Do you love to fly and want an exciting, rewarding, and challenging career with great travel benefits?
Join the club! Every day, more than 5 million people travel by air. Helping them reach their destinations safely and securely are professional airline pilots. You can join them by becoming a professional airline pilot, traveling the world to connect people and goods!
Here are some activities you can do to see if it’s the right career for you:
Join the aviation program at your school or in your community. (Or start one!)
Take an aviation class.
Build and fly model airplanes.
Visit your local aviation museum.
Become a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol.
Take it a step further and learn about:
The theory of flight.
Aircraft systems.
A day in the life of a pilot.
Navigation and developing a flight plan.
Meteorology.
Air traffic control.
Federal aviation rules and regulations.
These are growing lists of activities and information for high school students. Send your ideas to Education@alpa.org.
There are several paths that you can take to become a professional airline pilot. One of the most common ways is by attending a university with an aviation/flight training program. There, you can learn to fly, build flight-time hours, and earn your degree. You can also learn to fly through standalone flight training programs and the military. Each path has pros and cons.