We are among the very first generations that can take to the sky, something that too many of us take for granted in the modern age. It’s allowed us to expand as a global civilisation, to allow people to visit different continents in a matter of hours and has ultimately seen the human race advance at an unprecedented rate. This is often not lost on pilots, who see how incredible it is to be able to jump in a small aircraft and fly just about anywhere that a bird can.
For many, that’s enough to consider a professional career as a pilot, either flying a commercial aircraft or something smaller like a helicopter. In fact, helicopters are a great way to make a living, but it does mean many years of hard work and dedication, and even some sacrifice.
Some Difficulties A Career In Flying Presents
These are some of the challenges that a person may want to keep in mind when deciding whether they want to be a helicopter pilot one day:
- The technical difficulty to learning how to fly
- The intense years of training
- The lower pay
- Not as much free time as other professions
Having said that, there are also plenty of benefits, such as:
- Every job is interesting and rewarding
- The pay eventually becomes excellent
- There will always be demand
- Get to fly to many different places
Getting Started
Before becoming a certified helicopter pilot, a person will first need to choose a flight school, preferably one that offers excellent programs. But this is just the start of the journey, as a potential pilot will also need to devote their lives to countless hours of training. In fact, pilot training is some of the most difficult in the world, and there are numerous obstacles and challenges that need to be faced.
A part of this is spending hundreds and often thousands of hours in both flight and ground labs, although they may have different names depending on the school. This is where the pilot will learn the fundamentals of flying, including how to do the checks, how to work the controls, the various rules of flying, and so much more. This is where a lot of beginner pilots drop out, so making it past the training is a good sign that a person will go all the way. Those that want a private licence can get it within a few months of training, but commercial licences will take many more years.
The Money
Once training is completed, the next step is putting in the hours, and this is where money gets tight. Most beginner pilots will have to settle for a fairly low paying job for the first few years, doing whatever they can to get by, although such income streams as pokies online can be fairly lucrative.
But once that’s over and they’ve earned both experience and a name for themselves, the income skyrockets, and most pilots can easily make more than $90,000 a year.
