Types Of Pilot Jobs example essay topic

1,175 words
Out of many careers, there is a great deal of training required to succeed in the world today. The thought of most people is that the more education you seek, the more money you can make. Doctors, lawyers, and many others must go to school far more than the regular 4 years of post education. Nevertheless, I feel pilots don't make enough money for all the cost, risk, and training required. "Lake Powell flight 659, turn heading 340 o, cleared for ILS 34 R into Salt Lake City". You begin your decent out of the blue sky into the dark clouds of a snowstorm.

Your attention then changes from outside the airplane to the few instruments in front of you. Only being able to see the wing tips on either side of you, you begin to notice snow and ice beginning to collect rapidly on the leading edge of the wing. You tune in your required frequencies and start the de-ice cycle. The ice disappears in a flash, as your localizer course begins to come in and you commence you landing checklist. A few rough bumps and you begin to intercept the glide-slope.

"Lake Powell 659 is at the final approach fix;"Continue inbound, cleared to land runway 34 right". You switch tanks, adjust your power and begin to descend. Your radar altimeter begins to fall as you begin to go over your final checklist. 500 to go, 400,300,200 to your decision-height. Your eyes are now switching from inside to outside trying to stay on course, at the same time trying to spot the runway.

The snow covered ground begins too appears below you, but still no runway insight. Traveling 150 Mph, with only 50 feet to go, the faint view of lights aligning you with the runway begin to appear. You make the decision to land. As you close the throttle and start to flare out, you notice the runway is covered in snow. At the same time the wheels touch down, it becomes apparent that under the white blanket is a slick sheet of ice. You coast to a slow speed with little braking, and receive your clearance to taxi to parking.

While shutting down the engines, you check your clock as the truck backs up to unload your precious cargo -- 2 minutes ahead of schedule. Pilots tend to make on average $17,000-$26,000 the first 10 yrs of their flying. This is only increased by a small amount over another 5 to 10 years. After many years and multiple positions at various companies, the average salary finally tops off at about $50,000-$60,000 the last few years of their normal career. Only a few may make more than this because their familiarity in a certain aircraft or previous experience in a certain situation.

Different planes, different areas, and even types of flying require different training. One of the few things people consider before beginning to fly is how much money will be required to complete their training. To prepare yourself for a job as a pilot, you will find your self-spending between $35,000-$40,000 just for the required training. This does not include the thousands of dollars that will be spent on additional textbooks, maps, and other equipment that will be required throughout a flying career.

Learning to fly may seem easier to some than others. In conjunction with a lot of money, a great deal patience and even greater amount of practice is need by the individual. There are two types of licenses: Private -- mainly for fun or recreation, and followed up with a Commercial -- which allows flying for hire or money. These, accompanied with numerous ratings and endorsements give the job seeker the experience and training needed to complete the level of task required. In addition to training, to qualify for a job as a pilot, another $30,000-$50,000 are needed for the cost of flying to gain the necessary experience for the minimum time spent as Pilot-In-Command required by the industry.

A 4-year degree used to be looked upon as a plus but now is required for the majority of flying positions. There are many types of pilot jobs; the most known are the Airline Transport Pilot and the military pilot. To get too either of these situations, it takes many years of experience of flying at other jobs. Other jobs may include flying a business jet to any destination in the world, cargo of all shapes and sizes, and very likely the teaching others to fly as a flight instructor. Not many people realize the benefits today of airplanes and the result they bring. The world may not even run today without the absence of any pilot job.

Before you are even issued a student license, you must be able to pass an FAA physical. The different classes, 1st-3rd, are dependent upon your physical condition, and will limit you to how much training you can receive. If you find yourself not being able to pass a physical at anytime in your career, you may lose your job, and will for sure lose all ratings that must be accompanied with the proper physical class. Being able to fly for a living means you must be located near an airport where the plane is based. With only certain companies operating out of certain or even one airport, relocation may be a must. A flight path may only be a 1-hour tour, ending up back where you left.

A pilot may also find himself with multiple crews flying a 747 to multiple destinations around the world over several days. In addition, with every advance in your career may mean moving to another location. This may make it hard for your family, or may even make it nearly impossible to have a family until your career has reached it's highest potential. To be doing something that man was not intended to do, that is leave the ground, there are of course going to be risks, some even deadly. Different flights have different dangers; with an average of 5-30 incidents across the nation daily, many accidents each day result in fatalities. Incidents include both mechanical problems and pilot error, but the higher the training, the lower the incidents resulting from pilot fault.

Military pilots are probably in the most danger, continually flying themselves into the heart of enemy territory. In today's world, everyday airline pilots are constantly at risk with the threat of terror attacks or other unexpected problems. All pilots train to be ready for any emergency situation from a simple system failure, to an engine loss during a critical portion of the flight. Pilots will always put the safety and security of others before their own.