Pilots Salary Structure in Nigeria

The transport sector in every country brings in tons of money. From the road to rail, to air and sea. Transportation of goods, services and people is a vital part of any economy, irrespective of its size and strength. No matter what happens people and goods will always need to move, transport is that important. Of all the transport sectors in Nigeria, the sector which brings in the most money is the aviation sector. This can be seen in the fact that its fares are the most expensive and its workers are also the best paid.

When we think of aviation, that is air travel, what comes first to mind is pilots. Really, no one is to be blamed, at a certain point in the lives of children, they want to be pilots. I also wanted to be a pilot at some point in my life, then an aeronautical engineer.

There’s something liberating, perhaps also sexy about being in the air.

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The aviation sector also included engineers, flight planners, air hostesses and hosts, firemen, security personnel amongst many others. However, in today’s article we’ll be discussing about the pilots salary structure in Nigeria. You’ll be learning who earns what, at what level, and also what to do if you’d like to join the league of fliers (pilots I mean). We know who or what pilots are, right? Pilots are people who fly planes.

These could be private or commercial or even military. This is another way pilots can be classified in Nigeria.

Pilots for civilian air travel and those for military travel. Of course, the training is not exactly the same. There are various flight schools for civilian pilots in Nigeria, but if you want to fly a military airplane or helicopter, then you’d have to attend the Nigerian Defense Academy. Now the NDA is a different ball game entirely, so we’ll leave that for another day. How Pilots Are Paid in Nigeria There are majorly two kinds of pilots in Nigeria, as regards civilian aviation. They can be divided based on the kind of aircraft they fly and also based on their experience level. Aircraft and pilots can be classified based on the kind of wings the craft they fly carries.

We have the rotary wings aircraft and the fixed wings aircraft. The rotary wings is the helicopter while the fixed wings are airplanes. Helicopter pilots earn more than airplane pilots. Salary Structure of Pilots in Nigeria Commercial Pilot License. (CPL) These are Entry Level Pilots, these pilots lack ratings, and therefore, lots of airlines do not employ them. Usually, the airline has to spend some money on their training to get them Type Rating. . Salary is about 200,000 – 500,000. First Officers and Senior First Officers.

They are the pilots with type ratings – Salary range is between 300,000 – 800,000. Captain –Captain earn somewhere between 500,000 – 1.5 million Naira. This salary structure is what is usually obtainable for Nigerian airlines. Foreign companies such as Bristow or even Shell pay better than Nigerian airlines or Nigerian companies. . Expatriate pilots also earn better than Nigerian pilots. There are a few factors that affect how much a pilot earns. Experience. Just like any other job, the more experienced you are, the better your chances of earning more.

Flight hours Type Ratings and certifications Ranking Employer Job description. Now that you have seen what a pilot earns, we’d like to show you how to become a pilot in Nigeria. How to Become a Pilot in Nigeria Pilots earn a lot of money, even at entry level, we have established that already. This is one of the reasons many people try as hard as they can to be pilots. Here’s a caveat though, being a pilot is a very expensive endeavor. One could spend up to 7 million naira, just to acquire certification to fly private planes.

More money will even be needed to get a certification to fly a commercial plane. The first step is to apply to many of the numerous aviation schools in the country. There are over 30 of them scattered across the country. Usually you’ll have to buy a form or register online after getting some kind of scratch card. The applicant will be required to write an exam, if he or she passes, then you’ll be taken into the school. It is better that such a person was a science student while in secondary school.

You must also have clocked at least 16 years of age to attend certain flight schools. Some schools would even insist that the student must be up to 18 years of age before admission into flight school. Some of the flight schools in Nigeria are not approved by the federal government, therefore those schools should be avoided. You’d have to do your due diligence to find one which is federal government approved. The body responsible for this approval is FAA, i.e. the Federal aviation association. Aviation school will take somewhat about 4 years to finish. And one would be taught both theoretical subjects and practical courses. Of course with both practical and theoretical examinations.

The most popular flight school is Nigeria is the Nigerian College of Aviation Authority. It is owned and partly funded by the federal government. Therefore it is cheaper than others. You need to be in top medical condition to be qualified to fly commercial planes. There are also many other certifications one would need to become a commercial pilot in Nigeria. These many certifications involve a lot of flight hours, therefore they are very expensive. Here are some of the certifications you’ll be needing.

Certified Flight Instructor This certifies the holder as having the ability and skill to teach others how to fly. This is also one way certain pilots to get in enough flight hours to enable them get a job for a commercial airline. However, it is not really a requirement for pilots. It just helps one earn as you accumulate flight hours. Instrument Rating This certificate shows that the holder can fly an airplane based solely on the instruments onboard. This is a very important skill to have especially in crisis situations of bad weather conditions.

Private Pilot Certificate This certificate shows that the holder can fly a private airplane. The youngest age one can get this at is 17 years of age. Commercial Pilot Certificate This certifies that the holder can fly a commercial airplane. One must be at least 23 years of age before one can get this certificate. There are many other certifications that one can get to improve your earning ability as a pilot. However, the one stated above should be enough to get you started as a pilot in Nigeria. Most airlines in Nigeria though, do not like to employ people with only a pilot diploma. They usually prefer to employ those who have a BSC is science or engineering-related courses. You coming a pilot in Nigeria is no mean feat, however, it’s worth every bit of your time. This is because this is an endeavor with huge return on investment.