What does it take to become an airline pilot? How do you become one? There are countless YouTube videos, and social media accounts that try and answer that as well as plenty of books that cover this, so let’s keep this short. This is meant to really focus on the actionable steps you have to take. But the basic ingredients are time, money and a modicum of inteligence.

First, you must obtain a First-Class Medical Certificate. Find an AME, and Airmen Medical Examiner. They are a doctor that the FAA has credentialed to give physicals to obtain your pilots license. Go to:
                                              Designee Locator Search (faa.gov)
They cost a couple hundred dollars depending on the region you are in. It’s not worth moving forward with your training if you can’t pass that. Don’t waste your time on a Second Class or Third Class medical and wait to get your First Class, because it’s cheaper. That will be a waste of time and money if you push into your flight training and find you can’t qualify for one.

To obtain a first class medical a doctor will test your blood pressure, urine, lung function, eyesight, near and far, hearing, color vision, and balance. You will also need to get an EKG starting on your 35th birthday and every year after 40. There are many medications that one can’t take to have a First-Class Medical. The FAA is getting better every year tracking information. You must list every medical visit for the last three years. Needles to say, any kind or recreational drugs are absolutely forbidden, and you must list any DUI or infraction with law enforcement too. This isn’t meant to suggest that an average person do this, average people get up and do amazing things, it is to say that it’s better to find out that you can pass it as early in the path as possible.

Next having a bachelor's degree is highly favorable. It really doesn’t matter what you get your degree in, but having a 4-year bachelor's degree is usually a requirement. The job market for airline pilots is truly constantly evolving. The eight years between 2015 and 2023 was a period that has not been seen in the industry in generations. There is a valid argument that thisvhiring environment has actually has never occurred before. Airlines were expanding and hiring at every level of the airline industry. The only limit to the amount of pilots that an airline could hire was a training departments’ ability to train them all! Where before, the adage was, “go to the first airline that calls!” During that time, ever younger pilots, still early in their career, were fielding job offers from multiple, top-tier airlines. A college degree was no longer a requirement and the minimums to be hired was ever lower.
That time has passed, for now. Having a college degree and a solid logbook will now count for something again.

Along with obtaining a bachelor's degree, you must obtain all the required pilots licenses, and they are as follows:

Private pilot – usually takes about 3 to 4 months, *all these time depend on how much time you can devote to flying and ground school and studying. Cost, $12,000-$20,000

Instrument Rating – 4 to 6 months, Cost - $7,000 - $9,000

Multi-Engine Rating – A couple weeks to a month, Cost, $2,000 - $6,000
Multi-Engine Instrument Rating - $10,000, 2 – 4 weeks
CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) rating, $7,000 - $12,000 and about 2 months
ATP (Airline Transport Pilot)
Other requirements for an ATP certificate include:

Being at least 23 years old
Being able to read, speak, write, and understand English
Having at least 1,500 hours of total flight time, including:
500 hours of cross-country time
100 hours of night time
50 hours in the class of airplane for the rating
75 hours of instrument time
250 hours of time as pilot in command