Hi Everyone, I am currently 20 working on my private pilot license. I have been reading about how speeding tickets are negatively looked upon by airlines. Does having 2 speeding tickets destroy my chances at a major ever and how important is your GPA or college grades when applying to the airlines? I currently have a 3.2 GPA.

Thank You!

If you were "just speeding" and not explicitly endangering anyone, it isn't an issue. Lots of people manage to accumulate more than two tickets over the years simply by sometimes being a bit inattentive and going through a speed trap on the motorway 20km/h too fast. It isn't showing that you have some sort of irresponsible personality.

GPA normally only matters if you're going through some sort of cadet program. All I had to show that I had a university degree. They didn't care about which major I had or my grades.

Attitude, pleasant personality, willingness to work hard, receptiveness to instruction, and flying experience are what matter.

The FAA requires reporting moving violations when you get your FAA flight physical. One or two in the past aren't going to hurt you but a trend will.

Major tickets, like reckless driving, DUI can be a death sentence to your career. That applies to mechanics as well as pilots.

Dalmd88 wrote:

Major tickets, like reckless driving, DUI can be a death sentence to your career. That applies to mechanics as well as pilots.

Yes, specifically, a DUI will result in your pilots license being suspended.

Quoting Starlionblue (Reply # 2), "Attitude, pleasant personality, willingness to work hard, receptiveness to instruction, and flying experience are what matter."

there's more . . .

learning2fly, these are all important personal characteristics to possess when interviewing for a pilot position at an airline. However, with regard to the question you posted regarding speeding tickets, there is an additional attribute, and that is HONESTY. At this point you cannot change the fact that you have received a couple of speeding tickets, so you simply have to accept responsibility for them and be completely truthful.

So, a couple of points . . .

First, if the issue of a moving violation comes up on the application itself, just answer the question truthfully. You do not need to expound on it unless the application specifically asks you to do so. In that case, just provide the facts without expressing personal opinion or commenting upon the individual who issued the citations.

Second, once you are at the actual interview, do not bring up the subject of having received a couple of traffic tickets; however, if the interviewer brings it up, again, just be honest and explain exactly what happened. Moreover, they are not so interested in the fact that you received the tickets, but more how you learned from the situation, handled it, and what you have done so as not to have received any more. Interviewers know that everyone makes mistakes in life; it's what you learned from those mistakes and how you handled them is what they are really interested in hearing.

Remember, the fact that you received a couple of speeding tickets is not a big deal; but if you try to hide the fact that you received them or try to avoid responsibility and/or blame somebody else for them--well, that IS a big deal.

HONESTY and INTEGRITY are important.

I recommend being very careful about getting any more speeding tickets. One or two is not significant, but as CosmicCruiser mentioned above, if you get additional speeding tickets, it will look as though you have no regard or respect for rules and regulations and that would most certainly be a reason for an interviewer to disqualify you from further consideration.

With regard to your question about your GPA -- 3.2 -- that is just fine. In the United States that equates to an A / B average and there's nothing wrong with that. Most airlines don't really care about your grades in college, or what your major was, but if they were to see something like 1.8 or 2.0 GPA; then that would probably raise some questions and could possibly indicate potential problems with completing the training program should they hire you. I went to college with people who would put forth absolutely minimum effort and proudly state, "If the minimum wasn't good enough, it wouldn't be the minimum." Ummm, I recommend you NOT adopt this philosophy. An airline would interpret this attitude as settling for mediocrity.

So, the 3.2 is ok, but I recommend you study hard and try not to let it go any lower (at least not below 3.0 if possible).

Lastly, and you didn't ask about this but I'm going to say it anyway . . . be very careful about what you post on social media. Yes, the airlines look at that. You may find it quite humorous to post a video or photos of you and your friends getting drunk at a party or doing something else, but if a company for which you wish to work discovers it, that also could be disqualifying for future consideration.

Darn, trying to get hired by an airline . . . well you have to follow the rules and behave yourself somewhat, but . . . you don't have to be a saint or be perfect--yes, you are still allowed to have some fun!

I hope some of this helps.

e38

Dalmd88 wrote:

Major tickets, like reckless driving, DUI can be a death sentence to your career. That applies to mechanics as well as pilots.

It might be depending on the company, but the only thing that really kills a mechanics career is fraud, drug trafficking, terrorism concerns. etc. The things that make you not get an airport ID.

Being without a drivers license isn't going to help you much however.

e38 brings up a very good point about social media. Start "sanitising" your feed today. Even in the past few years, employers have become much stricter on what they consider acceptable to be shared. If in doubt, don't post it.

Thank you for reaching out. I have been reading some forums and people go as far as to mention that speeding tickets are a major airline career killer that is why I was kind of worried before spending lots of money into training. I am also going to go for an M.S. in Aviation Management if that decorates the resume at all. I believe with 2 tickets it should not be an issue but I also realize it is more about honesty and reporting those violations.

Thank You!

No. Two tickets will absolutely not destroy your career. Especially not when pilots are in demand. Learn from it, be able to explain it, and don’t make it a trend.

e38 wrote:

Quoting Starlionblue (Reply # 2), "Attitude, pleasant personality, willingness to work hard, receptiveness to instruction, and flying experience are what matter."

there's more . . .

learning2fly, these are all important personal characteristics to possess when interviewing for a pilot position at an airline. However, with regard to the question you posted regarding speeding tickets, there is an additional attribute, and that is HONESTY. At this point you cannot change the fact that you have received a couple of speeding tickets, so you simply have to accept responsibility for them and be completely truthful.

So, a couple of points . . .

First, if the issue of a moving violation comes up on the application itself, just answer the question truthfully. You do not need to expound on it unless the application specifically asks you to do so. In that case, just provide the facts without expressing personal opinion or commenting upon the individual who issued the citations.

Second, once you are at the actual interview, do not bring up the subject of having received a couple of traffic tickets; however, if the interviewer brings it up, again, just be honest and explain exactly what happened. Moreover, they are not so interested in the fact that you received the tickets, but more how you learned from the situation, handled it, and what you have done so as not to have received any more. Interviewers know that everyone makes mistakes in life; it's what you learned from those mistakes and how you handled them is what they are really interested in hearing.

Remember, the fact that you received a couple of speeding tickets is not a big deal; but if you try to hide the fact that you received them or try to avoid responsibility and/or blame somebody else for them--well, that IS a big deal.

HONESTY and INTEGRITY are important.

I recommend being very careful about getting any more speeding tickets. One or two is not significant, but as CosmicCruiser mentioned above, if you get additional speeding tickets, it will look as though you have no regard or respect for rules and regulations and that would most certainly be a reason for an interviewer to disqualify you from further consideration.

With regard to your question about your GPA -- 3.2 -- that is just fine. In the United States that equates to an A / B average and there's nothing wrong with that. Most airlines don't really care about your grades in college, or what your major was, but if they were to see something like 1.8 or 2.0 GPA; then that would probably raise some questions and could possibly indicate potential problems with completing the training program should they hire you. I went to college with people who would put forth absolutely minimum effort and proudly state, "If the minimum wasn't good enough, it wouldn't be the minimum." Ummm, I recommend you NOT adopt this philosophy. An airline would interpret this attitude as settling for mediocrity.

So, the 3.2 is ok, but I recommend you study hard and try not to let it go any lower (at least not below 3.0 if possible).

Lastly, and you didn't ask about this but I'm going to say it anyway . . . be very careful about what you post on social media. Yes, the airlines look at that. You may find it quite humorous to post a video or photos of you and your friends getting drunk at a party or doing something else, but if a company for which you wish to work discovers it, that also could be disqualifying for future consideration.

Darn, trying to get hired by an airline . . . well you have to follow the rules and behave yourself somewhat, but . . . you don't have to be a saint or be perfect--yes, you are still allowed to have some fun!

I hope some of this helps.

e38

First of all a huge thanks for the extended reply with good explanations. That eases my stress a little bit. I actually was very stressed that I had ruined my chances of ever making it to a major. Your reply really helps and I will keep all of your advice in mind going forward. I take responsibility for those tickets and greatly regret them every day. I will honestly report them when or if I interview. My gpa has been pretty good If I retake one or 2 classes it should be around the 3.5 mark so that should be good. You make a great point about social media, some of my friends post some reckless stuff on there and its actually great advice for someone like me just starting out. I dream of working for a major airline one day and I just worry that 2 speeding tickets might come in the way but those speeding tickets are not a reflection of me as a person.

bradyj23 wrote:

No. Two tickets will absolutely not destroy your career. Especially not when pilots are in demand. Learn from it, be able to explain it, and don’t make it a trend.

Thank you sir for the reply. I will keep this in mind going forward starting training soon.

As a millennial who was spoonfed the BS that college is the key to making 6 figures and that a kickass GPA is the key to making 7 figures, I can tell you that's a load of crap. Unless you're in a pipeline program that has a minimum GPA requirement or any kind of campus organization, a company will only care if you get the degree in the end, because all a college degree shows is that you can set a goal and achieve it. What you study is way more important than GPA.

I didn't know about the moving violation aspect, that's interesting. But i too have a speeding ticket but who doesn't?

Don't worry at all about a couple speeding tickets, but as others have said, don't make it a habit. One or two is pretty much expected. Several recent tickets is going to be a problem because it shows an inability to follow the rules.

I spoke with someone familiar with the interview process at one of the majors that said interviewers were actually suspicious of applicants with a clean driving record. The concern was twofold. 1) Is this person lying? 2) Is this person so concerned with following authority that they won't stand up to a captain when necessary, or deviate from company policy when safety dictates? He said applicants with clean driving records would likely get at least one question about it, trying to probe if their honesty. The whole interview would be used to evaluate assertiveness, same as with any other candidate.

TWA772LR wrote:

As a millennial who was spoonfed the BS that college is the key to making 6 figures and that a kickass GPA is the key to making 7 figures, I can tell you that's a load of crap. Unless you're in a pipeline program that has a minimum GPA requirement or any kind of campus organization, a company will only care if you get the degree in the end, because all a college degree shows is that you can set a goal and achieve it.

It is widely rumored that college GPA is a factor in the scoring of pilot applications for at least one of the majors in the US. Not a make or break factor on its own by any stretch, but one of many factors in the scoring matrix to see if your application scores high enough to get an interview.

learning2fly, I just wanted to make a brief comment on something you stated above (Reply # 9), "I am also going to go for an M.S. in Aviation Management if that decorates the resume at all."

No, it really doesn't. In general, airlines don't care whether or not you have a Masters degree and it really doesn't do much to enhance your chances of getting hired. They want applicants to get a degree from a reputable, accredited college or university, with a decent GPA (at or above 3.0) and they also don't care what the major or field of study was at that college or university. They just want to see that you have the perseverance, dedication, and intelligence to successfully complete a college/university program. The time and money spent obtaining an advanced degree at this point in your life would not be justified if your current goal is to become an airline pilot.

The only pilots I know (very few) who have Masters degrees are former military officers who received the advanced degree while still on active duty and they did so in order to better compete for promotion to the next rank--it had nothing to do with flying or getting hired by an airline.

My recommendation is to finish your undergraduate program, obtain the appropriate flight ratings, and start building flight hours. Leadership (PIC time) is much more important than an advanced degree. I noticed your other thread, "Career Path Program." I don't think you need to be concerned about that at this time.

Later in life, if you think a Masters degree would add value to your career--you want to pursue a position in airline management or want to branch out beyond aviation--then consider working on an advanced degree at that time. Just as an aside, some of the pilots I know who advanced from line flying to corporate management positions actually got law degrees, although, yes, some did obtain advanced degrees in aviation management as well.

At this time--finish your degree, ratings, flight hours, and PIC time.

e38

CosmicCruiser wrote:

The FAA requires reporting moving violations when you get your FAA flight physical. One or two in the past aren't going to hurt you but a trend will.

Wrong. Not in US at least. The application specifically asks if you have any “Non traffic convictions”. Nothing about traffic tickets.

AirFiero wrote:

Dalmd88 wrote:

Major tickets, like reckless driving, DUI can be a death sentence to your career. That applies to mechanics as well as pilots.

Yes, specifically, a DUI will result in your pilots license being suspended.

Also wrong. DUI, if reported Properly according to FAA guidelines does not result in a pilot license suspension. 2 DUIs? Then perhaps.

I believe you lose the medical, not the certificate. Hide or fail to disclose the DUI, then we’re talking emergency revocation of the pilot certificate.

A little OT but you guys might find this interesting. I was a ground/sim instructor for a 135 op based in central Texas and we would dry lease a sim in SAT. The company was very fortunate because we would hop in a company van and just 35 miles later we were at the sim.
Since most of the pilots didn’t live in the area I would do the driving.
One day I needed to catch up on some paperwork so I asked one of the pilots if they wouldn’t mind driving, he scared the heck out of me ! and can you guess how the sim session went ? Yep, kinda scared me in there too. So I started an experiment and I would have the pilots drive and to my surprise the majority of the time they flew like they drove.
BTW, I have over a million miles, 43 years of driving with no speeding tickets and no accidents. I got two tickets over 35 years ago, running a stop sign a red light ( sorry thought I would brag a little ).