From CPL to Cockpit: A Pilot’s Journey Before Airline Job

From Waiting Room to Cockpit: What I Did Before Getting My Airline Job – And What Every CPL Holder Should Know, Real Story by Capt. Tomar Awdhesh

Director, Golden Epaulettes Aviation | Airline Pilot | Author

✈️ “The hardest runway to line up with isn’t in the sky – it’s the one before your first job.”

When I earned my Commercial Pilot License (CPL), I believed I was ready to take off— professionally and personally. But like many in aviation, I quickly faced headwinds: no vacancies, financial stress, and emotional uncertainty.

This is my story of what I did in those silent years between earning my wings and getting into the cockpit—and what I now tell every aspiring pilot searching for their break.

🛫 The Quiet Years Before My First Airline Job

1. Completed My CPL in the Fastest Possible Time

I approached my flying with discipline and urgency, believing that finishing quickly would help me get hired sooner. It didn’t—but it prepared me for what was coming.

2. Taught for Free When No Jobs Were Available

When I saw peers struggling with DGCA subjects, I offered help. Initially, it was free—I wasn’t looking for income, just relevance. But soon, it became my only means of staying connected with aviation.

3. Charged a Fee to Survive When Support Vanished

Within a year, family financial support ran out. I had to ask friends for a small teaching fee to survive. Most understood; others moved on. I don’t blame them—it was a test of both pride and practicality.

4. Approached Airline Pilots to Teach Them ATPL Subjects

To survive and grow, I expanded. I approached working airline pilots who were preparing for ATPL exams. They had the money but no time—I offered flexible teaching, even visiting their homes at odd hours.

5. Built What Is Today Called ‘Golden Epaulettes Aviation’

From those humble, sometimes humiliating steps, a brand slowly emerged—based on consistency, commitment, and credibility. Today, Golden Epaulettes trains hundreds of pilots every year. But it was born out of sheer survival instinct.

6. Wrote a Book That Now Guides Thousands

During those waiting years, I began penning down every insight, every question I encountered while preparing and teaching. That became the foundation of “Mastering the Airline Pilot Interview”—a book that today helps CPL holders crack technical and behavioral interviews across airlines.

Advice to CPL Holders Still Waiting for a Break

This is what I would tell every young pilot today who has their CPL but no cockpit yet:

1. Stay Current, Stay Sharp

Even when there’s no exam or interview in sight, study. Review aircraft systems, DGCA subjects, SOPs. If possible, teach others—it will make you better and keep your confidence intact.

2. Make a List of Charter & Corporate Operators

Prepare a list of all operators in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and other aviation hubs— especially charter, medevac, and corporate firms. Visit in person. Drop your CV. Yes, you’ll face 99% rejection. But that 1% can change everything.

3. Explore Flight Instructor Pathways

Approach FTOs across India. Ask if they will support your FI training in return for a bond to work with them post-rating. Many academies are short of qualified instructors—you may be their solution.

4. Don’t Sit Idle. Create Value.

Even if unpaid, volunteer with training institutes, help new students, assist in theory classes— anything that keeps you in touch with aviation.

5. Use Flight Simulators to Maintain Skill

There are excellent PC-based sims available. Stay proficient in radio calls, circuit patterns, navigation drills. Your mind and hands must not rust.

Final Thoughts

Too many talented pilots give up just before the breakthrough.

The truth is: there is no waiting period in aviation—only preparation periods.

You may not control when your first airline job arrives, but you control who you are when it does.

Keep building. Keep showing up.

The sky still waits—and so does your seat in the cockpit.