ATP Grads at Airlines

Where's the Puck? Hiring Trends in a Rough-and-Tumble Economy

Published Dec 10, 2008 on Pilot Jobs

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Recently while flipping through my newly arrived January issue of Flight Training Magazine, I came across an article that reinforced what airline experts have been saying a lot lately. If you want to be an Airline Pilot it is very important to begin to train now, while the Airlines are in a cyclical downturn in hiring.

Wayne Phillips, the author of the article, uses a Hockey analogy to perfectly illustrate his point. When thinking about the future, consider the puck. When hockey powerhouse Wayne Gretzky was asked why he was so successful, he replied, "A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”

In other words, don’t worry about hiring in the airline industry right now because historically it is always changing. Anticipate where the airline industry is going to be a year from now and be prepared to meet it there. The time to acquire high-quality airline-specific flight training and flight experience is right now. That "hiring puck" will be coming back into play soon and you should be ready.

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Airline Pilot Career Guide PDF

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