A career in aviation or aerospace engineering?

I am a 14-year-old girl who would like to get high grades in the subjects I have taken, and want to become a pilot or work in the field of aviation when I am older. However, I do not know how to get there and would like to know if anyone can help me. I currently looking for work experience in this area or engineering / STEM.

Working as a civil/commercial pilot entails having a company pay a huge amount of money for your training, getting a qualification only allowing you to fly one or two types of plane and only for that company, and essentially being in debt by several tens of thousands of pounds to them and thus existing as a form of indentured servant until you pay this off. After some 5-10 years you may be able to qualify as a primary pilot - again only for that company. There is virtually no further progression beyond that.

Being an RAF pilot involves joining the military-industrial complex and protecting US foreign oil assets with your life (which is won't be valued by anyone except yourself, incidentally).


Aerospace engineering is completely unrelated except that they both involve airplanes. Working as an engineer you will be doing lots of maths and maybe some CAD type work, and getting paid anywhere from "decent" to "very well". You also have great scope for progression within both industry and academia, and many options for different areas you can work in, including the "space" part of aerospace (which as a pilot, is almost guaranteed to not happen unless you also get a STEM degree and pursue the RAF route and somehow beat all the odds to become an astronaut).

The engineering route is probably the more appealing option...you don't need any specific work experience to pursue engineering at university, although you will need to continue studying Maths and Physics through A-level - Chemistry and Further Maths would also be helpful. It's also entirely possible to learn to be a pilot privately and enjoy aviation as a hobby as an engineer - you'll definitely have the money to do so, and once you're in the mid-career stages you should have pretty reasonable hours and holiday/benefits to allow you to pursue this.

@donut_mckenzie28



Um, no airline company will pay for your training, normally you will have to get a private loan backed up by your house value. Nor is there any obligation to continue working for the same company for years, you are free to switch if there are better opportunities, however it may be quicker to progress staying at the same place.

The RAF is a great organisation to join in terms of world class training and experiences you will not easily get outside (as long as you are committed to the lifestyle). It isn't protecting any foreign US oilfields so no idea why you would say that.

For the OP, as an aerospace engineer you will need to be strong with maths/physics, try to apply for work experience if there are any companies based nearby to get an insight, and feel free to ask me any questions.

The good news is the demand for both jobs is growing, and it's a very exciting industry to get into. Don't be put off by unhelpful people try their hardest to make it sound negative.