Unfortunately I don't think you will find an "independent" study or for that matter any research which is really useful. Problem is these studies tend to be released by either:-
- FTO's or
- Aircraft/engine manufacturers
The first category are always upbeat about getting you into training as its lining their pockets. In boom times they argue how great the industry is and you had better rush to start your training citing all of the success stories of little johnny who is now flying a big shiny jet. In down times they change the tone so that you had better get training to be ready for the next upturn in recruiting. Either way according to the FTO's there is never ever a bad time to be training which kind of defies logic I would have thought.
The latter category (eg: Airbus/Boeing) release quite farcical statements at times relating to the number of airframes that will be required over the next 5-10 years. Usually these are in time for the big airshows, Paris, Berlin etc. These projections seem to be based on the false assumptions that:-
- every aircraft currently in use will be scrapped imminently and the operators will then suddenly have a need to buy either Airbus or Boeing but never any other alternative manufacturer
- that the world population will grow at x% and seemingly that every single person will be flying somewhere a lot of the time which kind of misses the point that the vast majority of the world is actually severely poverty stricken and those of us "westerners" who are considered wealthy are actually in a very very small minority.
The only solution is to read all the bollocks produced and apply a healthy dose of common sense and skepticism. Reading the terms and endearment section would be a good start. That will give you a flavour of what the industry is really like, warts and all.