Tips to land your first job in Aviation as a Pilot

In the Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back, wise old Yoda says,

“Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”

Think about that thought. There is no try. You either do something, or you do not.

I can relate this saying to all the budding pilots who say that they always wanted to be a pilot and they all tried but………

There is no but; its either you gave it a shot or you didn’t.

One common excuses that I hear is there seemed to be no jobs when they tried applying for jobs and hence gave up! Aviation always has jobs for the people with the right attitude. Make no mistakes, being a pilot is no corporate gig with a 36 hours work week and multitudes of leaves and benefits. Here, you are required to work on Christmas day, new years or even your birthday but if your passion is to flock with stunning air hostesses to a new country every week and be in control of the machine worth millions of dollars, then these sacrifices are only a drop in the ocean.

I have decided to jot down some tips in getting your first job in Aviation.

1)     Pick a growing flight school to conduct your training course

Typically your first job in aviation will be of a flight Instructors or a Joy flight pilot. For this to be realised, you will need to select an organisation, which is growing. The flight training or the charter organisation where you have completed training will always look after its own considering every company has their own way of conducting the operations and if you have learned their way it saves the management in training an outsider and inturn reduce their costs.

2)     Get to know the aircraft

By this I mean, not to pick an aircraft that suits you or that you would enjoy flying but the aircraft most widely used in Australia. If you were to complete your training in an aircraft that is not readily available you will once again increase costs to your potential employer in standardisation and training.

3)    Know your employer and his business model

There is nothing that impresses the potential employer if you were across the company culture and inline with the company philosophy. One must never forgot the employer is hiring you because he/she thinks that you will be able to look after their customers and you will be a ethical operator. If you are not across the company philosophy or oblivious with their objectives then it will be not only difficult and time consuming for you employer to lead you as an employee but it will dampen your success in that company.

If you have read this blog and realize a need to find a suitable flight school in your area and need a suggestion you can email me and I will be more than happy to help you with a few options.

Written by Neel Khokhani CEO of Soar Aviation and Bendigo Aviation Services. Neel Khokhani has 10 years of Aviation Industry experience and has been a flight instructor 8 out of those 10 years. Neel was the founder/CEO of Soar Aviation, which has now taken legs in Sydney, Melbourne, Bendigo and Hong Kong in less than 3 years with a team of 38 and 20 aircraft.