How to become a commercial pilot

1. 1Get a medical certificate and student pilot certificate

   Time: A few weeksCost: Exam fee set by the doctorSources 3, 1

   Book a medical exam with an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner before spending much on lessons, because a condition that blocks a second-class medical would block a commercial career. Commercial privileges require at least a second-class medical, which lasts 12 months for that use. You also apply for a student pilot certificate, which lets you fly solo once your instructor signs you off.

2. 2Earn a private pilot certificate

   Time: Several monthsCost: Flight school ratesSources 2, 10, 1

   The private certificate requires at least 40 hours of flight time, including 20 hours with an instructor and 10 solo, or 35 hours in an approved Part 141 course. Most students need more than the minimum. You finish with the FAA Private Pilot knowledge test and a checkride with an examiner. It lets you carry passengers, but not for pay.

3. 3Add an instrument rating

   Time: Several monthsCost: Flight school ratesSources 2, 4

   The instrument rating teaches you to fly by reference to instruments in clouds and low visibility. For airplanes it requires 50 hours of cross-country time as pilot in command and 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time, 15 of them with an instrument instructor. Without it, a commercial airplane pilot cannot carry passengers for hire at night or on cross-country trips over 50 nautical miles.

4. 4Build time and earn the commercial pilot certificate

   Time: 6-12 months or moreCost: Flight school ratesSources 4, 5

   You must be at least 18 and log 250 hours for a single-engine airplane certificate, including 100 hours as pilot in command, 50 hours cross-country and 10 hours in a complex, turbine or technically advanced airplane. Helicopter applicants need 150 hours. An FAA-approved Part 141 commercial course for airplanes instead requires at least 120 hours of flight training and 35 hours of ground training. You finish with the Commercial Pilot knowledge test and checkride.

5. 5Become a flight instructor to build hours

   Time: 1-2 years of workCost: Paid workSources 7, 1

   Most new commercial pilots earn a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) certificate next. It requires a commercial certificate with an instrument rating for airplanes, a Fundamentals of Instructing knowledge test, an aeronautical knowledge test and a practical test. Instructing pays you to fly while your logbook grows toward the 500 hours charter operators need for good-weather captain work.

6. 6Move into charter, corporate, medical or specialty flying

   Time: OngoingCost: Paid workSources 8, 1

   Under Part 135, a charter captain needs at least 500 hours, including 100 cross-country and 25 at night, for good-weather flying, and 1,200 hours for instrument flights. Jets and aircraft with 10 or more passenger seats require an ATP certificate. New hires then complete company ground school and flight training, and pilots repeat checkrides and medical exams on a set schedule.

Programs, tuition and graduates’ earnings

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15). Scorecard groups programs by 4-digit field, so a row can include related programs. Tuition is the median published undergraduate tuition and fees of the colleges offering the program (shown only for undergraduate credentials); debt is the median of programs’ median federal loan debt at completion; earnings are the national median for the field and credential four years after completion.

Requirements differ by state. Check your state’s rules in the CareerOneStop License Finder (U.S. Department of Labor) before you enroll.

Situational awareness

Low-flying helicopter and crop-dusting pilots must keep track of power lines, towers, terrain and other traffic every second.

Clear radio communication

Misheard clearances cause incidents, so pilots read back instructions precisely and speak in standard phrasing.

Weather judgment

Small-aircraft and helicopter pilots often fly with no dispatcher, and deciding not to go is a core part of the job.

Math and planning

Every flight needs weight and balance, fuel and takeoff distance worked out for that day's load, temperature and wind.

Calm under pressure

Engine trouble, sudden weather or a sick patient on board all demand fast, correct checklists without panic.

Teaching ability

Many commercial pilots spend their first years as flight instructors, explaining maneuvers and catching student mistakes early.

O*NET 31.0 rates these skills as most important for the occupation: monitoring, critical thinking, active listening, reading comprehension, speaking.

Training cost

$9.8K–$129K

Before financial aid

Time

2-4 years (part-time training or a college aviation degree)

Typical path

Median pay

$123,220

All US jobs: $50,980

Payback once qualified

0.1–1.8 yrs

Pay above the all-jobs median vs. cost

Low: 2 years x the College Scorecard median public in-state tuition for air transportation associate programs, $4,917 = $9,834, with no flight training costs (the case for military-trained pilots). High: 4 years x the bachelor's median, $9,472 = $37,888, plus $90,827, South Dakota State University's official 2026-27 estimate of flight costs for its aviation degree (private, instrument, commercial, CFI and CFII), billed on top of tuition, room and board. Flight costs vary widely by school and region; FAA test, examiner and medical exam fees, housing and the ATP course are not included.

Rough guide only: ignores taxes, aid, interest and earnings given up during training. How we calculate it.

• Airline pilot$232,140 median

  Earn an airline transport pilot certificate, which normally takes 1,500 hours of flight time for airplanes (fewer under the restricted-ATP rules), then pass airline training and a type rating.

• Corporate flight department captain

  Build turbine and multiengine time, add type ratings for business jets and usually an ATP certificate.

• Chief pilot or chief flight instructor

  Senior pilots at charter operators and flight schools oversee training, scheduling and FAA compliance after years with the company.

• Air traffic controller$148,080 median

  Pilots who want to stay in aviation on the ground can apply to the FAA, which requires its own academy training and age limits.

• Aircraft mechanic$79,870 median

  Some pilots add an FAA mechanic certificate with airframe and powerplant ratings, which takes a separate training program or documented experience.