Optional · 1 of 2
Ratings and paths that open doors
Instrument rating
Flying by reference to instruments in cloud. Effectively mandatory for air ambulance and offshore work.
Flight instructor certificate
The standard hour-building job, and teaching makes you a better pilot.
Turbine time
Most training helicopters have piston engines. Employers want turbine hours, and getting the first ones is the classic chicken and egg problem in this career.
Military aviation
The Army trains its own helicopter pilots. You are paid throughout, you leave with hours and turbine time, and you owe 10 years of active duty service, counted from the end of the first phase of flight school.