I Want To Be A Commercial / Professional Pilot

When you ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up and they answer, “I want to be a pilot,” chances are, the image in their head is that of an airline pilot.

That is what I envisioned when I thought of the word “pilot.”

Little did I know that the world is full of possibilities as far as careers go when flying is what you want to do.  Some examples of different pilot career categories are listed at the bottom of the page.

Want to know the 4 top things you will need to be a professional pilot?

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Do you know what type of pilot you want to be?

If you’re not sure, try asking yourself these questions:

Is family life important to me?

Do I like to travel and be away from home a lot?

Does it matter what type of airplane I fly?

Do I need a steady work schedule?

How much will my health suffer if I need to work during times when I should be sleeping?

Based on your answers, you can research the types of pilot jobs available.  For instance, cargo pilots typically fly at night, which could be adverse to your health.  Airline pilots are away from home a lot, and miss out on precious moments of their family life.

Your personality type will also affect what kind of career you may want to pursue.  Here is some more information for becoming a pilot:

Different types of pilot careers

Airline Pilot
Major airline pilot
Cargo airline pilot
Regional airline pilot
Airline flight instructor pilot
Airline technical pilot
Air Charter/Air Taxi pilot
Corporate Pilot
Pilot for one specific corporation
Pilot for a company that offers the use of business jets to several corporations
Contract pilot who is represented by a contracting company
Test Pilot
Production test pilot
Experimental test pilot
Maintenance test pilot
Military Pilot
Fighter pilot
Military transport pilot
Military flight instructor
Military test pilot
Sales Demonstration Pilot
Flight Instructor Pilot
Cropduster Pilot
Medical Ambulance Pilot
and more…

As you can see, there are a variety of careers you can choose from when it comes to getting paid to fly.  Most pilots will use some of these jobs as stepping stones to their dream job of being a captain for one of the major airlines, such as United, Delta, or FedEx.  Salaries, schedules, domiciles, aircraft, quality of life, and other factors will vary according to each career.