Becoming a pilot often involves significant financial investment, years of training, and a clear understanding of the profession\u2019s demands. The journey of Akshay Kumar Gupta reflects this reality. After spending over a decade as an aircraft maintenance engineer, he transitioned into flying in his 30s, eventually joining Akasa Air as a First Officer. His experience offers a practical perspective on career shifts within aviation and what it takes to move from the ground to the cockpit.<\/p>\n
Gupta did not follow the conventional path to the cockpit. He spent over a decade as an aircraft maintenance engineer, starting his career in 2009 and working closely with airplanes on the ground. But even as he built technical expertise, the desire to fly never left him. \u201cI was already deeply connected to airplanes, but from the ground. I still wanted to fly the aircraft I had spent years servicing,\u201d he told Moneycontrol.<\/p>\n
The turning point came in his 30s, a stage when most professionals seek stability and not risk. Choosing to pursue flying meant stepping back into the role of a student, alongside younger aspirants, and investing heavily in training. It was, as he describes, a \u201ccalculated risk,\u201d involving financial commitment, career reset, and uncertainty. Yet, for Gupta, it was about aligning his profession with a long-standing passion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transition wasn\u2019t easy. Moving from a position of experience and authority to being evaluated from scratch required a mental reset. It was extremely humbling,\u201d he admitted. \u201cLetting go of seniority and embracing beginner\u2019s discipline became key to my progress. Instead of comparing timelines, I focused on consistency as I believe is essential in aviation, where reliability matters more than proving oneself.\u201d<\/p>\n
For aspiring pilots, one of the biggest barriers remains cost. Training can run into lakhs or even crores, making the dream feel inaccessible. Gupta acknowledges this concern but urges candidates not to be discouraged by the initial numbers. \u201cDon\u2019t let the first number define your ambition,\u201d he says, pointing to alternative pathways like education loans, modular training, and airline cadet programs that are slowly opening doors for more candidates. Becoming a pilot often involves significant financial investment, years of training, and a clear understanding of the profession\u2019s demands. The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-akasa-air","category-pilot-jobs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/akshay-kumar-gupta.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianaviationnews.net\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n28\/04\/2026 Pathi Thadhagath\/Moneycontrol<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"