A few years ago opting to become a pilot was one of the best career decisions to make as it offered both prestige and money. However, over the few years the lull in the aviation industry at large has caused the entire framework of lucrative jobs to come crashing down. The high flying career of a pilot has come to a halt and is no longer as cushy as it once was.

In India a number of aviation academies had cropped up to train aspiring pilots but the drastic economic shift, the rising oil prices and the reduction of expansion services of aviation companies has caused a huge downturn in the number of students opting to become a pilot. A few years back the aviation industry in India was touching a new high and a number of private airlines like Indigo Air, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Deccan Air and Spice Jet among others were offering connecting flights to most of the major cities of India. In a span of four years the apparent ebb in the industry not only caused the industry to cut back on the number of flights but also forced them to reduce the number of pilots as well as their pay checks.

This phenomenon was not secluded to India alone and was seen in airline companies around the globe. Take for instance the catastrophic closure of the Scottish airline FlyGlobespan that shut down in one night! The heavy debts and the repeated losses caused the airline to shut down. Due to the sudden closure of this Scottish airline most of its crew including the pilots were left stranded across the globe! This incident along with several others has caused a relative fear of joining an airline in any capacity.

The Jet Airways cutbacks that were splashed all over the papers and shown on all news channels across India had created quite a flutter amongst aspiring pilots. Many students who thought of joining ranks with the other successful pilots are now opting to go for an MBA. Considering the cost of becoming a pilot that runs up to a hefty 20 Lakhs or more in India, many are choosing to go for professional courses that offer greater stability than that offered in the world of aviation.

The sudden closures, cutbacks, retrenchments, salary cuts along with no-new-hiring policy have left many in the lurch. There are at least 5000 if not more unemployed pilots in India who are now looking for jobs in cargo, private charter planes and even joining regular offices.

But if analytical reports are to be believed the aviation industry is going to rise once again. Rise and fall are a very natural order of things. The worst time for the Indian aviation industry was in 2008-2009. But the strong support of the government, private entrepreneurs and the rising economy is going to have a very positive impact on the industry this year. It should come as no surprise that the hiring's for pilots will begin soon and pilots that have been unemployed for some time now will touch the skies once again.