Future Career

[YJL]

Hi folks,

I'll be applying to university/ college this year as a grade 12. From my point of view, I have 3 options ahead of me. 1st, I can go to University of Waterloo's Geography and Aviation program and hope to be selected into the Jazz approach program. 2nd, I can go to Seneca College and also hope for Jazz approach program. 3rd, I can go to UBC (I live in Vancouver) and wait until I graduate to hopefully apply to the Jazz cadet program. I could also possibly get an instructor rating if I don't make or preferably go up north if not Jazz. Do you guys see any positive for me to start training and aim for 2021 employment at this time or is it all negative? Or should I give up a pilot career for my life even though its my dream for all of my life? Hope to hear back from you all.

YL

[BTD]

If you truly want it , don’t give up.

But have realistic views. The industry is not what it was 7 months ago. If you aren’t currently in the industry, Jazz will not be your next step.

Plan on doing what many generations before did. Head to somewhere you may not otherwise go and get a flying job you may not have thought you would have ever had. There are many who did it that way.

Myself the list goes, Instructing, Air taxi medevac, northern commuter airline, then major airline. I consider myself very lucky. It only took 6 years from starting as an instructor to get to a major. It won’t be a two year journey again for a while.

[Blowin' In The Wind]

If you truly want it , don’t give up.

But have realistic views. The industry is not what it was 7 months ago. If you aren’t currently in the industry, Jazz will not be your next step.

Plan on doing what many generations before did. Head to somewhere you may not otherwise go and get a flying job you may not have thought you would have ever had. There are many who did it that way.

Myself the list goes, Instructing, Air taxi medevac, northern commuter airline, then major airline. I consider myself very lucky. It only took 6 years from starting as an instructor to get to a major. It won’t be a two year journey again for a while.

+1. When things start moving again the industry (for new pilots specifically) will look a lot more like how it did when I finished my training around 10 years ago: pounding the pavement, lots of applications and few call-backs, and ultimately showing your face at operators across the country via road-trips and trying to make sure that the chief pilot/management know your name when a low-time spot finally opens up. The past few years of everything being on fire was an anomaly, and I fear that a lot of new entrants into the industry will be discouraged enough to give up because that short golden period is over... As the previous poster said: if you want it then don't give up. That ultimately will likely mean your first job is on the ramp or the dock, but it will be those showing work ethic and putting in the time that will get those entry level jobs when the industry starts to return to some sense of "normalcy". In regards to the instructor rating, as someone who has kept his instructor rating in use over the years, I say "go for it". A piece of advice if you choose that route is to do your training at the FTU (flight training unit) that you ultimately want to teach at, keep your head down, work hard, keep your word, and do your utmost to not burn bridges... You never know whom you might have to rely on for a reference down the road.

For someone who is so young, don't be dissuaded by the doom and gloom... Better times will be upon us before you know it, and hopefully by the time you're finished training and looking for work this whole period will be just a passing memory. Good luck in your decision.

[EPR]

I recommend getting your training done at a reputable flight training school (not a college/University), then head up to Yellowknife, work the dock for Air Tindi or Summit until you get checked out in the DHC-6...NOT the B-200 (boring flying)! After a season or two, the world is your oyster...and you will forever look back on your DHC-6 time as the greatest adventure of flying you have ever had! And by then the airline industry should be nearly back to normal, and once you're hired, and flying the line, the Skippers are going to totally eat-up your stories as many have been there before you and likely have flown with the same bush legends you had the privilege to fly/learn from! It's not always about the destination so much as the journey to get there!

[challenger_nami]

I personally am not a big fan of going to college/universities for Pilot Training , because in my opnion it takes longer and cost more money.

BUT you should know that airlines like Jazz give the hiring preference to graduates of Integrated Programs from educational institutions like WATERLOO, SENECA etc. because they have a mutual agreements.

Plus, at your age, you probably need a diploma or degree, which those institutions do offer.

While at school, you can work part time on the ramp at porter or one of the other smaller airlines to get used to the industry. That’s until you find an instructor gig or better.

YELLOWKNIFE is always a good option, if you can make it ... not everyone can.
After you are done with your CPL and if finding an instructor gig was not a viable option, going to YELLOWKNIFE should be your next step...

if you are willing to work hard and tolerate a bit of hardship in many aspects in your life, then Yellowknife area has opportunities for a new pilot.