Becoming an Airline Pilot If you love the sky and aviation is one of your interests, you are not discouraged by being responsible for sometimes more than 100 lives, and you have a penchant for exploring the world rather than becoming an airline pilot is for you. Airline pilots have one of the most beautiful and exciting jobs there is. My goal with this article is to explain everything about how to become an airline pilot, what it takes to become one, the facts about the job, and some pros and cons of being in the field. My interest in flying was nurtured during holidays as a child, my mother is a flight attendant so we traveled often. Every time I got on a plane I was amazed by the huge number of controls in the cockpit and the duties of the captain and first officer. My passion for aviation was consolidated in the story of Frank Abagnale in the film and novel "Catch Me If You Can". But becoming an airline pilot is no easy feat. Pilots must first go through numerous hours of education and training along with other prerequisites that must be met. Pilots do not need to attend college to become an airline pilot, but most companies prefer their pilots to have some type of college degree. This is because it shows that the person is used to a form of education, thus usually making it easier to train them. An attribute that airlines want to see before investing time and money in training. While a college degree isn't necessary, there are some optional school paths that people take to get a step ahead of the game. There are three types of education that can be followed. Attend a college to earn a degree in aviation, Attend a technical school, or the third and final way, take the flight course...... middle of paper...... employees. I was lucky enough to get real answers from two captains and a first officer at American Airlines. The first response I received was from Captain Greg Landes. An important question I wanted to know was what a captain's schedule was on a normal day. Captain Landes said he starts his day with his normal commute to work. He lives in Florida and has to be in Chicago to start his flights. To do this, Landes boards a flight in Florida and takes the cockpit to a seat called a jump seat. The booster seat is an extra seat in the cockpit that airlines allow other captains to use so they can go to work in the different areas of the country where they live. Captain Landes works three days a week and then gets four days off in exchange. For those three days Landes is away from home and stays in hotels paid for by the airline.