Looking to Be a Corporate Pilot? The Playbook Starts Here

What should freshly qualified pilots consider if they’re looking to go corporate?

Tuesday, March 01, 2022 at 11:25 AM ET

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For more pilots than not, becoming a corporate pilot has seemed more obscure than getting a job with the airlines. [File Photo: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

The article likens finding a corporate pilot job to picking stocks, advocating for thorough due diligence to uncover valuable opportunities beyond the obvious "unicorn" roles.
Unlike more structured airline careers, corporate flying demands a proactive, non-standard job search often reliant on networking and understanding the underlying business's health.
Pilots are advised to treat their career path as an investment, looking beyond just the aircraft to research the supporting company's business, sector, and industry for long-term stability and success.

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I recently spoke to a friend, a corporate pilot, who reflected on his career with me, and we landed on the analogy that the search for the right corporate flight job is akin to picking stocks in the financial markets.

Everyone knows the winners, the unicorn departments that they’d like to fly for. But just like expensive stocks they are out of reach—for the most part. Instead, pilots must perform due diligence to find the diamonds in the rough, in the not-so-obvious companies. This searching turns some people away, but those who do it right can string together a remarkable flying career.