Get Started Becoming an Airline Pilot Without the Commitment
The Career Track Discovery Program is your four-week introduction to flying, where you can explore if becoming an airline pilot and flight training are right for you, without committing to a full career program. Start with zero experience, learn to fly, and discover ATP's alumni-proven Career Tracks™ to the airlines.
Perfect For:
How It Works
Start with zero experience and discover the airline pilot career and flight training at ATP with this four-week course. Perfect for those exploring the career, considering becoming a pilot, or who want to just start with private pilot training before committing to a full career program.
The four-week Career Track Discovery Program includes full access to ATP’s resources and immerses you in professional airline pilot training. You will complete the first stage of the Airline Career Pilot Program, allowing you to experience ATP, before committing to the full career program.
You’ll complete ATP Elevate Private Pilot Ground School and log 23 hours of flight time with ATP’s nationally awarded flight instructor group. Your training will build a foundation by learning airport operations, aircraft systems, takeoffs and landings, basic flight maneuvers, navigation, ATC communications, and more.
Every lesson and flight is logged in your FAA logbook and counts toward your future pilot certificates. With the first stage of the Airline Career Pilot Program complete, you’ll be able to seamlessly continue your training journey.
When you finish, you'll have stage one of the Airline Career Pilot Program complete and can decide to continue full-time in the Airline Career Pilot Program or part-time in the Flex Commercial Pilot Program. Continue within three months of your Career Track Discovery Program start date and receive full credit for stage one and the cost of your Career Track Discovery Program. There is no obligation to continue if you decide it's not a good fit.
Discover the Career
Airline pilots are in high demand and you don't need to be a military pilot or graduate from an expensive aviation college to get started. ATP has trained thousands of pilots—just like you—starting with zero experience for successful airline pilot careers.
Union protections, seniority, and career advancement make airline flying one of the highest-earning professional careers. Explore Earnings »
Meet with airline recruiters during your program and explore opportunities through ATP's airline-backed Career Tracks™.
Discover Flight Training
Learning to fly is a rewarding journey and an experience like no other. Each year ATP helps thousands of students—just like you—become pilots. Experience the ATP Advantage for yourself and learn to fly, without the commitment.
Few experiences compare to taking the controls and lifting off for the first time. Whether you have dreamed of flying since childhood or you are discovering it for the first time, learning to fly is within reach and may be easier than you think. Each year, ATP helps thousands of students just like you become pilots.
ATP's nationally awarded instructor group will guide you every step of the way and make learning to fly an experience you'll never forget.
See What Airline-Oriented Training Looks Like
Where Discovery Leads
After you complete your Career Track Discovery Program, you'll know what it takes to become an airline pilot and have stage one of the Airline Career Pilot Program completed. You will then decide how you'd like to continue your training and career journey.
Continue your training full-time in the Airline Career Pilot Program and get to the airlines as fast as possible.
Continue your training at your own pace, part-time, with the Flex Commercial Pilot Program.
If you choose to stop
There is no commitment or obligation to continue training if you decide it’s not the right fit for you. Discontinue your program at any time and only pay $200 per logged flight hour, plus $495 for your training materials. Should you choose another path or want to fly recreationally, your logged flight time and training go with you to another flight school.
Program Details
$ 4,995 | 4 Weeks
Full Financing Available
How to Enroll
Schedule your Career Track Discovery Program class date.
Review citizenship, age, experience, and medical requirements.
Available nationwide at ATP flight training centers. Classes start every Monday.
Select your training center and start date online — takes about two minutes.
The Career Track Discovery Program is ATP’s four-week, no-commitment introduction for prospective students who want to learn to fly and explore whether an airline pilot career and ATP flight training are right for them, starting from zero experience. Over four weeks, or at your own pace, you’ll complete 23 hours of single-engine flight time, ATP Elevate Private Pilot Ground School, full ATP Advantage access, and Career Tracks™ exploration as you gain hands-on experience and exposure to the airline pilot career before deciding whether to enroll in the Airline Career Pilot Program or Flex Commercial Pilot Program.
The Career Track Discovery Program is a discovery experience. The Airline Career Pilot Program and Flex Commercial Pilot Program are full airline career training paths. If you are still exploring, this program is how you discover the career and ATP for yourself.
Seamlessly continue your training in the Airline Career Pilot Program or Flex Commercial Pilot Program. Your first training stage is already complete, the cost of your Career Track Discovery Program is applied to your full training program, you can pick your airline-backed Career Track™, and continue to progress toward becoming an airline pilot.
There is no commitment or obligation to continue training if you decide it's not the right fit for you. You can easily discontinue at any time, walk away having experienced the ATP Advantage, log 23 hours of heavily discounted flight time toward your Private Pilot Certificate, and keep flying recreationally or return to ATP when you're ready.
Yes. The program is designed as a four-week experience, but you can train at your own pace and take longer if you are balancing work, school, or other commitments.
Classes start every Monday at all Career Track Discovery Program locations nationwide.
ATP trains professional pilots using training standards that exceed the FAA minimum requirements for solo flight. Students receive additional dual instruction before their first solo because we believe the extra instructor observation and coaching improve proficiency and safety.
The training completed in the Career Track Discovery Program is the same training you’ll need before soloing anyway. When you continue into the Airline Career Pilot Program, you’ve already made meaningful progress.
No. But if you’ve heard the advice, “start with a private pilot certificate,” this program is for you.
The Career Track Discovery Program is designed to help you determine whether ATP’s accelerated airline pilot training is right for you before making the larger commitment to the complete Airline Career Pilot Program.
Instead of earning a certificate, you’ll complete the first stage of ATP’s curriculum, log valuable flight time, and gain firsthand experience with the pace, professionalism, and expectations of career-focused flight training.
