Towards the end of September, I finally received the long-awaited email that I would soon begin my training for a U.S. regional airline. Almost two years after passing my initial flight instructor checkride, it suddenly became time to take the next step in my career.
A lot of preparation goes into airline training. I have already submitted multiple background checks, fingerprints, and drug tests, and I have a somewhat-expedited timeline to start studying for the ATP written exam ahead of my ATP-CTP course.
Behind the scenes, however, other preparations must take place. Besides beginning the process of handing students off to other instructors (save one or two whom I shall attempt to prepare for checkrides in the next few weeks), I must consider how I must prepare my personal life for the change.
Almost immediately, I booked a trip to visit family back home, while I also began planning my drive from Pennsylvania to the training center in Utah. Included is a consideration as to whether to get maintenance on my car beforehand, what to pack, as well as where I should stop along the way.
Equally, I must consider how I will spend my time over the next few weeks. With under a month until my journey out west begins, as best I can, I must balance my current job with the family and friends around me. Perhaps the biggest challenge of this process will be the relationship between the work I must do — the remaining students whose training supplies my paycheck and the study and preparation I have — and spending quality time with the most important people in my life.
I am aware that initial type and ATP training is an intense process. I have heard from current and former employees of my soon-to-be employer that training is purposely intense, and in terms of physical distance it’s almost as far from the rest of my family as I can be. So to me, spending quality time with friends and family is just as much a part of my preparation as completing documentation and preparing for written exams. I am excited for the opportunity to relax, take a small step back from work, and reset to ensure I’m alert and focused heading into training.
Equally critical is spending time relaxing away from work. Though I am not completely stepping away until soon before training starts, it is worth noting how significant of a break this is, as it is for many instructors who have had intense time-building as a fact of life for a considerable period. Critical to preparing for air-carrier class is breaking out from that rhythm to restore and replenish considerable energy in preparation for the focused phase of study and training.
As I write this I still have over a month until I start, but it is critical that I start my preparations as early as I reasonably can to have a clear picture of the coming weeks. Just as I think as far ahead as possible while flying, I think far ahead while I prepare for my next stage in order to navigate the transition smoothly. The farther ahead I can be aware of what to expect, the more easily it will be to plan the work, rest, and travel I need to succeed.
Yes, preparing for my new position involves significant planning and preparation, and it has required me to “think outside the box” in order to set myself up well. It is critical I consider each aspect of my planning to set myself up for success — at least as much as I possibly can. I look forward to the new challenge of airline training and remain grateful for each experience I've had thus far.
