Pilot Training Scope

Without an airline transport pilot certificate, and with only a CPL and a few hundred hours to your name, you're very limited in what you can do for a living. Theoretically, the FAA lists all the careers a CPL-wielding pilot can legally perform. These include tasks like aerial application (crop dusting), pipeline patrol, banner tow, air charter (with a valid air operating certificate), sightseeing flights (with a valid FAA permit), aerial photography, traffic watch, and other such careers. Unfortunately, None of these careers is particularly lucrative, and while you may find gainful employment as, for example, a traffic watch pilot, you probably won't make enough to survive (and will have to take a second job). The most common next step for fresh CPL holders is to continue on towards getting their CFI and begin teaching at a local flight school. You'll probably make enough to quit your other job, and you'll be doing a lot of flying.

Getting Job after completing CPL depends on the present market needs. Nowadays, airlines have started looking towards type rated candidates. Some airlines have also switched to training the candidates through their own cadet pilot programmes. There are some airlines who actually hire candidates who have a commercial pilot license and the selection process includes:
1. Technical Exam
2. Compass Test
3. Interview
4. Medicals
5. Induction. Some airline also put Psychometric test and group discussion, as a part of their selection procedure. Others who look for candidates with Type Rating on certain fleet like Airbus or Boeing or ATR, for simulator check and interview followed by medicals. You may target vacancies for CPL holders, which are comparatively less in numbers when compared to those of type rated pilots. So, after CPL, you may have to go for type rating depending on which airline you are targeting and of course, the decision shall also be influenced by the current market. So, extra expenses after CPL is of getting type rated on any particular fleet to get a job and that depends on the current market needs.

In a year, based on recent statistics, approximately 26 lakh graduates pass out of the Indian Education system. Can you guess how many of them ended up with a job (A job commensurate to their education) on completion of their graduation? 30%? 20%? Nope. An appalling 8%.
Of the 15000 odd CPL holders in India, roughly about 5000 are working in the airlines. So, you do the math and figure out, if it is as tough as otherwise to get a job.
Leaving the stat aside, how tough or how easy it is to make it big in any career, depends predominantly on your caliber and the quantum of effort that you put in to equip yourself to be among the best. I have come across tons of CPL holders who whinge about the competition in the job market in India. To them, I state one simple stat. In any recruitment drive conducted by a major airline in India, roughly 4000 odd CPL holders compete for 100 spots (which has been the case for the past 5-6 years), which means roughly 1 out of every 40 get a job. And, there are six major airlines, some of which conduct such recruitment drives all the year around. When you graduate with a degree from a college, you are looking at a competition of 1 in 10000 to land yourself a decent job. So, decide for yourself as to where the competition is at it's toughest. If you don't have it in you to be the best one among 40 candidates, then it is a tough luck. If you have it in you, then you are looking at an illustrious career, with everything being fed to you on a silver plate all through your life.
Yet again, people keep complaining, that only if you have a jack, you would be able to get into the major airlines, i.e complete BS. I have seen a lot of my friends get in simply without that, simply because they persevered. I myself had none, yet have worked with two of India's major carriers. It is sure, that jack works in aviation (where the hell doesn't it , in India), but that's not everything. You can be your own jack to get into an airline.

Hi Ishanuj,
You must have a minimum of 55% PCM in class 12th. If you are going to take your flying classes from government flying schools there will be an entrance test conducted by the Director General Civil Aviation or the DGCA. Being a pilot requires a lot of specialized technical training at various levels. In brief, the first level is that of a Student Pilot License (SPL), which allows the student to learn. After getting some training the student is provided with a Private Pilot License (PPL), which allows him to captain an aircraft without passengers. After gaining some training and experience he has to qualify for the Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL), which allows him to captain an aircraft with passengers. This license is provided by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The CPL endorses what aircraft you can fly. Most importantly you must be physically fit and you must undergo a medical test. Please read my article here:
https://www.shiksha.com/aviation/flying-pilot-training/articles/career-in-commercial-flying-all-you-need-to-know-blogId-13472#blogCommentSection

Hi Tapasya,
You need to be at least 17 years old and should have qualified 10+2 with maths, chemistry and physics. Training to become a pilot is quite laborious and expensive. Before taking on the role of a pilot, you need to obtain a commercial pilot's license, issued by the Director General (civil aviation) http://dgca.nic.in/. Here are a few of the flying clubs in India:Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Akademi, Rae Bareilly, Uttar PradeshBombay Flying Club, Mumbai, MaharashtraNorthern India Flying Club, Jallandhar, PunjabAviation Training Academy, Coimbatore, Tamil NaduDelhi Flying Club, New DelhiGovernment Flying Training School, Bangalore, KarnatakaYou could check with these institutes in person to know more details.
Hope it helps. Please feel free to revert.
Wish you luck.