Work
in the USA

All the information you need to work as a pilot in America and gain flight experience.

In order to work in the USA as a pilot or flight instructor, an F1 visa is required. Hillsboro Aero Academy has been training pilots in the Northwest of the USA, in Oregon, since 1980. We train our pilots according to American law and the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration FAA. Therefore, as our student, you can also take advantage of the so-called F1 visa.

The F1 visa requires that the training must last at least 6.5 months and that students must complete at least 25% of our Pro Pilot course in order to obtain their licenses. Which usually means the FAA IFR and FAA CFI training. This allows you to work in the USA for up to 23.5 months following the flight training. The combination of our high quality flight training with a work permit makes Hillsboro Aero Academy the ideal school for future professional pilots.

After our graduates have successfully completed their training and found a job, they can start their CPT (Curricular Practical Training). This allows them to legally work in the USA as a pilot and/or flight instructor. Whether our graduates apply to Hillsboro Aero Academy, other flight schools, or companies to become pilots, we are here to help. CPT is renewed every three months, with a maximum of 11½ months total.

Following the CPT, the work permit can be extended for another year. This can be done with the help of an OPT (Optional Practical Training). It is important to apply for the OPT at the US authorities in time.

We are happy to assist you with the application, but we have no influence on the processing time of the US authorities. After the successful approval of the OPT, you are allowed to work in the USA for another 12 months and then you have 30 days to leave the country.

Another benefit of the F1 visa is the opportunity to work during training. Hillsboro Aero Academy offers you the opportunity to work up to 20 hours per week in different parts of the company. This work allows you to get a first insight into the working environment and structures of a flight school and can help with a later application as a flight instructor. However, it should be mentioned that this part-time job could slow down your own flight training.

The key advantage of training in the U.S. is the flight hours you can accumulate after flight training. The flight training for helicopters takes about 200 hours, the one for airplanes about 220 hours. During the CPT and OPT you will have the chance to collect enough flight hours to be able to work as a pilot in Europe. During this time, graduates can log between 800 and 1600 flying hours, depending on the opportunity and conditions.

On average, flight instructors who have worked with us in the past years have returned to Europe with about 1000 – 1500 flight hours.

In principle, you can work as a pilot or flight instructor anywhere in the U.S. after completing your training. However, most pilots start their career as a flight instructor. There are two reasons for this: First, flight schools have a low minimum flight hour requirement compared to other companies, and second, as an instructor you perfect your knowledge and flying skills.

We, the Hillsboro Aero Academy, cannot employ all graduates. In order to provide high quality training, we hire only our best graduates. Other schools guarantee employment for all graduates, but we believe this is not realistic and creates false expectations. To increase your chances of employment at Hillsboro Aero Academy, you should conduct yourself in a professional and courteous manner throughout your training, and be consistent throughout your training.

We advise all of our Pilots to look for multiple companies to work for and apply early. In general, it is very important to make contacts and friendships with other pilots, as these can be immensely helpful in training and later in your career. Hillsboro graduates have a very good reputation in the USA, which is why we are regularly contacted by other companies looking for pilots. We will of course forward these job offers to you and our other students and graduates.

In order to be allowed to do pilot training in the USA as a foreigner, you must first apply for a visa.

Depending on what the purpose of the training is, you must apply for either an M1 or an F1 visa. Both visas can be applied for helicopter pilot training and airplane pilot training.

The M1 visa is useful for those who do not plan to work in the United States. The M1 visa is a student-only visa. However, if you plan to work as a pilot after your training, you must apply for the F1 visa.

Below we explain the differences so that you know what is the right solution for you.