Up and down the country, thousands will be starting to plan the next steps of their life today as they collect their GCSE results, and for those of you aspiring to become an airline pilot, hopefully you will be one step closer to reaching your dream. With an abundance of information available, however, it can be hard to know which steps to take next. There are plenty of different routes you can choose, with the same end goal of becoming a pilot. But how do you know which one will be right for you? When deciding which career path to take, there are plenty of aspects on top of training routes which need to be taken into consideration too, including financing, personal skills, and flexibility.

For the budding pilots out there wanting to know the options available to them, our free guide can offer the help and guidance needed. BALPA’s ‘Becoming a Pilot – the Inside Track’ booklet is written by pilots, and provides aspiring pilots and their families a wealth of information which may be useful before taking the next steps. The booklet aims to provide an insight into the journey to becoming an airline pilot, with advice on the qualifications and personal skills needed, the different types of course available, what to look out for when picking a flying school, and starting your career as an airline pilot.

We hope that after reading the guide, those with the dream of becoming a pilot and their families will feel better informed, and have a more complete understanding of what they are throwing themselves into before committing huge amounts of time, energy, and money. The guide also outlines the benefits of becoming a BALPA NextGen member, which is something you may consider when you come to embark on your journey to becoming a pilot.

The free guide can be downloaded here