What is a better way to get your licenses?

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kyleee
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What is a better way to get your licenses?

Post by kyleee »

I am currently a grade 10 student in AB wishing to pursue a career as a pilot in the future. After days of reading forums about various topics, there were different approaches as to which is the better way to obtain a pilot's license.

- get a degree, enter flight school about 6-7 years
- get a degree while getting ur PPL and CPL privately/club about (hassle, the degree may be useless) 4-5 yrs
-go to an aviation college, get a diploma/degree (any suggestions which a good one is? doesn't have to be AB but I hope it's between BC, AB, ON [ i also saw BCIT, Confed, Sault, MRU, waterloo, etc but many people said their programs were trash and might as well just do it privately])) 2-4 yrs
- get a diploma (not related to aviation, back up plan- I was hoping EMT-P [paramedic]) while getting your PPL and CPL at your own pace. (apparently could finish both licenses for a year if devoted to it enough.) would take me 4 yrs


Many people said going to flight colleges is good because companies may put your paper on top of others when applying. There are also usually connections (such as Jazz) and they will guarantee you a spot in the career.
Many people also said that it's useless and is a waste of time because sometimes they don't follow their curriculum and end up taking years before you get just your PPL [Sault], and airlines don't really care about your degree. And also, usually, if you fail the first year of the program, they don't give you a refund and you will have to take the course again.

I think for me I want to go to get an EMT-P diploma while getting both my PPL and CPL licenses, and somehow build up my hours from there and apply to airlines. But I'm afraid my diploma may not be appealing enough to be put on top of the pile? What might also be a good approach that anyone suggests?

I still have about two years to make up my mind anyways so please share your opinions. Thank you! :D :D
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kaoandy1125
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Re: What is a better way to get your licenses?

Post by kaoandy1125 »

If you're thinking of going to Seneca, the way I look at it is this:
Assume 3 individuals both starting in 2020.
Person A will be done Seneca in 2024, let's say he did well and get straight to jazz with 250 hours.
Person B will be done some sort of diploma program (say BCIT) in 2022.
Person C will be done some point between 2021 and 2022 training privately.
If B and C aren't too dumb they'll likely have 1000+ TT and multi time to get into jazz by 2024, when person A just finished Seneca with 250 hours.
B and C will also be able to upgrade sooner than A.

I'd say go to a university/college and study what actually interests you, you can always train privately on the side which is what I did.
However, if all you want is fly planes then I think a few of these diploma programs are definitely a good choice!
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AirFrame
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Re: What is a better way to get your licenses?

Post by AirFrame »

Grade 10, so 14? Join the Cadets, get your Glider and potentially PPL before you're 18, and that part at least is paid for.
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hsilgnepilot
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Re: What is a better way to get your licenses?

Post by hsilgnepilot »

At this time, I'd say get everything done ASAP. Joining cadets and getting your GPL/PPL paid for is a great start (as I did a few years back when I was your age).

Going to a college like Sault (which I wouldn't recommend that school) can be tempting since you can go to Jazz with 250 hours, but in reality it's only a couple grads from each class in reality get to do that. Personal experience, I went to Sault and left in my third year, the professors went on strike, weather wasn't cooperating so I figured it would be better to finish privately. Although I don't have a diploma, I was still able to land a great job, with good pay at a very highly respected company flying 704 shortly after I finished my IFR. I'm now sitting on just over 1000 hours, after only about 10 months of flying at my current company.

I wouldn't recommend getting a degree and then doing flight training, that will take 6 years. There are places like Seneca and MFC that allow you to get a degree and fly at the same time, which will take 4 years.

A 2 year college diploma program such as Confed in Thunder Bay, or Mount Royal in Calgary is a good idea as well.

And you can't go wrong with training at a private flight school, and getting everything done at your own pace. It's all about timing in this industry, and right now is the time. So with all above mentioned, best of luck and hopefully I was able to provide some insight.
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Float_lover
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Re: What is a better way to get your licenses?

Post by Float_lover »

kaoandy1125 wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 8:31 pm If you're thinking of going to Seneca, the way I look at it is this:
Assume 3 individuals both starting in 2020.
Person A will be done Seneca in 2024, let's say he did well and get straight to jazz with 250 hours.
Person B will be done some sort of diploma program (say BCIT) in 2022.
Person C will be done some point between 2021 and 2022 training privately.
If B and C aren't too dumb they'll likely have 1000+ TT and multi time to get into jazz by 2024, when person A just finished Seneca with 250 hours.
B and C will also be able to upgrade sooner than A.

I'd say go to a university/college and study what actually interests you, you can always train privately on the side which is what I did.
However, if all you want is fly planes then I think a few of these diploma programs are definitely a good choice!

+1, It depends on your goal in aviation and the size of your wallet!

Entering at Jazz right away can be great, but you will miss the experience of the 703 operations. There is a lot to learn, you make your own decision! That's something you won't do in the 704/705 operation where the structure is pretty rigid.
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