Chinese immigrants want to be pilot

[bryan]

I'm a new immigrant from China and I hold an open work permit. I'm planning to work in the Waterloo region of Ontario, Canada. I'm 23 years old this year and I have a bachelor's degree in a business-related field, with one year of work experience in China. My interest in learning to fly is driven by passion and career development. Due to my work commitments, I can only pursue flying on a part-time basis, as my goal is to gain experience through work and eventually obtain permanent residency to become an airline captain. I would appreciate any advice or recommendations on flight schools in the Waterloo area. Can someone like me, who is learning to fly part-time, be successful in the long run? How long does it usually take to join an airline? Is there a shortage of pilots in this profession in the future? Has anyone had a similar experience? Thank you in advance for sharing.

[praveen4143]

Your best bet might be to go the flight instructor route. WWFC might be a good place to start asking questions.

Seneca college often advertises part-time contract flight instructors as well.

[khedrei]

WWFC is probably your best bet for training because its close. That being said, there could be other small schools not too far away that might be good for part time training. Guelph, brantford have a school and I think Stratford might have one too.

Remember that if you average 2 flight lessons per week (i dont know what your idea of part time is) a CPL will probably take you 2 years at best. Then add an instructor rating for 4-6 months.

There is a need for pilots but you will have to build time between the CPL and an airline job. That part isn't easy (but possible) to do part time. You could be 5-7 years doing this part time.

Go talk to some schools to get a realistic idea of what to expect.

Good luck.

[bryan]

Your best bet might be to go the flight instructor route. WWFC might be a good place to start asking questions.

Seneca college often advertises part-time contract flight instructors as well.

Does WWFC offer part time course?thanks .I’ll check it out!

[bryan]

WWFC is probably your best bet for training because its close. That being said, there could be other small schools not too far away that might be good for part time training. Guelph, brantford have a school and I think Stratford might have one too.

Remember that if you average 2 flight lessons per week (i dont know what your idea of part time is) a CPL will probably take you 2 years at best. Then add an instructor rating for 4-6 months.

There is a need for pilots but you will have to build time between the CPL and an airline job. That part isn't easy (but possible) to do part time. You could be 5-7 years doing this part time.

Go talk to some schools to get a realistic idea of what to expect.

Good luck.

Bro, u also live in waterloo ?Sounds like u know the city.WWFC surely is the closest one,I will get in touch with them.BTW，my part time means I can go to the school when I finish my job in the evening ,and the weekend.Are you saying that that gonna takes only 2years for the CPL?I was assuming it’s a 3 year deal(1 year for PPl, 2years for CPL).

[khedrei]

WWFC is probably your best bet for training because its close. That being said, there could be other small schools not too far away that might be good for part time training. Guelph, brantford have a school and I think Stratford might have one too.

Remember that if you average 2 flight lessons per week (i dont know what your idea of part time is) a CPL will probably take you 2 years at best. Then add an instructor rating for 4-6 months.

There is a need for pilots but you will have to build time between the CPL and an airline job. That part isn't easy (but possible) to do part time. You could be 5-7 years doing this part time.

Go talk to some schools to get a realistic idea of what to expect.

Good luck.

Bro, u also live in waterloo ?Sounds like u know the city.WWFC surely is the closest one,I will get in touch with them.BTW，my part time means I can go to the school when I finish my job in the evening ,and the weekend.Are you saying that that gonna takes only 2years for the CPL?I was assuming it’s a 3 year deal(1 year for PPl, 2years for CPL).

I'm saying that if you flew 2 lessons per week, every single week and were dedicated in your studies outside of flying, best case would be 2 years. But there will be weeks in the winter where you won't fly at all so that means you will have to fly 3-4 times per week in the summer to average it out.

Most people can manage to get the license in 200-250 hours. 1-1.5 hours per lesson, 2 flights per week, there you go. But there is ppl and cpl ground school and lots of other studying you will have to juggle with that. If you are working full time you won't have much time left for anything else and that's a heavy pace to maintain for a long time.

I dont live in waterloo, im closer to hamilton/Toronto. But I know the area and the airport very well. Their college program has a pretty good reputation. I dont know how their "go at your own pace" system works as I have only spoken to people in their full time program.

[bryan]

WWFC is probably your best bet for training because its close. That being said, there could be other small schools not too far away that might be good for part time training. Guelph, brantford have a school and I think Stratford might have one too.

Remember that if you average 2 flight lessons per week (i dont know what your idea of part time is) a CPL will probably take you 2 years at best. Then add an instructor rating for 4-6 months.

There is a need for pilots but you will have to build time between the CPL and an airline job. That part isn't easy (but possible) to do part time. You could be 5-7 years doing this part time.

Go talk to some schools to get a realistic idea of what to expect.

Good luck.

Bro, u also live in waterloo ?Sounds like u know the city.WWFC surely is the closest one,I will get in touch with them.BTW，my part time means I can go to the school when I finish my job in the evening ,and the weekend.Are you saying that that gonna takes only 2years for the CPL?I was assuming it’s a 3 year deal(1 year for PPl, 2years for CPL).

I'm saying that if you flew 2 lessons per week, every single week and were dedicated in your studies outside of flying, best case would be 2 years. But there will be weeks in the winter where you won't fly at all so that means you will have to fly 3-4 times per week in the summer to average it out.

Most people can manage to get the license in 200-250 hours. 1-1.5 hours per lesson, 2 flights per week, there you go. But there is ppl and cpl ground school and lots of other studying you will have to juggle with that. If you are working full time you won't have much time left for anything else and that's a heavy pace to maintain for a long time.

I dont live in waterloo, im closer to hamilton/Toronto. But I know the area and the airport very well. Their college program has a pretty good reputation. I dont know how their "go at your own pace" system works as I have only spoken to people in their full time program.

That’s fair enough . Hopefully I’ll get all the licenses in 2years.Because of all the hardships I am gonna going through.I was also wondering the average salary of pilots, I heard captain can make like 150k.but the FO make much less.And CFI makes minimum wage.Is that true?