufthansa Group), so I will very likely get a job on an A320 or A220 pretty soon after completing flight school. However, I have been thinking a lot about moving to the US and I would love to work for an american carrier (especially United or Delta but others would also be fine). Unfortunately though, I don’t think I have real chances to ever work there.

So, there are a few problems and I am not sure if there are solutions. I would probably work for one of the Lufthansa Group airlines first and then fly for an airline in the US as early as possible. The problems are the following (please also tell me if I am forgetting something):

1. Getting a Green Card - I don’t have any family in the US so my chances of getting a Green Card are not great, right? From what I have read in my research, the airlines wouldn’t be able/willing to help me getting it and I don’t have any university degree or “real” work experience. I started the training right after doing my Abitur which is more valuable than US high school degree but of course not as good as a university degree. So for now, I think the only way of getting a Green Card would be to win the Green Card lottery which is obviously very unlikely as well. I would also consider going to university and doing a bachelor in aviation management (because I am also interested in that topic), but that would not really increase my chances, right?

2. Requirements of the airlines - at least, this is something that should eventually be possible compared to point 1: I obviously also need to make it through the airline’s selection process. Do you think the major US carriers would accept someone with only 1500 hours on jet airliners? And I am still very young, I would also have to wait until I am 23 to apply for a job. The latter isn’t that bad though, that would only be about one year after getting my ATPL and having 1500 hours on an airliner.

3. FAA licenses - I could convert my EASA licenses to an equivalent FAA license. But would I have to do that even before applying at the airline or could I also wait with that until I get accepted?

4. Non-US flight school - even though Lufthansa’s flight school has a very good reputation, I could imagine that US airlines prefer people who have been flying in the US before. If that is the case, could it be helpful that Lufthansa is doing part of the training in cooperation with United and I have therefore done 6 months of my training at United Aviate Academy in Arizona?

5. Pilot demand - I have read quite often that the demand for pilots in the US is decreasing. In addition, I imagine that the number of applicants is pretty high and people flying for a regional carrier affiliated with the airline (e. g. Endeavor) and pilots with more hours than my 1500 - 2000 will be preferred.


I am sorry for writing such a long post - I just have soooooo many questions ;). I’d be very glad if someone could help me. I am especially worried about not being able to get the right to work in the US - so if anyone has some advice regarding my first point, that would be especially appreciated!

Many thanks in advance!!!

1. Under the current Administration the atmosphere is not very Immigrant friendly.
Nothing pilot related will get you a Greencard.

2. No. There is a difference between minimum requirements and experience to be competitive for the job. Most of the Majors own one or more Regional airlines and the current flow for American Airlines is around 7 years at their Regional. If you translate this to hours you’re around the 5000 hr mark of which 3500 Jet of which probably 1500 PIC.
There is no reason for them to hire from outside with less experience.

3. Before, can a US pilot apply at Lufthansa without an EASA license? Why would you expect it the other way around?

4. No, flying single engine piston in Arizona is incomparable with flying a Regional jet in and out of Newark, JFK, Chicago, Miami.

5. Yes. Market determines demand which determines hiring

I have some trouble understanding your motivations. Your re currently in a position that thousands of aspiring people want to be in.
Yet you are romanticizing flying for a US Major.
You’ll just as easily be right seat for 7-12 years flying only US Domestic city pairs in a 320 or 737.
If you are interested in long haul flying look at CargoLux or AeroLogic

May I ask why such a great desire to come work in the US, especially since it sounds like you have a chance to fly for LH mainline?

My question exactly, especially with a pretty much guaranteed job at the end of your training.
A job that would require 1500+ hrs in the US.

Yeah, the math isn't really mathing, is it?

I completed a faa multi engine license in 8 days in LAX..compared to my UK license the written was easy..iirc 3 hours in Phoenix..i finished around 2 hours in with 96% ...pass 70%. The school offered me a sponsorship for a work visa.
But America is not europe although the money can be very good.

That's about the only motivation I can see in the OP's case. He can certainly make more money here, but not right away and only IF he gets the right job whereas it sound like he has a guaranteed gig in Europe and a pretty good one at that.

True enough. But germanaviator05 is a young person just entering the profession and asking questions...always a smart move.

I think he's getting some good thoughts in response to his post.

There has been some pretty unusual hiring going on here in the last few years but as we all know, it's coming to an end and resuming normal circumstances.

I would suggest he stick with what training/employment opportunities he's got and flesh those out. From there he can make more informed decisions.

All that glitters in the USA in the last few years may not be gold today.

germanaviator05, let us know how you're doing and what you decide.

germanaviator05,

If you want to get a look at US airline hiring current and past, to get some perspective, use this website. As far as I know, it's accurate:

https://www.fapa.aero/pilot-hiring-history

germanaviator, for now the US market is closed for you, you neither have the hours nor the licence. Both are however solvable.

If you can choose, choose the A320 job over the A220 job and then fly as much as possible. If only A220 is offered, fly as much as possible on the A220. While doing so, you will have enough time to investigate further on options into getting into the US system immigration wise (the immigration hurdle is the biggest).

About the licence: did your flight training at EFA happen in the US? If yes, how many hours did you collect on N-registered planes? You might be able to do an FAA checkride directly and with that obtain the US equivalent of the licence you aspire to in EASA land. Or you might at least obtain a FAA-PPL. To do this you need to do the required FAA-medical. Some EASA flight medical examiners offer the FAA-medical at the same visit, you just pay a bit more money, and you go home with both the EASA- and FAA-medical.

To do the FAA checkride (and possibly some refreshment training before) you need a TSA clearance I believe, but this will be achievable, you just need to follow the bureacratic steps. Flight schools will tell you what they need to accept you as a foreign student. You will also need a theory exam, which you can pass at any FAA FSDO, and you best prepare with test preparators like Gleim.

The good thing about US licences is that they never expire, you just lose currency. Then you need to regain currency if you want to exercise the priviledges of your licence again. So to obtain the FAA CPL-IR and later FAA-ATPL-IR is not such a headache with regards to keeping it valid as it is in Europe.

Best online resource about US aviation (US equivalent to pprune): airlinepilotcentral.com

And may be you might be able to get a green card as a flight instructor? But then I would not choose that over getting hours on a jet in Europe. Rather do it in winter time, you might be able to get time off in Europe during winter time when flying demand is low.

You see, many pieces of a complex puzzle. You need to navigate all of them. The TSA, medical and licence things should not be too expensive to achieve. I wish you luck.

You'll also find it much easier to get an ATP as your first FAA certificate rather than doing Commercial and IR. But that requires getting 1500 hours in Europe first.

A long time ago my very kind US flight academy flight instructor was collecting hours to later join a certain US major airline. He needed an aviation related university degree, which he had, and many letters of recommendation by senior airline people to make it possible. I think he even knew the chief pilot and still had to wait years and all those hours to be considered. Another US pilot friend and stuck on ATRs pilot went halfway around the globe to join a certain AF reserve unit to get Galaxy and multi engine hours first to be considered for any airline jet job later.
I would agree, be aware of what choices you have and continue on your route before considering the full move to the US shark tank.

slim to none I’m afraid without the right to live and work in USA and no university degree

Not meaning to demotivate you here, but this may take longer and be harder than you might think. EFA is not a classic cadet program (as it once was) but a Lufthansa branded private school. I would recommend concentrating on securing a proper job in Europe and not worry about the US market for at least the next 5 to 10 years.