The salary of the profession "holding other people's lives in your hands" has a tuition fee of more than 3 billion VND.

(Dan Tri) - Known as the job of "holding other people's lives in your hands", this profession has the most expensive tuition fee today, up to more than 3 billion VND.

Recently, in the 2025 regular university enrollment information, Vietnam Aviation Academy informed about the tuition fee of the training profession that can be considered the most expensive at present at more than 3 billion VND.

That is the tuition fee for the pilot training program, the program is only for students who have passed the entrance exam and graduated from a regular university majoring in flight management and operations.

Flight management students, the initial foundation for studying to become pilots (Photo: TH).

Not including university tuition, the highest tuition for pilot training is up to about 3 billion VND for 4 programs.

Specifically, the 3 domestic training programs include the 4-month PPL training program with tuition fees of 570 million VND, the 6-month ATP theory training program with tuition fees of 160 million VND, and the 1-month MCC and JET FAM training programs with tuition fees of 215 million VND.

An overseas study program is CPL & IR-ME flight training which lasts from 6 to 12 months, with tuition fees ranging from 60,000 USD to 80,000 USD (about more than 1.5 billion to more than 2 billion VND).

According to information from the Vietnam Aviation Academy, worldwide , the cost of training professional pilots ranges from 3 to 5 billion VND.

In Vietnam, after the program, students are awarded an internationally recognized professional pilot certificate. After graduation, students are committed to official pilot employment in Vietnam.

Pilot training costs announced by Vietnam Aviation Academy (Photo: TH).

Regarding the salary for this job, according to the latest information from the aviation website Aviation A2Z, the highest salary for pilots of Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air in 2025 is up to 18,000 USD/month, about more than 450 million VND/month.

Being a captain of Vietnam Airlines will have a working contract of 2-5 years, depending on factors such as experience, nationality and aircraft type among others.

In general, the salary of captains at Vietnam Airlines tends to fluctuate between 10,000-18,000 USD/month (about 250-450 million VND/month), equivalent to 120,000-216,000 USD/year (3-5.4 billion VND/year). The salary will depend on seniority and work experience.

Being a captain of Vietnam Airlines will have a working contract of 2-5 years, depending on factors such as experience, nationality and aircraft type among others.

Captains at Vietjet will have a 2-3 year contract, or can be renewed when their term ends, they will have an income of 8,000-12,000 USD/month (about 200-300 million VND/month), equivalent to 96,000-144,000 USD/year (2.4-3.6 billion VND/year).

However, over the years, the issue of domestic pilot salaries being much lower than foreign pilots has been a matter of concern.

When Decree 64/2023 is issued (which includes provisions defining additional salary sources to pay Vietnamese pilots working for Vietnam Airlines), it is expected to narrow the salary gap between foreign and domestic pilots.

In the world, according to the latest report by Yahoo! Finance, the highest pilot salary in the Middle East ranges from 200,000-300,000 USD/year.

In Switzerland, known as the home of major international airlines, commercial pilot salaries are up to 172,610 USD/year, in Luxembourg 146,809 USD/year, Denmark pays an average of 127,515 USD/year, Belgium pays an average salary for pilots 122,930 USD/year...

Pilots are also known as the profession of “holding other people’s lives in their hands” with very strict requirements and standards in not allowing even the smallest mistake. Students must ensure the health standards of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) as required by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport.

The pilot profession requires high standards and huge tuition costs (Photo: NVCC).

Candidates suffering from one of the following diseases: color blindness, vestibular disorders, congenital heart disease, mental disorders, etc. cannot study to become a pilot.

In addition to health issues, pilots must meet a series of requirements regarding a certain level of English proficiency, communication skills, teamwork, good situation handling, etc.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/muc-luong-cua-nghe-nam-tinh-mang-nguoi-khac-co-hoc-phi-hon-3-ty-dong-20250611102219768.htm