your advice on my path to ATPL pleeease!

[moo]

Right, here's there scenario. I have just turned 24 and have £30000 saved. I have 6 years experience with BA as an avionic technician on the longhaul fleet and have good academic qualifications - I have two years left on a part-time basis to finish my degree (electrical engineering). At the moment i'm managing to save £700 per month.
In two years I will have a degree and approx £47000 in the bank not including interest and other returns (stock market & premium bonds) from my lump sum at which point I intend to leave my job completely and study the integrated course at one of the cheaper FTOs e.g. Cabair, Aeromadrid etc.
Here's my dilemma. Do I:

1. Carry on with this plan and (bearing in mind that a course at Aeromadrid/Airmed lasts approx. 20 months) emerge from training at 27/28 years old

or,

2. Leave work in a years time with approx. £37000, get a loan for approx. £15000 and study the integrated course as described above and emerge from training at 26/27 years old

I know there's only a year in it, but I am starting to get on a bit and the majority of the money to finance my training has already been saved. I am aware that the recruitment market is depressed but you have to be in it to win it hey? With this plan I could be FznATPL in two an a half years from now. With option 1 its three and a half....
I would greatly appreciate the views and advice of the infinitely wiser of you out there!

[redsnail]

Stay and get all the money saved up. It will be difficult to service a loan unless you are working....
The market should be a bit better although you had better budget the real possibility of funding either an instructor rating or a type rating. (hopefully the market will have improved by then so neither will be needed).
You also will have finished your degree too. It does look better on your application forms.
1 more year will not hurt in the overall scheme of things. You are still young enough to make that up. If you were 38 I'd say something different.

[Send Clowns]

Why integrated? I admit I work for a modular course FTO, but I would certainly suggest you look at this route. It is cheaper, and you could take a compromise : earn a little more, say £40,000, take a loan for living expenses and the final £2,000 or so you will need for the course, and have a licence a year later! You can even start to fly now, the PPL and hour building, in order to minimise the time without an income, which could be as little as 9 months if you leave work once you have 150 hours to start the ATPL groundschool.

I cannot see any benefit to someone in your situation of an integrated course.

[moo]

thanks for your replies, I admit i'm so hung up on the integrated course that I haven't given enough thought to the modular route(I guess I just don't want the distraction of work while i'm spending such a large sum of money) also, I want to be able to have consistent training where my aircraft handling skills will be used and practiced every day.
I think yet another visit to the flyer training exhibition is in order! :)

[Send Clowns]

If you prefer you can go through a modular course in exactly that way. My JAA course was modular, but I had given up work and concentrated on flying / groundschool full-time. The exhibition is a good idea. Come and introduce yourself to me or my colleagues from BCFT :)