What does it take to become a ATP pilot?

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Skrocki

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Skrocki
I live the lovely city of Denver, and i was wondering what steps does it take to become a ATP pilot. The University offers aviation degrees, and i was wondering what should i look for and steps i should take. At the moment I'm in my last year of high school and having some senioritis. :lol:
 
Well, the thing is the university that i will do to is only about 3 thousand a semester so for 4 years it's 24 thousand.
 
There are some recent threads on this here. The general consensus is if your desire is a professional flying career the least costly is:

1) Attend two year community college
2) While doing 1, train part 61 and get your private, instrument, commercial, multi and CFI
3) Flight instruct while finishing 1 and while you;
4) Attend four-year school school with a useful degree other than aviation (so you have something to fall back on) while you continue to build time. The magic number for the ATP is 1,500 hours which you can get instructing and odd jobs flying (towing banners/gliders, hauling skydivers, pipeline patrol, etc.)

Be sure to acquire some twin time. Easiest way to do that is add your MEI to your CFI. Adding your CFI-I will get you more instructing and IFR time.

Or, drop a load on an aviation University (but pick a real University) which buys you some forgiveness on the 1,500 hours. (see the rules.)
 
I'm pretty sure that doesn't include flight fees.


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Skrocki said:
Well, the thing is the university that i will do to is only about 3 thousand a semester so for 4 years it's 24 thousand.
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That's cheap. Go for it. Then find a local flight school and start flying 3-4 times a week. In a year you can have all your ratings and be building time on someone else's dime....and even be paid for it.
 
LDJones said:
That's cheap. Go for it. Then find a local flight school and start flying 3-4 times a week. In a year you can have all your ratings and be building time on someone else's dime....and even be paid for it.
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That's what i was planning, just wanting to make sure what I'm doing is a good idea. Thanks!
 
Skrocki said:
That's what i was planning, just wanting to make sure what I'm doing is a good idea. Thanks!
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The college degree has two purposes:
1) it's a check-off item for most good jobs these days (unless you pursue a trade);
2) it's a fallback if aviation doesn't pan out (you don't like it or have health issues.)

Get it as cheap as you can. Few care as much about where the degree is from as long as you can check the box that you have one.
 
LDJones said:
The college degree has two purposes:
1) it's a check-off item for most good jobs these days (unless you pursue a trade);
2) it's a fallback if aviation doesn't pan out (you don't like it or have health issues.)

Get it as cheap as you can. Few care as much about where the degree is from as long as you can check the box that you have one.
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Good to hear, should i get minor or major in aviation?
 
Lol, dude worry about gettin your CPL and a JOB first!
 
Skrocki said:
Good to hear, should i get minor or major in aviation?
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Not necessary unless you're trying to come in under the restricted ATP rule. Personally, I think you're better off building the extra hours. You can make up the difference in paid instructing while finishing your degree.
 
What does it take to become a ATP pilot?

!. Time
2. Hours
3. Money
4. Skill

Once you have the rating, to get hired you need

5.Connections
6. Luck
 
Money ,money,money and flying skills,that you don't master ,around the patch in a small single.
 
A lot of people talking about aviation degrees and flight training like college students have all the money in the world. If mommy/daddy is paying then you can skip this. But if you're going for this and money is a concern, consider the following (it is also what I'm currently doing).

1. Find something you are interested in besides aviation. Aviation is not a steady career and you never know when you will be laid off. Additionally, having a skill set outside of aviation can help you immensely.
2. Get a degree in something that ISN'T aviation. Aviation is probably the single most useless degree a person can get. You'll be going to school AND paying for flight school at the same time. Essentially, you're paying twice for the same thing. And, collegiate flight training is CONSIDERABLY more than normal flight training (part 61 or 141).
3. In the path of getting your degree (mine is Electrical Engineering, if you're curious) go to flight school. Get your PPL. See if you even like flying, since it seems you have not gone through any flight training as of yet.
4. Get your instrument, commercial, CFI/CFII. This will allow you to instruct (and make money flying) while you are in college. Then, go for multiengine rating and MEI. Following that, build a ton of hours until you reach 1,500.
5. After that, you can apply for a job with the airlines, and you will hopefully be finishing up with your degree.

I say this because it is normally not mentioned in speaking of an ATP career. It seems backwards to have to start another career in order to get to another one. However, if you can't afford it just yet (ATP is going to cost you around $70,000-90,000 to get, rough estimate) you will have to find a way to make it work.
 
I know the school, I used to teach there part-time but not in aviation (comp sci). It's Metro State and I refuse to call it a university because one dept. got permission to issue Masters degrees. It's the 2nd largest school in the state, commuter and is really a very high quality achool, depending on the program. No flight instructing available, only ground and theory courses offered in the Av dept. I sit in on various Av courses from time to time, know most of the faculty.

Major in anything else where you can make money, e.g. Comp Sci and take the Av courses as electives or a minor. Excellent ground school, and the sim courses count as hours to all the ratings even if you aren't majoring i the dept.

It's got 2 very interesting certificates (not electives but 5 courses for a specialty) in UAV and another in System Engineering, which is the aerospace term for analysis and design of spacecraft using the NASA/USAF books and process model. Haven't dug into the UAV track yet.

By the way to the OP....there's an automatic discount for tuition, on top of in-state tuition for residents. that's the Colorado Opportunity Fund.
 
Last edited:
LDJones said:
There are some recent threads on this here. The general consensus is if your desire is a professional flying career the least costly is:

1) Attend two year community college
2) While doing 1, train part 61 and get your private, instrument, commercial, multi and CFI
3) Flight instruct while finishing 1 and while you;
4) Attend four-year school school with a useful degree other than aviation (so you have something to fall back on) while you continue to build time. The magic number for the ATP is 1,500 hours which you can get instructing and odd jobs flying (towing banners/gliders, hauling skydivers, pipeline patrol, etc.)

Be sure to acquire some twin time. Easiest way to do that is add your MEI to your CFI. Adding your CFI-I will get you more instructing and IFR time.

Or, drop a load on an aviation University (but pick a real University) which buys you some forgiveness on the 1,500 hours. (see the rules.)
Click to expand...

Probably the most succinct and useful explanation you'll find.
 
LDJones said:
I think that was the point of the original question....looking for advice on getting to the ATP.
Click to expand...

Once he has
1 a CPL and
2 a job

He'all know the answer to his question.


If he wants a degree and he is smart he'll get a 2 or 4 year nursing degree and his RN license.

Otherwise it's just worthless paper to get a job application box checked, and should be done online, as cheaply and quickly as possible, no one will care what it is in, unless you're planning on passing the bar, becoming a MD or something like that.

If you want just need a BS in BS for the airlines, cheapest option possible, do it online at night after work.

If you want something useful, RN is probably the best bang for your buck, also something you could do part time while you're building your hours as a CFI or at a DZ etc
 
James331 said:
Once he has
1 a CPL and
2 a job

He'all know the answer to his question.


If he wants a degree and he is smart he'll get a 2 or 4 year nursing degree and his RN license.

Otherwise it's just worthless paper to get a job application box checked, and should be done online, as cheaply and quickly as possible, no one will care what it is in, unless you're planning on passing the bar, becoming a MD or something like that.

If you want just need a BS in BS for the airlines, cheapest option possible, do it online at night after work.

If you want something useful, RN is probably the best bang for your buck, also something you could do part time while you're building your hours as a CFI or at a DZ etc
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd opt for a comp sci with emphasis on practical programming (especially web-related) skills. You'll always be able to find work and do project work on the side while flying.
 
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