Career Advice: A little help from new friends

You were first impressed by those great-looking ads. But quick calls to the admissions reps at a bunch of academies and flight schools spread across the United States had them saying something like this: “Why, yes! We can prepare you for a career flying an RJ with our affiliate carriers for, oh, only $65,000 to $80,000. By the way, there is really no 100-percent guarantee that any of our airline partners will hire you.” Huh?

With any amount of research, you will learn that college- or academy-based aviation training requires an investment of $50,000 to $150,000—or more. Even the mom-and-pop flight school at the local aerodrome can extract $35,000 from your bank account as a minimum before you work yourself up to commercial ASEL/AMEL and MEI.

So, what to do? There are people out there who want to give you money to fulfill your dreams. There are hundreds of thousands of free dollars waiting for aspiring professionals who have the right stuff. Money can come from several sources: scholarships, grants, fellowships, assistantships, education loans, and student employment. Of these, scholarships represent the best potential for acquiring free seed money to build a career for the low-time pilot.

Scholarships are considered gift aid, and the recipient is never expected to pay back the donor. This money can come from a variety of sources such as the federal and state governments, colleges and universities, businesses, private organizations, and individuals. Some of these are awarded once, while others can be renewed.

Scholarships generally are granted to students engaged in traditional, collegiate-level studies. However, there is funding available for flight training exclusively.

Scholarships often are categorized according to origin.

National awards: These are very competitive and usually have several restrictions, including the pursuit of a field of study and/or test scores. Typically, national awards offer large monetary scholarships. The major aviation manufacturers such as Boeing and organizations such as the Air Line Pilots Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, National Business Aviation Association, and Women in Aviation International figure prominently in this category.

Regional awards: Regional awards are very competitive and are restricted to a student’s geographic location, field of study, ethic background, test scores, gender, et cetera.

State awards: State awards are competitive and are restricted to residents of a specific state. Other restrictions may include a field of study, ethnic background, test scores, and gender.

Local awards: Local awards often are less competitive and usually are aimed at students who are residents of a specific city, county, or district. Other requisites may include enrollment at a specific high school, field of study, gender, and other considerations. Generally, local awards are $1,000 or less, not publicized, and given on a one-time basis.

Institutional awards: Scholarships awarded by colleges and universities are competitive and generally require that an enrolled student demonstrate financial need. However, some institutional aid is awarded to students based on their merit and/or academic achievements.

Here are just a few examples of funding available:

AOPA: In 2016, AOPA offered more than 40 scholarships worth more than $156,000 through the AOPA You Can Fly High School Flight Training Scholarship, and the AOPA Foundation Scholarship.

The AOPA Foundation Scholarships are awarded to passionate AOPA members, ages 16 and up, in their efforts to earn an initial pilot certificate. The You Can Fly High School Aviation Flight Training Scholarship program awards flight training scholarships to teens ages 15 to 18 (AOPA membership is not required). The scholarships go to individuals pursuing an aviation-related goal, including a primary pilot certificate, study in an aviation or aerospace field through an accredited aviation program, or attending an aviation or aerospace camp.

Women in Aviation International: WAI is a shining example of professionals helping future professionals. In the past 20 years, WAI has disbursed more than $10 million to its members to help them reach their goals and advance into aviation and aerospace careers. Scholarships are not only oriented to flying careers but also careers in aviation maintenance and technology. To apply, you must be a member of the association. WAI’s membership is open to men as well as women (www.wai.org/education/scholarships).

National Business Aviation Association: The NBAA Charities scholarship program, supported by NBAA member donors, offers nearly $100,000 annually in cash awards as tuition reimbursement for enrolled students, and nearly the same amount in monetary and training awards for working professionals in business aviation—including pilots, maintenance professionals, schedulers, dispatchers, flight attendants, and flight technicians (www.nbaa.org/scholarships).

The aforementioned is just a glimpse of what is available. A good tool for beginning the hunt for dollars is available from the University Aviation Association. The Collegiate Aviation Scholarship Listing, Tenth Edition, is a listing of various types of financial aid, methods for applying for general purpose aid, and aviation scholarships arranged by broad classification. Contacts and details for more than 700 aviation scholarships are listed. The price is $24.95 and can be ordered from UAA’s bookstore (www.imis100us1.com/UAA).

Are you ready for a startling statistic? Search “aviation scholarships” on Google. At this moment, there are more than 575,000 web addresses featuring aviation scholarships. Chances are, some good-hearted person, company, school, or organization just might be willing to give you a financial push up the career ladder.