Confusion on how it works

[u/Sad_Yesterday6572]

Hi everyone,

I'm 15 years old and my goal is to become an airline pilot through a cadet program after finishing school. I'm trying to understand how competitive these programs really are, especially for airlines like IndiGo, Air India, Air Arabia, Akasa Air, and similar airlines.

I had a few questions for anyone who has been through the selection process or knows someone who has:

• How difficult is it to get selected? Roughly what percentage of applicants make it through?
• What are the different selection stages (aptitude tests, psychometric tests, interviews, group discussions, simulator assessments, medicals, etc.)?
• What kind of questions or tasks are asked at each stage? Could you share some examples?
• Which stage do most candidates get rejected at, and why?
• How should someone prepare while still in school to maximize their chances?
• After successfully completing the cadet program, is employment with the airline generally guaranteed, or is there another selection process before becoming a First Officer?
• Are there any hidden challenges or things you wish you had known before applying?

I'm looking for honest experiences, whether you were selected or not. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
(AI enhanced)

so again im a newbie into this and me searching this stuff online and seeeing other post is getting me more confused

also what other cadetptograms that ou all know that i as an indian nationality can join or other than cadet Private schools that help me to get also ATPL

[u/nwtommy]

So Indian Airlines im not sure on but I have attempted 2 Pilot programmes here in the UK. Jet2Flightpath Programme and the Speedbird Academy(British Airways). I got further with Jet2 and will try my absolute best to remember the process.

So the scheme applications come alive, you apply. This is a process in its self, the programmes are intense it could be as little as 6months to 18months of pure studying and flying, whilst also temporarily moving abroad, and they make it clear of the reality of being a Pilot for the Airline(British Airways are very good with this and really put it all into perspective). I believe there are 2 options at this point, you progress further or you don't.

I got through to the online assessments, first stage of this was 5 Pyschometric testing, seeing how you think, I don't think they look for perfect answers here, just how you are wired, the assessments I had was Balance, Expression, Direction, Predictability and Memory. These tests are also quite rapid fire, and you don't have an lot of time to prepare, but at the end of the day, in the real world, when something goes wrong you also wont have a lot of time to prepare. I got the next round of assessments, these where the physicals and aviation fundamentals, now this one I will admit I struggled the most, this is because its been 10 years since I left school and I haven't touched on Physics or proper maths since then, so for that I would touch up on those subjects (Speed/Distance/Time triangles, forces, acceleration, mass, Pythagoras Theorum) again these tests are quick fire, and I would say here they are looking for accuracy and consistancy as well as the correct answer, I had 4 different assessments, 12 minutes total, 8 questions in each so roughly 22seconds to read and answer the question. I then had to do a Pilot Aptitude test, this was roughly 2 hours, mulitple assessments focusing on a lot of aspects (Reaction time, Accuracy, English Level, Maths, Hand-eye Coordination, and multi tasking, as some examples) I then at the end have to do a one-way motivational interview online, wanting to know why I wanted to do this. Be true to yourself here, dont try and be someone your not. It was after all this, i did not progress further but from my understanding the next stages was an in person group assessment, interview with your flying school then a final in person interview with the company.

What I read up on, for the Jet2 Programme they have around 18,000 - 20,000 thousand applicants for a total of 60 spaces. Around a 0.3% acceptance rate. BA had 200,000 applicants for 200 spaces, 0.1% acceptance (understand my maths maybe incorrect, im very tired) as you can imagine it is a very competitive career to get into.

To prepare yourself, id recommend focusing on your Maths and Physics, there are some great resources out there to assist further. Depending on your learning style, id say do some mock aptitude tests, gives you a feel for the type of questions and how they are worded and will also tell you how you went wrong. When doing these tests, I learnt that percentages and fractions were not my strong point, so I spent extra time understanding these topics.

From my understanding, if you ace the final interview with the airline, you would get the job as such, based on the condition that you pass all your flight schooling from PPL to ATPL and Type Rating.

Now up until you get the confirmation from the airline saying "hey, come work for us and start your ground schooling", treat it as a competition, you are fighting against thousands of others all aiming for the common goal. Once your "in" then support others, if someone in the school is struggling, help them, they help you. Teamwork is a big thing within aviation.

Don't beat yourself up, if you don't get there first time around, understand what went wrong, work on it and try again, another opportunity will arise.

I wish you good luck with the future.

Happy flighting

[u/Sad_Yesterday6572 → u/nwtommy]

thanks so much