My friend has over 3000 hrs of flight time, a phd. in aerospace engineering, is a certified paramedic, and knows Chinese. Would he be able to get a job with an airline like Delta, or Continental or AA?
The problem with this is that it sounds like something your friend needs to be inquiring about, rather than you. Why are you asking about this, instead of your friend doing the asking?
"Knowing Chinese" doesn’t tell us very much. Mandarin? Cantonese? Mongolian? There are several languages known as "Chinese." The only one that would be of any advantage in a career search is Mandarin, and that would not make much difference in applying for a piloting job.
The PhD in AE might work against your friend. He might do better just to mention his bachelor’s degree and not go into his graduate qualifications.
A person with all those credentials should be a good candidate for some aviation job, but the truth is that a person with a PhD in engineering would have to have a pretty solid career track going, unless he’s been in jail or recently suffered a head injury.
So it sounds like you should leave it up to your friend. He sounds pretty capable, and should be able to handle this without your help.
October 30th, 2009 at 5:09 am
you need an private flyer licence
probably not with major airlines, but probably a couple of big low-cost airlines. like southwest airlines or jetblue.
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October 30th, 2009 at 5:58 am
the chinese part will help a lot. that’s an okay amount of hours too. i thin he’ll make it.
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October 30th, 2009 at 6:43 am
The problem with this is that it sounds like something your friend needs to be inquiring about, rather than you. Why are you asking about this, instead of your friend doing the asking?
"Knowing Chinese" doesn’t tell us very much. Mandarin? Cantonese? Mongolian? There are several languages known as "Chinese." The only one that would be of any advantage in a career search is Mandarin, and that would not make much difference in applying for a piloting job.
The PhD in AE might work against your friend. He might do better just to mention his bachelor’s degree and not go into his graduate qualifications.
A person with all those credentials should be a good candidate for some aviation job, but the truth is that a person with a PhD in engineering would have to have a pretty solid career track going, unless he’s been in jail or recently suffered a head injury.
So it sounds like you should leave it up to your friend. He sounds pretty capable, and should be able to handle this without your help.
References :
old pilot
October 30th, 2009 at 7:01 am
Chinese isn’t worth anything unless he’s flying in Asia.
Your friend has enough hours to get a job with a commuter or one of the smaller but major airlines as a First Officer.
The PHD may scare some airlines but he could elect to just show his Bachelor’s degree and not the PHD if he thinks it will be a problem. If I were him I’d do some interviews and see if the PHD is scaring off employers. If not leave it on, if it is, change it to the BS or BA.
The paramedic certification if current would let him get a job with an air ambulance company. That would likely pay more than a position at an airline, as a first officer anyway, so I think he should look at that option first.
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I’m a pilot
October 30th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Really? All that? He should get a job as a professor and make a lot more income. You also don’t say what ratings he has. If he must get more, why? He already has a good resume for a nice career as an aerospace engineer. Being a paramedic won’t help here much, and Chinese won’t help much unless he’s stationed in Asia or flying there a lot.
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October 30th, 2009 at 8:32 am
The 3000 hours of flight time is the question. If it is all single engine and light twin time, then he is not a candidate for a major airline. If it includes 500 or so hours of PIC jet time, then he is. He can get the required time by going to work for a regional, but that will take typically about 3-5 years. Another option is to go out to the local airport, and bag some time doing day flying.
Other than making him stand out in a crowd, the language, paramedic, and PhD will make no difference at all. They could work against him a little, but I doubt that. At my airline, we have at least 3 MDs working as pilots. So over-qualification, at least at one airline, doesn’t seem to matter.
One last point: when and if the flood gates open and all the airlines start hiring at the same time, warm blood might be the only necessary qualification.
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