MilitaryPilot

The work

The training is funded, extremely selective, and followed by a service commitment measured in years. What you fly is assigned rather than chosen. The flying itself is unlike anything in civil aviation, and so is the rest of the job: military pilots are officers first, with people and responsibilities on the ground.

A typical day

• 01Brief, fly and debrief a sortie against a stated objective
• 02Carry a secondary ground role alongside flying
• 03Train continuously for situations you hope not to meet
• 04Move, often, and on somebody else’s timetable

How people get in

• Direct entry officer

  Apply, pass selection and aptitude testing, commission, then start flying training.

• University air squadron or academy

  Flying experience and a route to selection while completing a degree.

How it unfolds

1. SelectionAptitude testing, medicals, interviews. Most applicants do not get through, and it is not a comment on them.
2. TrainingTwo to four years: officer training, then elementary, basic and advanced flying, then a type.
3. First tourOperational squadron. Junior, on a steep learning curve, with a ground role alongside the flying.
4. LaterInstructing, testing, staff work or command, and for many, a civil licence afterwards.

Is there a job in it

The hard parts

You do not choose what you fly, where you live or when you move, and a service commitment measured in years starts after training you did not pay for. Deployments separate people from families. The flying is unlike anything civil aviation offers, and the price is a decade of your choices being made by somebody else.

What you would need

• Airmanship under load
• Formation and tactical flying
• Leadership
• Physical fitness