Is becoming pilot trending?
Posted by proximitysion@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 24 comments
I see a lot of people wanting to become pilots or student pilot life or is just me?
Posted by proximitysion@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 24 comments
I see a lot of people wanting to become pilots or student pilot life or is just me?
Dependent-Place-4795@reddit
Yes and it’s because of the hiring wave that is now over
sirtaxeda1ot@reddit
It's not over. We are hiring close to 1000 this year.
theoriginalturk@reddit
Who’s we? I’ll believe the number of hires at the end of the year and not the beginning or middle
Also it has slowed down 60-70% when compared to the previous couple years even with “good” numbers.
Airline hires: 2024: 4,834
2023: 12,196
2022: 13,128
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2025/march/25/airline-pilot-demand-back-to-pre-pandemic-levels
You also need to take into account the momentum of low time commercial guys that are all still competing for a job who’ve pretty much committed everything they have
scarpozzi@reddit
Yes...Just in time for all the cheap planes to reach the end of their useful lives and all the new ones to be fully autonomous.
gromm93@reddit
Yeah, which planes are fully autonomous again?
Until they actually reach that milestone, nobody's going anywhere. There's still a boatload of work for real pilots to do.
scarpozzi@reddit
Was a joke. Relax. 😝
gromm93@reddit
Pretty lame joke. I certainly didn't think it was funny.
NuttPunch@reddit
Go talk to a class of kids. They’re going to say they want to be a policeman because they get to beat up criminals. Firemen because the truck is red with a big horn. Or pilots because they fly around in jets.
It’s never not been trending. It’s a job people dream about.
betterme2610@reddit
Algorithms showing more. It being hyped lately. The earth will heal itself once folks realize they won’t be able to just burn circles for 1500 to make a career
Busy-Examination8821@reddit
The media hyped up the “pilot shortage” and people jumped on the bandwagon. It’s like the tech industry boom. Everyone heard how easy it was to get a six figure job with minimal experience in CS, now it’s an oversaturated market with a lot of disappointed people reevaluating their career choice.
Many will take their first discovery flight and tell everyone they’re going to become a pilot, few will actually make it to the 121 level.
AdamScotters@reddit
I'd estimate that your average joe going in for a discovery flight has a 1/500 chance of actually making it all the way to their ATP. It makes you realize just how crazy all those zero to airline pilot ads were a few years back. It's hard man.
Busy-Examination8821@reddit
I could probably count on one hand how many people from my flight school’s day 1 orientation group who have actually made it to an airline.
dcl415@reddit
From my college group 105 started, 28 graduated and 20 we are flying at different airlines (Canada)
Sad-Improvement-2031@reddit
I am watching so many people finish flight school with 100k+ in debt and multiple checkride fails apply to fast food places. A lot of them got into flying on a whim. Very sad to see
AWACS_Bandog@reddit
I think theres more people going for it, but the PPL is a great filtering process
RaidenMonster@reddit
Wanting to is. Becoming is… spicy.
Leidaguffey@reddit
At my flight school, we have had an influx of discovery flights and 2-5 hour students but less people passing PPL than same time last year. People try it out for a bit and then realize how hard and costly it is to become an airline pilot.
MiniTab@reddit
Yeah, that’s always been the case. I don’t see how anyone could get through all the BS of just going from Student -> CSEL IA unless they really liked it (in which case it’s actually fun as hell!). Much less all the way through CFIs and ATP.
ReadyplayerParzival1@reddit
The algorithm is doing its thing. Of the people that take a discovery flight. Roughly I think 30 % get there private. Of that % even less go on to get a commercial rating or airline transport license rating.
JSTootell@reddit
Just like how people think more planes are crashing, because they are paying attention to plane crashes.
zerotosixty3_5@reddit
The algorithm shows you what interests you. Someone who is into red bottle caps will see all the red bottle caps in the world, and everyone who collects them.
RudderRamen@reddit
The algorithm man. It is trendy, but to go all the way and actually become employed as a pilot is less common
elpilotofiloso@reddit
Probably a mix of career exposure and you being interested in it
rFlyingTower@reddit
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I see a lot of people wanting to become pilots or student pilot life or is just me?
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