TUM Alumna Isa Held in front of her “emergency vehicle.” As a helicopter pilot in the Federal Police Air Wing in Oberschleißheim, she surpasses herself every day (Image: private).
Recognizing your own strengths
In 2016, Isa Held moved to Munich to pursue her master’s degree in mechanical engineering at TUM. “I love the mountains and was curious about the metropolis,” she says. “But above all, I was very interested in the aerospace and management lectures at TUM.” During her studies, she gained as much experience as possible, whether through the wide range of lectures and presentations, participation in various university groups, or attending industry events and doing part-time jobs.
Isa Held loves the Bavarian mountains—whether on skis or from the cockpit (Image: private).
But my intuition told me that this path would be worthwhile.
Through her studies at TUM, Isa Held learned initiative, resilience, and what she wanted to do professionally. “The more impressions I gathered, the better I knew where my strengths and weaknesses lay and what suited me,” she says. “When I completed my master’s degree in 2020, I was even more interested in technology and, above all, in flying.”
The comfort zone keeps growing
After completing her studies, Isa Held noticed a job advertisement from the Federal Police. In this “pilot project,” interested parties can apply for both police studies and the Federal Police flight service at the same time, thereby receiving a direct commitment to flight training after completing their studies. This was Isa Held’s chance. She was promptly accepted in the selection process. But the training was tough. It was very demanding, the pace was extremely fast – and that was with nationwide assignments. “The course was designed to continuously challenge the participants and regularly push them to their limits,” she says. “But my intuition told me that this path would be worthwhile.” After five years of training, Isa Held is now a police commissioner with a commercial pilot’s license – and has turned her hobby into her profession.
Isa Held is currently a pilot with the Federal Police Air Squadron in Oberschleißheim. Her daily work in the “patrol car of the skies” is exciting, varied, and above all meaningful. She never knows what to expect when she arrives for work. Sometimes she flies surveillance missions over high-speed rail lines to ensure that no objects on the tracks are endangering traffic. Other times, she is called upon for unforeseen emergency missions after a storm or forest fire, or to search for a missing or seriously injured person using a thermal imaging camera. “You have to be very flexible,” she says. “I go to work every day with a feeling of joy and gratitude and have never regretted my decision for a minute. When I’ve been able to help someone at the end of the day and have done something meaningful, it’s a great feeling.”
Well prepared
Isa Held’s everyday life in flight operations is shaped not only by her passion for flying, but also by her love of technology. In the cockpit, she can draw on the solid technical and scientific knowledge she acquired at TUM. Not every emergency procedure goes according to the textbook; some error patterns are diffuse. In such situations, Isa Held’s good understanding of the systems and technology helps her make the right decisions.
Isa Held also recalls a very enriching conversation with TUM Professor Dr. Manfred Hajek, former head of the EADS Endowed Chair for Helicopter Technology at TUM, which she had with him during a joint session in the flight simulator. Even then, he told her how well a scientific background and a love of flying can go hand in hand.
Reaching ever higher – and staying grounded
In addition to her main job as an emergency response pilot, Isa Held is deputy drone officer at the Oberschleißheim Air Wing. She never stops learning when it comes to flying. Every flight takes her further, and there are still numerous certifications and qualifications she would like to achieve as a pilot. These include winch operations, rescue services with the civil defense helicopters of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, and the authorization to fly the Super Puma, the largest transport helicopter of the Federal Police.
Isa Held’s everyday life impressively demonstrates how diverse, responsible, and technically demanding the profession of helicopter pilot with the Federal Police is—and how much it has promoted her personal development. Her job has had a positive impact on her private life. With every flight and every challenge in the cockpit, her comfort zone grows, she surpasses herself and feels her confidence increasing. She finds it a shame that, as a woman in the male-dominated cockpit, she is still considered an exception. “This job is far too wonderful to leave it to the men,” she says, and wants to inspire women with her career path. “You can do it!”
Isa Held (Image: private).
Master Mechanical Engineering 2020
After graduating from high school in Bensheim, southern Hessen, Isa Held completed her bachelor’s degree in general mechanical engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in 2016. This was followed by a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at TUM in 2020.
From 2020 to 2024, she completed her police studies, graduating with a degree in public administration and being appointed a police commissioner in the higher service, and trained as a helicopter pilot at the police aviation school. Since 2024, she has been an operational pilot and deputy drone officer in the Federal Police Air Wing in Oberschleißheim. When Isa Held is not in the cockpit, she enjoys skiing and is involved as a trainer in alpine skiing.
