YOU HAVE MORE CAREER CHOICES today than anybody in history. You can be anything you want to be. Such an important decision-making process deserves thorough research and careful consideration. Take the time to do it right, and you could be rewarded for the rest of your life. Some people know what they want to do with their lives much earlier than others do. They are typically struck with a passion for something that never leaves them. When the time comes to start making big decisions, like choosing a college major and associated career path, they already know what they want to do. When asked, many airplane pilots say they always knew that they wanted to fly. Pilots have been imbued with a sense of adventure since the first dreamer with a set of artificial wings jumped off a building to prove a point. Aircraft are much safer today, but it still takes a special person to strap into the cockpit and take flight. Airline pilots shoulder enormous responsibility on a daily basis. A pilot on a long--haul flight can be responsible for a $200-million aircraft and the safety of hundreds of passengers. Opportunities for pilots have never been better, although competition for the best-paying jobs with the major airlines is tough. Thankfully, the growth of smaller, regional airlines has created employment openings for new pilots and a cushion for major airline pilots subject to the layoffs and furloughs that have become fairly common in this industry. In fact, new federal government rules increasing the minimum number of flight hours required for pilots flying for small regional airlines will likely create a shortage of qualified pilots for the top jobs, at least in the short term. This should result in additional opportunities for you, as you start your career as a pilot. This new Careers Ebook contains a wealth of unbiased information about an occupational field, based on the latest national surveys. Careers Ebooks cover attractive and unattractive sides, opportunities, education necessary, personal qualifications required, earnings, descriptions of different job specialties, first person accounts by those in the field, and how to get started; including practical advice on what to do now. There are live links to schools and colleges, associations, periodicals and other sources of reliable information."