How do young pilots in the USA accumulate 1500-hours to become a first officer? The FAA requires 1500 hours as a pilot:


  The rule requires first officers — also known as co-pilots — to hold an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, requiring 1,500 hours total time as a pilot. 


I am just interested in how can you get 1500 hours? This number is super huge unless you fly a trans-continental airliner. But you cannot fly an airliner without 1500 hours. Even having a private airplane, 1500 hours I assume will cost a lot - probably more than €500,000 in Europe. What is so specific about the USA? I fly gliders and a tug plane. I fly every weekend without exception and even sometimes after work. But I won't reach even 100 hours during the season. So to reach 1500 hours will take 20+ years. What about if you fly aerobatics...? Well of course there are some people who have these numbers but they are in their fifties and have spent all their lives in aviation! They don't even think about starting afresh in a first officer's career. So I am just curious how do young people log 1500 hours in the USA?
1 word: Instruction.

I learned to fly in the US, and all but one of the 10-15 instructors at the school were young guys who had a Commercial license and were just building hours while doing their exams and applying to airlines.

This meant they were actually getting paid (not particularly well, I hasten to add!) to build hours, rather than spending money on an airplane, or rental.

They say you don't become a pilot for the money, you do it because you love it. Nothing could be closer to the truth IMO.