Aviation Careers

https://www.nps.gov/orgs/aviationprogram/index.htm

When most people think "pilot", they think "airline". This is known as Part 121 flying. Think Southwest, American, FedEx, Frontier or any other major airline. I have been blessed to grow up under the influence of my father, who is an airline pilot. However, growing up, I never considered being a pilot, it was simply the job my father did. In my eyes, he went to some cool places such as Canada, Sioux Falls, Bozeman, Boise, San Francisco, Boston, you name it. In comparison, his trips as a pilot might seem boring compared to those flying internationally on the regular. Being a family man, he chose those shorter trips in order to spend more time with his family. Because of that, along with the sacrifice of not upgrading to Captain, he has been able to spend every holiday with us for as long as I can remember.

I personally did not ever consider being a pilot until he had recommended I take a discovery flight at the local school in the area. Since then, I've worked toward each of my pilot ratings. My initial fascination with aviation after my discovery flight did not stem from the desire to be an airline pilot, but to be a bush pilot! I love the outdoors, and for a while, I wanted to become a park ranger at one of our 63 beautiful National Parks in the U.S. As time has gone on, my goals have shifted. I think flying via the corporate route is an ideal path for me. However, I would still love to be able to mix the outdoors and aviation- that would be a dream job for me.

Being interested in such a niche category of aviation got me thinking of all the many different jobs pilots can perform. There are many other aviation careers that most people don't consider, or even know about until they get into the industry. Some examples are:

• Corporate/Business (Part 91 or 135)

  • Flying for a company like McDonald's or a sports team

    • You'd be surprised how many sucessful locally owned/based businesses have their own private jet too.

    • This job is my goal in aviation!

  • Flying personal jets

• Goverment Pilots - look at USAJobs.com

  • Police

  • FAA (Test pilots, Designated Pilot Examiners, Flight Check Pilots)

  • Forest Service / Department of the Interior

    • This is what originally got me interested in flying! I still would love to be able to do this!

• Aviation Manufacturers

  • Anything from Textron (Cessna and Beechcraft) to Lockheed Martin and Boeing

    • Test pilots and ferry pilots

• Bush Pilots

  • Might require that you hold an A/P license since it is typically single pilot operations in remote areas.

• Aerial firefighters

• Air Ambulance / Medevac

  • Sometimes this is through an aircraft owned by a hospital or through a contracted company.

  • Typically helicopter operations for local operations

  • Airplane operations for long distance

• Flight Instructors

  • Whether this is on the primary flight training level at flight schools, at airlines, or instructors for type ratings, these are some of the most valuable pilots to the industry.

• Cropdusting

There are many more pilot jobs that are not listed on here, and many I am sure I have not heard of yet. All of these jobs require extensive training beyond just possessing your commercial certificate. That being said, many of them are extremley competitve too. However, with enough passion and persistence, your goals and opportunities found in aviation are achievable!