What Should I Do Next?

[Bartender]

Hi, Thanks for looking,

I'm currently 18 and nearing the end of 4 A-Level courses in Maths, Physics, Electronics and Geography and have predicted high grades A/B in all.

I have an offer from Bristol University to study Avionic Systems or Aeronautical Engineering and an offer from Manchester Uni to study Aeronautical Engineering next year.

Can anyone recommend either of these university courses or comment on them?

I wish to become a pilot but don't know where I should turn next. Should I try to get sponsorship from an airline and if so which ones should I apply to? Should I try to get sponsorship with an engineering firm as well as a summer placement?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thank you.

[Tall Boy]

Hi Bartender, i'm probably in a good position to answer this question as I graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Manchester University last year and i'm also just about to start a sponsored flight training course (CTC, fly out today, yay!). I visited Bristol when I was looking at universities (which, granted, was 5 years ago) and was impressed. It has a good reputation, night life, etc and i'm sure you'd probably love it there. However, as i'm more qualified to talk about life at Manchester i'll stick to that.

My four years at Manchester were absolutley incredible and to be honest i'm pretty gutted that they are over. The University is prestigious and the facilities are excellent. The Aerospace Engineering faculty has just moved to the North campus (what used to be UMIST - about a mile down the road from the main campus) to take advantage of the huge amount of engineering related facilities there. However, the faculty members are still the same and the lecturers as a whole are excellent.

The best aspect of the AeroEng course at Manchester is the fact that much of it is based upon so-called Problem Based Learning. This means that instead of being in lectures 9 - 5 every day as you would be at most other institutions you spend a lot of time working in 6 - 8 person groups on project work that utilises what you learn in lectures. I found this style of "learning by doing" much more useful than just sitting in a lecture theatre being spoken to for hours on end. In that kind of situation most people zone out after 45 minutes and when that happens you might as well not be there at all. From an aviation standpoint you'll find that when you come to interview for an airline sponsorship your PBL experience will be a huge boon. Working in groups, managing resources and personalities are exactly the kind of transferable skills that interviewers love because they could potentially come in very handy on a flight deck. They are the kind of skills normally learned in the workplace, which if you are a student can otherwise be hard to come by as you have little time to have a proper job (engineering degrees entail a 9 to 5 day, although you'll have relatively little to do outside of those hours).

Manchester also has an unrivalled nightlife. There are now 100,000 students in Manchester and you'll find that sometimes it is hard to find someone who isn't a student :D It offers everything London has to offer at about half the price. It is more of a bar orientated city but there are still loads of excellent clubs around. Manchester also seems to be visited by every band in the universe at least once a year so you'll never have a problem if you love live music. Oh yeah, it's also full of fitties :D Freshers' week is like a dream come true... :D

As to an Avionics course, they are much more orientated towards the computer modelling of aircraft behaviour and the actual electronics involved. You'll find that the Avionics course at Manchester has a common first two years with the AeroEng course so you can specialise relatively late. It gives you more options than just choosing to do Avionics from the start (Avionics is kinda boring by the way :D).

If you are looking for an airline sponsorship then experince is the key. Showing an unrivalled enthusiasm for aviation and having a confident can-do attitude are obviously important but what ultimately may tip the balance in your favour is previous experience of working under pressure in a way that involves working as part of a team, solving problems, meeting deadlines and managing your own personality as well as others'. An industrial placement, year abroad or relevant work during your summer vacation will do wonders for your application to any job. Oh, joining the University Air Squadron if you can would also be a huge help. It helps you develop the skills you need at the same time as showing your aptitude for, and interest in, flying.

I wish you all the best whatever you decide to do and if you have any questions about Manchester i'd be happy to answer them for you. Happy landings,

Tall Boy

[scroggs]

If you read this thread (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=131649) you will find a great deal of information to help you.

Scroggs