Certification or Licensing
To become a pilot, certain rigid training requirements must be met. Although obtaining a private pilot's license is not difficult, it may be quite difficult to obtain a commercial license. While there is no specific age limit on when you can begin flying instruction, you must be at least 16 to fly solo. Flying instruction consists of classroom education and flight training from a FAA-certified flight instructor.
Before you make your first solo flight, you must get a medical certificate (certifying that you are in good health) and an instructor-endorsed student pilot certificate. To get the student pilot certificate, you must pass a test given by the flight instructor. This test will have questions about FAA rules as well as questions about the model and make of the aircraft you will fly. If you pass the test and the instructor feels you are prepared to make a solo flight, the instructor will sign—or endorse—your pilot certificate and logbook.
To apply for a private pilot's license, you must take a written examination. To qualify for it, you must be at least 17 years of age, successfully fulfill a solo flying requirement of 20 hours or more, and meet instrument flying and cross-country flying requirements.
All pilots and copilots must be licensed by the FAA before they can do any type of commercial flying. An applicant who is 18 years old and has 250 hours of flying time can apply for a commercial airplane pilot's license. In applying for this license, you must pass a rigid physical examination and a written test given by the FAA covering safe flight operations, federal aviation regulations, navigation principles, radio operation, and meteorology. You also must submit proof that the minimum flight-time requirements have been completed and, in a practical test, demonstrate flying skill and technical competence to a check pilot. Before you receive an FAA license, you must also receive a rating for the kind of plane you can fly (single-engine, multi-engine, or seaplane) and for the specific type of plane, such as Boeing 707 or 747.
An instrument rating by the FAA and a restricted radio telephone operator's permit by the Federal Communications Commission are required. All airline captains must have an air transport pilot license. Applicants for this license must be at least 23 years old and have a minimum of 1,500 hours of flight time, including night flying and instrument time. All pilots are subject to two-year flight reviews, regular six-month FAA flight checks, simulator tests, and medical exams. The FAA also makes unannounced spot-check inspections of all pilots.
Jet pilots, helicopter pilots, and agricultural pilots all have special training in their respective fields.
Other Requirements
Physical health is critical to a pilot. You must have 20/20 vision with or without glasses, good hearing, normal heart rate and blood pressure, and no physical handicaps that could hinder performance.
- Adventure Travel Specialists
- Aeronautical and Aerospace Technicians
- Aerospace Engineers
- Aerospace Medicine Physicians
- Agricultural Pilots
- Air Traffic Controllers
- Aircraft Mechanics
- Airplane Dispatchers
- Airport Security Personnel
- Airport Service Workers
- Amusement Park Workers
- App Services Workers
- Architects
- Armored Truck Drivers
- Astronauts
- Astronomers
- Astrophysicists
- Autonomous Vehicle Safety and Test Drivers
- Aviation Safety Inspectors
- Avionics Engineers
- Avionics Technicians
- Bicycle Mechanics
- Biosecurity Monitors
- Business Managers
- Chemical Technicians
- Chemists
- Computer Network Administrators
- Computer Programmers
- Computer Systems Programmer/Analysts
- Cruise Ship Workers
- Cryptographic Technicians
- Customer Service Representatives
- Customs Officials
- Driverless Car Engineers
- Drone Engineers
- Drone Manufacturing Workers
- Drone Pilots
- Drone Repair Technicians
- Electrical Engineering Technologists
- Electrical Engineers
- Electronics Engineering Technicians
- Electronics Engineers
- Engineering Technicians
- Engineers
- Environmental Engineers
- Fleet Maintenance Technicians
- Flight Attendants
- Flight Instructors
- Fluid Power Technicians
- Futurists
- Gaming Occupations
- Green Transportation Careers
- Ground Services Workers
- Gunsmiths
- Hosts/Hostesses
- Hypersonics Engineers
- Hypersonics Technicians
- Inbound Tour Guides
- Industrial Engineers
- Industrial Traffic Managers
- Intelligence Officers
- Internet Security Specialists
- Laboratory Testing Technicians
- Laser Technicians
- Lifeguards and Swimming Instructors
- Mail Carriers
- Manufacturing Engineering Technologists
- Manufacturing Engineers
- Manufacturing Supervisors
- Materials Engineers
- Mechanical Engineers
- Meteorologists
- Military Pilots
- Military Police
- Military Recruiters
- Military Workers, Enlisted
- Military Workers, Officers
- Museum Attendants
- Museum Directors and Curators
- Music Venue Owners and Managers
- National Park Service Employees
- Non-Destructive Testing Specialists
- Optical Engineers
- Park Rangers
- Parking Attendants
- Physicists
- Postal Clerks
- Public Transportation Operators
- Quality Control Engineers
- Quality Control Technicians
- Radiation Protection Technicians
- Railroad Conductors
- Recreation Workers
- Reservation and Ticket Agents
- Resort Workers
- Robotics Engineers
- Robotics Technicians
- Sales Managers
- Ship's Captains
- Ski Resort Workers
- Spa Attendants
- Spa Managers
- Space Lawyers
- Space Pilots
- Space Tourism Managers
- Spacecraft Test Technicians
- Sports Facility Managers
- Sports Instructors and Coaches
- Stadium Ushers and Vendors
- Strength and Conditioning Coaches
- Swimming Pool Designers
- Taxi Drivers
- Toll Collectors
- Tour Guides
- Traffic Engineers
- Transportation Engineers
- Transportation Planners
- Travel Agents
- Truck Dispatchers
- Truck Drivers
- Yoga and Pilates Instructors
- Zoo and Aquarium Curators and Directors