How to become a pilot

1. 1Get an FAA medical certificate and student pilot certificate

   Time: A few weeksCost: Exam fee set by the medical examinerSources 2, 7, 1

   You must be at least 16 to get a student pilot certificate for airplanes. If you plan to fly professionally, get a first-class medical exam from an FAA aviation medical examiner before spending much on training, since a disqualifying condition is better found early. Airline captains need a first-class medical, and commercial pilots need at least a second-class medical. BLS notes the exam checks that vision is correctable to 20/20.

2. 2Earn a private pilot certificate

   Time: At least 40 flight hoursCost: Flight school ratesSources 3, 1

   Under Part 61, the private certificate requires an age of at least 17 and at least 40 hours of flight time, including at least 20 hours with an instructor and 10 hours solo, plus cross-country and night training. You pass an FAA knowledge test and a practical test, the checkride, with an FAA examiner. You can train with an independent flight instructor, at a small airport flight school or through a college aviation program.

3. 3Add an instrument rating

   Time: VariesCost: Flight school ratesSources 1

   The instrument rating lets you fly in clouds and low visibility by reference to instruments, which professional pilots need. BLS describes the requirements as including at least 40 hours of instrument flight experience and 50 hours of cross-country time as pilot in command. Commercial pilots without it cannot carry passengers for hire at night or beyond 50 miles. Another knowledge test and checkride are required.

4. 4Earn a commercial pilot certificate and multi-engine rating

   Time: At least 250 total flight hoursCost: Flight school ratesSources 4, 1

   To fly for pay you need a commercial pilot certificate: an age of at least 18, a private certificate, at least 250 hours of flight time under Part 61 with set amounts of pilot-in-command and cross-country time, a knowledge test and a checkride. Most airline-bound pilots add a multi-engine rating. With this certificate you can work as a charter, tour, survey or agricultural pilot, subject to each employer's own hour minimums.

5. 5Build flight time, often as a flight instructor

   Time: 1 year or moreCost: Usually paid workSources 1, 5

   Airline jobs require far more hours than a new commercial pilot has. BLS notes that many pilots earn a flight instructor certificate and teach, or fly on-demand charter, to build hours at less personal expense. Others fly banner tows, pipeline patrols or skydiving flights. Military pilots build experience in service and can apply to airlines afterward, with a lower ATP hour minimum.

6. 6Earn the ATP certificate and complete airline training

   Time: After 750-1,500 hours; airline training takes several weeksCost: Training program fees; airline training paid by the employerSources 5, 6, 8, 1

   Every pilot in an airline's cockpit must hold an airline transport pilot certificate and a type rating for the aircraft. The ATP normally requires 1,500 hours and an age of 23; the restricted ATP allows 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours and an age of 21 for qualifying military and college graduates. You must finish an ATP Certification Training Program before the knowledge test. Once hired, airlines provide ground school, simulator training and the type rating.

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

Pilots keep a running picture of position, weather, traffic and aircraft state, and losing it is a common thread in accidents.

Precise radio communication

Clearances from air traffic control come fast and must be read back and followed exactly, often in busy airspace.

Calm decisions in abnormal situations

An engine warning or sudden weather change has to be handled by checklist and judgment, not panic, with passengers on board.

Crew coordination

Airline flying is built on two pilots cross-checking each other, so working well with a captain or first officer you just met is essential.

Systems knowledge

Pilots must understand hydraulics, electrical, fuel and automation systems well enough to diagnose problems in flight.

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

Training cost

$9.8K–$129K

Before financial aid

Time

4 years or more for an airline career

Typical path

Median pay

$232,140

All US jobs: $50,980

Payback once qualified

Under 1 year

Pay above the all-jobs median vs. cost

Low: 2 years of an aviation (air transportation) associate degree at the College Scorecard median public in-state tuition, $4,917 a year = $9,834, with no flight training costs (the case for military-trained pilots, whose flying the service pays for). 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

  Commercial pilots move to airlines after reaching ATP minimums, earning the ATP certificate and getting hired; most start as first officers.

• Airline captain

  First officers upgrade to captain by seniority and need 1,000 hours of qualifying airline experience plus a first-class medical.

• Commercial pilot$123,220 median

  Flight instructors and new commercial certificate holders move into charter, corporate, air ambulance or agricultural flying as their hours grow.

• Air traffic controller$148,080 median

  A related career that uses the same airspace and radio knowledge; it has its own FAA hiring and training path rather than pilot certificates.

• Check airman, instructor or chief pilot

  Experienced pilots can train and evaluate other pilots or manage a flight department, usually after years of line flying.