Ep217: Earning your ATP and Type Rating: The Preparation, the Challenges and Keys to Success

Ready 4 Pushback

Nik Fialka

Business, Careers, Leisure, Aviation

4.8 • 716 Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2025

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Getting your ATP is just the beginning—standing out in today’s competitive airline hiring process requires preparation, professionalism, and the right mindset. In this episode, Jimmy shares his journey from helicopter pilot to airline hire, including the challenges of ATP training and earning his A320 type rating. He discusses the intense training schedule, the high expectations, and the importance of being fully prepared. Learn how to study effectively, use chair flying techniques, and work with a sim partner to maximize your success. Discover how the ATP serves as the final gate, ensuring that you have the skills, knowledge, and professionalism needed to operate at an airline level before stepping into the cockpit as a commercial pilot. Plus, hear how getting your type rating will open more doors for you and help set you apart in airline hiring.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE

Jimmy’s transition from helicopter pilot to airline hire and his ATP training experience.

Why ATP is just the minimum and how type ratings can make you stand out.

The intense demands of ATP training, including the schedule, workload, and check ride challenges.

How to prepare effectively, including study resources, chair flying, and working with a sim partner.

Why some pilots fail ATP training and how to avoid common mistakes.

The importance of professionalism—looking the part, executing well, and standing out in interviews.

How earning his ATP and type rating changed his job opportunities and led to airline offers.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, pilot.
0:02.0	Welcome back to Ready for Pushback.
0:04.1	And today I have a little bit of an alumni visit from my man, Jimmy Houston.
0:10.2	This conversation, Jimmy just finished getting his ATP check ride done.
0:16.1	And he got a type rating at the same time in an Airbus 320.
0:20.6	And we talk about this because it was an accelerated course.
0:24.8	There's a lot of risk associated with this, but he spent he spent a lot of money to do this course.
0:30.9	It was short and it was furious, but he passed it.
0:36.2	And so if you are a person that is trying to consider what are the extra things you can do to make yourself more enticing for an airline, being able to pass an ATP and being able to pass a type rating, like those are two of the big things you can do.
0:55.7	However, you need to know yourself and how you study and be able to pass this thing.
1:01.9	Because if you don't, you're going to be off the table for a long time and no airline's going to look at you for quite a while until you can pass that and get some time between you and the
1:13.4	check ride. And so this is literally, we talk through every day and every step. It's an hour and
1:20.4	15 minutes of us talking about this because it's very in depth. And I want to give you a roadmap for
1:26.3	what it's like to go to this course because there's
1:29.3	nothing out there right now for that. And so if you're going to do it or if you know somebody that's
1:33.5	going to do it, like this is a good episode for you. And, you know, Jimmy's amazing. He's, he's a hard
1:41.4	worker. He's an army helicopter guy. He's been flying a lot just trying to separate himself.
1:48.3	And so this conversation is really valuable.
1:53.0	So I hope you like it.
1:53.8	All right?
1:54.7	Sit back.
1:55.9	Relax.
	...

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