Hi everyone.I have never posted on this forum before so allow me introduce myself. My name is Scott Pumphrey. I am a young aviator and love to fly. I am currently an instrument rated private pilot, but hope to have my commercial before the end of the year. Anyway, I have been thinking of what to do with my life when I graduate from college. I am a professional aviation major at my university, so I obviously want to pursue a career in aviation. My ultimate goal is to be an airline pilot, but with the number of required hours before even being able to apply, I must choose another career to build hours before then. I have considered all of my options and I have pretty much narrowed it down to either corporate aviation or the military. If anyone could give me some tips for each of these career paths, or if you have had a job as a pilot in either and would be willing to talk, I would greatly appreciate it! Just send me a PM and we can go from there.Thanks,Scott Pumphrey

ScottYou don't say which country you are from, this will have a massive bearing on how you progress your flying career.I fly for a living, but for the airlines so I can't help much with you wanting a military or Biz Jet career but feel free to PM me and I'll reply when I get the time.RgdsDean

I agree with you 1000%. And my name is Scott btw.

Scott,I'm going to assume you're living in the US. [big assumption on my part!]As for the military, there really are a lot of down sides to someone with your resume (Aeronautical University student with 100-200 hours trying to be an Airline pilot ASAP) going into, say, the Air Force. Most Airlines will hire any air force PILOT without hesitation; the problem is that as of now the current USAF requirements would have you signing a minimum 10 year (1 decade) commitment with the USAF to fly anything at all. They will also only cover $10k of your student loans (And because you were an Aeronautical Student, my guess is that you have more than 10k worth of student loans - probably in the 20-80,000 range).All said and done, I'm not sure how much the USAF would benefit anyone who's already gone to an aero uni, already has student loans, and already has a lot of time if they want to be an airline pilot before they are thirty. Someone else will have to elaborate on Corporate Aviation - that is not my expertise.

Scott, you may find this recent news article of interest to you. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11691204I am also seeking ways to fulfill my ambition. I have just applied to CTC with hope of gaining cadetship.I am no career advisor, so may I suggest you seek professional advice regarding your options. Saying this, if I were in your shoes, with a CPL coming in the next few months, I would get an instructors license and go work for a company such as Cabair. Atleast you will be getting paid for those hours. There are also so many different types of hour building packages out there if you have the money. Buy a well known aviation magazine, theres usually hundreds of adverts in the back for this kind of thing.Whatever your choice is, good luck, and maybe I'll see you in the skies one day!

Hey Scott, I am quite intrigued as to what university you go to as I myself am an Aeronautical Science major. I really do not know too much about the civilian side or the Air Force, but I will try telling you my experience. I am in the Army ROTC program and will be commissioning shortly. I don't know your financial needs, but I will be getting my entire student loan amount (Up to $65,000) repaid by the Army for a 1-3 year contract trade off. Seeing as I want to be an Army officer, this is not a big deal for me, but depending on how soon you want to get out and try airlines this could be for you. Obviously the Army does not fly any fixed wing, but flying helicopters will get you turbine time, which combined with your fixed wing experience and ratings from school make for an interesting resume. I have spoken to many former Army helicopter pilots that now fly for the airlines since most of the required time is for turbine time and does not specify in what airframe.

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I am indeed from the United States. I am attending Louisiana Tech University, an Aviation Accreditation Board International accredited 4-year university. I have been looking pretty seriously into the Marine Corps. I'm just wondering if airlines look fondly upon Marine pilots, or if I would have better luck with corporate aviation or another branch of the military. As far as building flight time before graduation, I will pursue the CFI and CFII and instruct for a couple of years before I graduate. That way I will be getting paid while building time. Unfortunately, the only time I will get in college will be Cessna 172 time. I will definitely get the multi-engine rating as well, and maybe MEI, but that still doesn't give me turbine time. Thanks again for all of the comments!Scott Pumphrey

Just network as much as you can. Also don't forget that every time you walk out the door, open your mouth or post on the internet, you are at an interview. Aviation is a small community. That being said, every time you meet someone it can make you or break you.Check out Jetcareers.comIt is a huge forum and website run by a Delta 767 FO and his wife. There you will find people from every walk of aviation. From Student pilots to 747 pilots to Air Traffic Controllers to even Military guys. If you decide to check the site out, Read more than you type and listen more than you speak. There are some extremely knowledgeable guys/gals. There are also some tools as well.

Hey Scott,There are so many ways to go, that you can do what works best for you! The airline industry is tough right now, but should be improving in the next few years due to retirements. They (I don't know who exactly) are predicting a "shortage of pilots" in the coming years. I haven't seen anything of the sort, at least not yet.However, I know someone that with 850hrs, 200 multi, and only about 30 turbine, got an interview with Horizon. It is discouraging, as I applied for the same job with over 2500TT, 2000 turbine, 1150 turbine PIC, and 105 multi, and I didn't even get a "not interested" email or letter. The only upside is that the regionals are slowly starting to hire again! When I was going through school it was like, "regionals are hiring at 300TT/50ME and you should be in great shape". Whenever I got close to that, they'd bump it another 100/10. Finally, it jumped from like 600/75 to 1000/100 or even higher.More and more in "our" industry, it's WHO you know, and being in the right place at the right time. Anyone can testify to that! I started this response but was forced to close firefox for an update, however Matthew is right on with the "network yourself" comment! Getting the contacts and the hookups leads right back to what I said about "who" you know. A lot of the times, "who you know" matters way more than "what you know". Some airlines even require a resume to be "walked in" by a current employee.I can't testify to what military starts are like, but I can imagine it would be a ton of fun (fighters are way more fun than slow planes :(). However, you do not build more than a few thousand, if that many, hours flying military. With the 10 year requirement, that may be changing.I did as you are doing, started as a student at a 4 year flight college (finished in 3 years) and then started instructing, while working as a lineman at the local FBO the whole time to support myself. After all primary ratings and licenses (PPL, INST, COMM, MEL, CFI, CFII, MEI, ADX) and my one year instructing, I got hired as an "FO" at a Part 135 gig out here in Hawaii. It may have been right seat in a C208, but building up to 120 hours per month is a nice way to build that total time. In fact, at one point they were hiring people with as little as 200TT and SEL/COMM/INST. I then I upgraded and have been flying as "Captain" of the C208B for a year and a half now. Part 135 gigs like mine can be a great way to build time fast, however you may lack in the ME department as I do.The best things are to check sites like Airline Pilot Central for airline hiring statuses, Climb 350 for some jobs, and once you get some time (400+ total), Airline Apps which a lot of airlines use for resumes. Check on different forums, be sure to befriend the instructors, and ask your flight school for the best route, etc. It's hard for one of us to have that "right" answer for you, but at least we may be able to point you in a good starting direction!If you can think of any other questions you may have, feel free to PM me and I'll answer the best I can!All the best!