Better Aviation Mentors

Kids interested in aviation, science and space need better mentors.

Every week I interact with kids interested in aviation. Unlike me, they found that interest at a young age, which is awesome. Unfortunately those they're asking for advice have no idea what they're talking about.

The most prominent challenge is kids seeking career advice from slightly older kids who have not yet had their own career. A majority of active primary flight instructors, the people teaching others the basics of flying, have never worked in aviation except for part-time teaching. Presently teaching is the easiest way to get enough hours to get hired in their first piloting job, and many on that pathway treat their students like inconvenient stepping stones.

Equally concerning, I've recently interacted with multiple people who are representing universities with aviation degree programs who have no aviation experience. They're consistently likable and friendly, but they don't know anything beyond what it says in the school's brochure about aviation. They spin yarns about opportunities the university will bring, but most of their students leave with a ton of debt and as practically unemployable.

Nate and the Victors team's approach to developing kids is a 180 different. We advise kids to train near home, as intensely as their time and finances will allow, and have the commercial qualifications in as soon as 2 years from the day they walked in the door – maybe sooner. Training with career instructors in half the time and at half the cost of a university program. All while taking advantage of free community college tuition or studying at a local four-year university.

As for the degree itself, Nate flew fighters with a biology degree and I flew corporate with a business degree. Most employers don't care what your degree is in, aviation and otherwise, and a majority of pilot jobs outside of the airlines don't require a degree at all. Plus, it's always nice to have options.

With Victors summer camp registration open, why wouldn't you invest the cost of a pair of Jordans or a game console for a week of immersive and memorable experiences? Where kids from 6th grade to 12th get to meet military, airline and public safety aviators and ask questions. Where they fly FAA-certified full-motion flight simulators with FAA-certified pilots and instructors.

The camp experience may hook them, or it may show them that aviation isn't the right career for them. Either way they'll understand that math and science are practical tools not textbook minutia, and they'll leave with a network of grownups in aviation and business that are dedicated to their success in whatever they choose to pursue.

Kids and adults alike will find more information at VictorsAviation.com