In school, when some teachers used to ask students about their career ambitions, a popular occupation was to become a pilot. This is perhaps because flying an aircraft evokes a sense of adventure and prestige.
For those who go on to pursue their childhood ambitions, they would probably discover that being a pilot would be equal parts exciting and knowledge-intensive. Learning to fly requires a lot of training and comes with a great responsibility of ensuring the safety of passengers, especially preparing for emergency situations.
Thankfully, flying remains one of the safest ways to travel. That is also a result of hard preparation work such as making flight plans, being up-to-date with an aircraft’s manual, checking an aircraft’s condition, communicating with air traffic controllers.
What’s The Salary Of Pilots In Malaysia?
According to Glassdoor, a pilot makes a base salary of around RM4,000 to RM20,000 per month in Malaysia. Pilots also receive additional pay of RM700 to RM2,000 that include cash bonus and other payments. The job site defines pilots as individuals who operates an aircraft to transport passengers and goods from one destination to another, whether it’s for an airline, private aviation company or the military.
As pilots accumulate more flying hours and build their experience, their career they will take off (pun intended) and they will very likely earn a much higher salary.
For airline pilots, they usually start as First Officers and eventually become Captains. First Officers also referred to as co-pilots are involved in coordination of flights, briefing and debriefing and helping the captain with the flight. Captains are responsible for overseeing the overall safety of the flights and leading critical decisions during emergencies.
Education Qualification And Other Requirements To Be A Pilot
In Malaysia, individuals need to complete flight training at aviation institutions that are recognised by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) to obtain a pilot licence.
Some airlines such as Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia also offer their own cadet pilot training programmes where the trainees graduate to work with the airlines.
You need to be at least 17 years old to start flight training. The requirements for enrolling into a flight institution or training programme will vary but generally, you need to fulfil the following requirements to begin flight training and obtain a pilot licence.
- Read, write and communicate in English at a working level
- Possess one of the following:
- Pass the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or equivalent qualifications with credits in five subjects including English Language, Mathematics and a Science subject or
- Attain a degree recognised by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency with a CGPA of 3.0 or above and has passed the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or equivalent qualifications with credits in English Language, Mathematics and a Science subject
You also need to meet relevant medical requirements and be certified as medically fit to fly an aircraft. Although you don’t necessarily need to have perfect 20/20 vision, it must be correctable with the aid of contact lenses or spectacles. There may also be height requirements as you will need to have legs that are long enough to step on rudder pedals that are linked to the rudder of an aircraft and controls the motions of an airplane.
Types Of Pilot Licences
There are two main types of commercial pilot licences, which are the Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) and the Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL).
The Commercial Pilot Licence allows you to fly as a Pilot-In-Command of a single-crew aircraft or co-pilot of a multi-crew aircraft for the aircraft types as endorsed in the licence. Meanwhile, the Airline Transport Pilot Licence is the most advanced pilot licence which allows you to fly as a Pilot-In-Command of larger aircrafts weighing 5,700 kg or with more than nine passenger seats.
There are also supplemental certifications such as Instrument Rating (IR), which indicates that the pilot is trained to fly relying only on instruments within the aircraft, an important skill during extreme weather conditions where there is low visibility.
Many flight schools in Malaysia offer flying courses that combine the trainings for Commercial Pilot Licence, Instrument Rating and frozen Airline Transport Pilot Licence in one. The course usually takes around two years to complete.
For those unfamiliar with airline lingo, a frozen Airline Transport Pilot Licence indicates that the student has completed all theoretical lessons but has yet to record 1,500 flying hours. Once they complete 1,500 hours of flying, the licence will be ‘unfrozen’.
Validity And Renewal of Pilot Licence
The Instrument Rating is valid for only 12 months and pilots are required to renew the licence within three months before the expiry date of the rating.
For those with a foreign licence who want to fly commercially in Malaysia, you will need to apply to have your licence validated by the CAAM.
Read Also: Salary Guide To Being A Cabin Crew In Malaysia
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