In short: Rod Machado is optimistic about aviation careers. In his experience, air travel only grows over the long run, and he has never met anyone who wanted a flying job, was medically qualified and persevered with training who didn’t get one. His advice: think in years rather than months, build experience wherever you can, and invest in relationships.
Video: “Advice To Young Pilots Pursuing an Aviation Career” by Rod Machado, from his YouTube channel.
What you’ll learn
- Why Rod believes the long-term demand for pilots doesn’t go away
- How a hiring slowdown can be an opportunity to catch up
- Why your first flying job probably won’t be your dream job, and why that’s fine
- How thinking in years helps you do better work as a flight instructor
- Why reputation and people skills matter so much in getting hired
- The one book Rod recommends to every aspiring professional pilot
History favors the patient
Rod has been a flight instructor since 1973 and has watched the industry’s economic ups and downs repeat themselves. His conclusion is that air travel never declines permanently. There will always be airplanes and always a need for pilots.
He recorded this message at a time when airline pilots were facing furloughs, and he addresses the worry head-on. A pause in airline hiring doesn’t mean you should pause your preparation. If nobody is being hired, nobody is gaining seniority ahead of you either, which gives you time to get qualified for the next wave. In that sense, Rod says, a downturn can be an upturn for those who are preparing.
Take the job in front of you
Your first aviation job will likely not be your dream job. Rod encourages new pilots to take whatever flying they can get to build experience, which grows into opportunities to fly bigger and faster airplanes. Thinking in years means accepting that you may instruct for a while, and Rod argues that this mindset makes you a better instructor because you aren’t distracted by wishing you were somewhere else. Over time, it also helps you build a good reputation, and a bad one is the thing to avoid most in aviation.
Read, ask and make friends
Rod repeats one of his favorite principles: the only two ways to get smart are reading a lot of books and asking a lot of questions. Nearly every answer you need is in a book or in the mind of an experienced aviator.
His top recommendation is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, which he calls one of the most valuable books he read as a young pilot. Early in a career, he says, moving up is often a matter of who you know, and making friends in aviation is a skill rather than luck. Be the kind of person others want to be around, and you are more likely to meet the people who will hire you.
Go deeper with Rod Machado
Rod’s essays on the flying life offer more of his perspective and encouragement for pilots at every stage of their careers. Learn more in Speaking of Flying.
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