Some training programs, especially those that provide financing of training efforts have contracts that a student will sign. Pay attention to what you are signing and what the ramifications are if you drop out of training, fail to progress in training, or need to delay training for any reason.

In some, pilots become liable for their full training cost whether or not they finish the training. In others, pilots have a limited number of “failure events” that are allowed before the training is terminated. This can have significant potential financial consequences if not managed carefully.

Be sure to know the details of any contract you sign and the loan terms of any financing to which you commit. This also holds true for airline bonuses that are offered for initial hiring also.

Airlines frequently will offer pilots bonus payments and other attractive options to get them to come to work for them. Frequently these offers will come with mandatory years of employment at the airline or the pilot will be required to repay those bonuses to the airline.

Do your homework and carefully think through any potential downstream effects of any training, financing, or bonus based contracts you accept. In some cases, it is better to turn them down and just proceed forward without them to allow yourself more flexibility or job movement or training options in upcoming years.