Have I Made The Right Decision?

[GeorgEGNT]

Hi there,

I've monitored this forum for years now and the time I have been anticipating for years has finally come, the end of my A-Levels.

I am looking into going into a career flying commercially and have decided not to apply to university but I am looking for advice and opinions on the decision I have made, let me paint the picture for you.


I have taken up a job at sainsburys working the night shift and earning a wage that allows me to fly 3/4 times a month towards my already partially completed PPL.
I am living at home rent free so I am unhindered by bills etc etc and I have no girlfriend (who also cost money), clearly a choice I have made with my finances and career ambitions in mind! :S lol
I am also learning to drive at the moment and saving up for a car (with a little help from parents) and am looking to move to a job into the airport in the future (basically to gain more experience in the industry, but only if I would be earning similar money for flying)I realise the decision to give uni a miss will affect my chances of a decent 'fall back' career, but the way I see it is, I have wanted to do this all my life and I am willing to give it the best shot and if it doesnt work out, hey I tried and I re-assess where I'm going in life.

I cant afford integrated so am aiming for the modular route with parental help in small chunks and I feel uni would waste valuable time and money in this. This is just my story and I was wondering what your opinions on this were.

Any feedback appreciated, thanks alot in advance
G-EGNT

[Pjlot]

Hi there mate

I understand your outlook and your anxiety to start on the path to become a pilot. I understand that you have had lots of time to think about this and what approach to take.

I'm sure you are aware of the global credit crunch and the effects on the global economy. Many airlines are pulling back, i even notice that prices have dropped substantially on a route i travel regularly. I'm sure this economic downturn will be short lived and things will prosper again. The United states is just about to face a presidential election and global economies always pull back somewhat approaching a US presidential election! The credit crunch certainly didn;t help the situation.

If you were to go to college and get a degree you could still work part time, you could still live at home. Cars are expensive and once you buy one you spend and spend and spend on it from the minute you sit behind the wheel. If you were in college living at home and had a part time job you could save the money and continue your training on your holidays and days off. Then when a time approaches that the aviation industry is booming again you can ramp up your training and will probably have a degree behind you. A degree is no load to carry and once you are working as a pilot shoud the economy slow again in the future and you were to find yourself without a job over night, you would have another qualification to fall back on. It's your back up plan. Also if you were to fail your medical at some stage and grounded you a degree might come in usefull.

Best of luck mate!

[nmcpilot]

One thing to remember with regards to doing Ground School is that you have 3 years to get your IR from the first exam you take so once you've taken that first exam you are committed to getting to a certain stage within a time limit. Sounds like along time but I've known people who spend 18months doing ground school then they have 18months to do the CPL/IR. Just gotta manage your time well

[GeorgEGNT]

Pjlot,

Thanks for your response, yeah your right, like I said I monitor this forum alot and the news (that ultimatley could affect the industry, fuel prices etc) and also talk to people I have met strongly associated in the industry including pilots, and I know that it isnt all a barrel of laughs finding a job flying airlines.

But having said this, I have also read on here thousands of times, of people in their 30's wishing they'd gave it a go and although I'm 18 and still have a huge life ahead of me I already know that I seriously want to achieve my ATPL and fly for a living.

I understand that the degree is primarily a fantastic back up if the flying doesnt go so well (e.g. failed medical) but at this moment in time the flying is what I want to concentrate on. I'm still young and even next year, uni can still be an option if I want it to be but even so if I didnt make it, there is no other major career that interests me, I'd be happy dispatching and working up the ranks!

For now, personally I want to achieve PPL level flying and then go about the long process of achieving the coveted ATPL and hope all goes well! lol

Oh by the way, the only reason I'm learning to drive is so that a job at the airport could become possible with the early starts etc, theres no buses from my town at 2am to the airport lol

[GeorgEGNT]

nmcpilot, these are the factors I've always had in the back of my mind when weighing up my options, I'd rather give it 100% now and think about back up careers later, call me mad but thats pretty much the way I want to do it.

There are people aged 18/19 going into integrated courses and finishing 1 or 2 years later, why cant it be the same with people following the self sponsered modular route?

[mcgoo]

nmc pilot, not quite

You have 18 months from the date of the first exam to pass all the exams, you then have 36 months from the date of the last exam to acquire the CPL/IR, the exam credits will then last 7 years from the date of the last IR validity date.

[nmcpilot]

Yea sounds better, oh thats not too bad then rly. Just keep the dedication going, but remember not to burn yourself out.

If I've learned anything from watching Bear Grylls alot on the discovery channel lol, it's that you need to not just think of the big goal that's a long way off but break the whole process down into smaller goals like plan when you want to have finished your PPL, how many hours you can do it in, or even smaller than that plan what you want to have your first solo done or your first nav etc etc Then it doesn't feel like you've spent forever training and will never ever get done. Just have structure and a planned realistic sort of time scale.

[zondaracer]

Hehe, I met Bear Grylls on a British Airways flight from Phoenix to London back in February.

[corsair]

George, I tried that method. The get a job in aviation without going to college and try to pay for the whole thing piecemeal over a number of years method.

I'll tell you now it doesn't work. Or it doesn't work that well. Even with parental support, which I didn't have. You will struggle. I presume the parents cannot supply the whole amount which is the reason you need a full time job. The problem with full time jobs is just that. They are full time. They take up a lot of time. On top of that, jobs that pay well enough to fund your training will expect commemsurate commitment. Telling your boss you want time off to do some flight training or exams won't exactly enhance your position within any company.

You don't have a girlfriend now, but they have an uncanny habit of appearing on the scene. They are, as most of us are aware, expensive, time consuming and complicated. Cars too are money pits. On top of that you're depending on the goodwill of your parents to fund you while you are working, for a goal that may take years to achieve. Will take years to achieve.

I'm sure you researched the process. PPL then hour building, Exams then CPL modular, Multi-Ir modular, MCC, and maybe an FI rating. I'm sure you researched the costs. Where does the money come from? You need to borrow. You cannot learn to fly on a salary and eat, drive, wear clothes, go out of an evening.

At 18, I was like you. Forget college, get a job start flying. So I got a bad job (no qualifications) and took years to get a PPL. Then years to get hours, then years to get a CPL etc. Looking back I now realise that if I wasn't in such a hurry and studied for something even for two years. I would probably have made better progress in the long run, not to mention have more money for flying by the simple virtue of being better paid. You can still learn to fly, while in college if you're parents are paying. Indeed you can study something relevant to aviation. That's a lot better than being a baggage handler or check in desk operator.

I know at 18, two years is a long time but if you attempt to get qualified without proper funding, it might take you ten years. Ten years in one tedious job after another, living with your parents. You really do not want to go there.

You don't have to go to college, look at getting some form of qualification so that you can earn sufficient money and be attractive to loan companies.

Do not make the same mistake I did.:=

[corsair]

PPRuNe is full of people that whine and moan about life.

Since when am I moaning? I'm giving him a reality check. It's not being gloomy. Based on my experience his method is the possibly the worst way of getting qualified. I got there in the end but I went about it the long way round. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it all, but on balance I would have preferred another way. To top it off, if I lose my pilot's licence or even my flying post. I would probably end up working if a low paid, dead end job, quite simply because I have zero qualifications other than my pilot's licence.

There are better ways.

[G-SPOT]

GeorgEGNT,

I am / was in a similar situation to you regarding training. I currently have CPL / ME, starting IR soon, all modular and every penny self sponsored through full-time work. Having completed ATPL study, brush up courses/exams, CPL / ME and soon IR, all during annual leave from full-time employment, it is therefore possible, and as many others will also agree having gone a similar route. However I was lucky enough to have started with a well-paying ‘provisional’ career to base the above on, and also given that, like you, have no major financial burdens. I also decided not to go the University route after completing A-levels and am now doing a part-time degree through the Open University, do I regret it, not really.

On the down side, I could not imagine repeating the whole process again without the support of a good income. I am certainly not knocking the job which you have, but to support all of the above training with a part-time (or even an average full-time) income would in my opinion prove more of a challenge than any ATPL exams you will ever do.

As barke kindly reminds us, life isn’t that gloomy, however nor is it a bed of roses, and the enthusiasm to follow the dream will rapidly be worn away by the harsh reality of a lack of funding, particularly if you find yourself in a position where you have already spent a substantial amount of hard earned cash but cannot find the resources to complete it.

Its your call, but my advice would be to find an area of work / a sideline career first whereby you will have at least a moderate income to support the (huge) financial commitment you are about to take on.

J

[Boing7117]

I'm pretty sure I remember having the identical outlook as you when I was 18. I too had finished my A-Levels and was desperate to get into flying. I'd spent the last year of my A-Levels avoiding all those sixth-form talks on how to fill in a UCAS form and which university you should consider against your predicted grades. I was going flying. What did I care?

Then the twin towers came down.

I had a couple of part-time jobs and my parents had agreed in principle to help me through my flying while I continued to hour-build in my second-hand car. :hmm:

But in the end I decided that a fall back option was exactly what was needed and so I applied to clearing and got a place at university.

Four very happy years including a year-out as part of a sandwich degree. I walked away with a first and a job offer in London. A girlfriend had popped along during my time there as well (Corsair has a point. They DO pop up).

A couple of years working in the big smoke (still no flying at this point) but a good job, paying a handsome sum. Enough to save up and start thinking about ploughing it all into flight training. A quick visit to HSBC followed and suddenly there were funds available....

I did the integrated course at Oxford and having been finished for just over 4 months I've got my first job and I'm delighted.

My experience started out similar to yours which is why I thought I'd run through how mine turned out. Your experience may well go in a different direction - just be aware that things CAN and WILL change over the next few years, not just in terms of the industry, but also yourself. Your ideas, your thinking process, your outlook will develop and change and I would personally advise you to get as much "life experience" under your belt as possible. University, for me, is a no-brainer, it's just something I'd definitely do all over again. Of course, back then (its not so long ago) we didn't have to pay ridiculous tuition fees - so I can understand your point about getting into further debt.

I'm just really certain that my academic background next to my flying qualification allowed me to stand ever-so-slightly above what is, truly strong competition. It got me a foot in the interview door and my life experience to date allowed me to answer interview questions confidently and explicitly with plenty of examples to demonstrate what was being asked of me.

I know that it costs a fortune to study further but you can't put a price on life experience. Given the choice, I do it all again. Exactly the same way.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do. You sound like a bright bod - no doubt it'll work out.

[capson]

just a quick one...you go to uni mate, do any course. Something to fall back on...trust me Aviation is not as is used to be...

try this link.....good luck

Flying as a career (http://www.dicksmithflyer.com.au/cat_index_44.php)

[Cirrus_Clouds]

I didn't have the money either from family; I didn't go to uni, because of debt. I’ve wanted to do this since about 6 yrs old, so I guess you could say it’s drilled into my head!

I've had a few jobs over the last 10yrs, kept in the green, out of debt, got 125hrs total time, JAR PPL, night, training for IMC, a sponsorship bursary, now hour building to get more P1, studying distance learning ATPL (about to become 80% full time) and plug on from there.
I don't have a mortgage to worry about either, so do it when you can when you have least things to worry about. You only live once, but do it sensibly!! .. in case *hit hits the fan! …..VERY easy to be irrational during this training!!

I'm still plugging away, whilst I now have experience in other "areas", which can provide a good backup when times get interesting or to finance the flight training.

It’s all about patience and persistence, it's been difficult for me throughout this period, but I hope the end goal will be worth it and god will I be satisfied when I’ve achieved my goal!!! :cool:

[BerksFlyer]

capson,

You keep posting that link. Dick Smith isn't even a professional pilot, so I wouldn't take what he says as gospel.

[corsair]

Cirrus_clouds said I've had a few jobs over the last 10yrs, kept in the green, out of debt,

That's a fair timescale 10 years. It can be shorter or longer. At 18 that may seem a horrifyingly long time. But there you are. Note that Boing7117 took as long but he has qualified and working as a pilot and he went to college and held down a good job for years AND has a girlfriend. Cirrus is still plugging away.

Makes my point.

Not picking on you Cirrus, we all have to play the hand we are dealt with.

[nmcpilot]

Hehe, I met Bear Grylls on a British Airways flight from Phoenix to London back in February.

:O Was he in first class? I bet he just asked to be put in the cargo hold and survived by feasting on the various animals being shipped over and drank his own urine.

[MMEMatty]

GeorgeEGNT;

While i can see your point that "uni is a waste of time and money when i want to be flying" (ok not your original words i know, but i get the feeling that is your sentiment) I would say that Uni is more than worth its time and money. It is more than studying towards a degree, if you go away to uni you will learn so much about yourself. How to live away from home, how to live on a budget, cooking, ironing, meeting people from all over the country (and the world in some cases) and going out socialising with them, having just met in the corridoor on your first day. All good skills for when you are heading off downroute for a week with someone you only met in Ops 20 minutes ago, dont you think?

While I realise it is a huge financial commitment, I personally would advise anyone who is able to to go off to uni at 18, and do a course that really interests you. as well as being a fall back career, you will have a great 3 years and you can keep your flying going on through various means (UAS, Gliding, and Cost sharing amongst other students with PPLs) and you will probably come out the other side as the Economy is up-turning and people are looking to hire again. And you can always get Airport jobs like i did through the summer to gain experience, and little extra cash, as well as part time jobs while you are at Uni.

I always thought like you, get the A-levels done then head off to become a shiny jet pilot, however September 11th happened right in the middle of my A-levels. So the decision to go to uni was almost a way of marking time (usefully!) untill the economy came up again.

5 years on from leaving college i'm mid-way through a type rating, and should be on-line by the end of September.

And how is Sunny Newcastle?

Up the Boro

Matty

[SparksFlyHigh]

Maybe i can shed some light on your situation. Firstly, i am also 18, and also half into a ppl, BUT, i have kind of already been where you are thinking of going.

I left college end of last year because i needed money to fly. I only had my gcse's but that got me good money but a **** job driving fork lifts for Tesco. Now, i was earning more than some people do coming out of Uni BUT, i had no real qualifications and it would have taken me 6 years of saving hard to do a fATPL.

So, in March, i went back to my college course manager and asked for all the work from September onwards and started trying to catch up on that. In fact, the reason im up at 2.13am is because im trying to finish the second year of the course by next week.

I am going to get some alevels, sufficient to get me into uni if i chose to and the only thing that has suffered is the ppl. I havent flown for 6 weeks now because i just dont have the money to.

I have a job lined up with BAe systems that im starting after college which i intend to use to sort out myself financially then, re-assess the choice of going to Uni.

Trust me, the "i'll work and save enough for an atpl" thing doesnt work. I was on £25k in my old job but take tax and living expenses from that and your left with enough to fly 1 hour a week as long as you clean the fleet at the weekend :}.

Good luck with your driving test, but drive carefully... I would have a ppl now if i didnt waste £4000 on my writeoff....i mean car. Luckily the council didnt make me pay for the tree:rolleyes:

[benish]

Good luck with your driving test, but drive carefully... I would have a ppl now if i didnt waste £4000 on my writeoff....i mean car. Luckily the council didnt make me pay for the tree:rolleyes:Shouldn't have crashed then should you!

Im in the same boat, I've just finished my A levels, and they were in Economics Business and ICT so nothing to do with flying. I dont want to move away from home, get into debt, or study a meaningless course because all I want to do is fly, or albeit be involved with aviation, so yep Uni is a no go.
I did plan to jump straight in and get a ppl then borrow from family and bank to get the rest. I then thought thats not financially viable so i then thought i'd increase my hours at my part time job whilst doing a PPL and then re asses and move onto atpl exams and further. But taking in more advice and my thoughts I just cant see how I will land a job as a pilot at such a young age in huge debt and nothing on my CV. I now managed to land a job as a baggage handler at LBA, Its in aviation, Im looking forward to it. I hope to stay there a year then re asses, maybe i'll move into despatch. But I am now just thinking what If, when I do eventually get qualified, not find a job with an airline. What do I do? Work at Morrissons? A degree that can land me into a well paid job whilst Im waiting for an airline to ring me would be great, but I just dont want to study ever again for an education degree other than Piloting. Plus, what degree would I want to study! I have an interest in aviation thats it! Suppose I could study airline operations but I may as well just worki in an airport, thats all the degree would lead me to!

I hope you, EGNT, share some of this worry about not finding a job. its a huge gamble!

[EGNMCharlie]

I'm in exactly the same position too, having just finished my A-Levels (Business, ICT & Spanish) I am desperate to get on the long ladder to my ATPL! (Maybe it will remain only a dream?)

I work near enough full time at Morrisons, passed my test a year ago and so far so good, no scrapes and she passed her MOT with flying colours. I am managing to put away around £300 per month into a savings account.

I have applied to the Aviation Academy at LBA to do a degree in Aviation Management and Operations. Perfect for me as I only live 20 miles away and my parents are willing to put up with me rent free.

I have two main paths that I am considering:

1) Stay at Morrisons full time (Circa £15k a year) and start my PPL ideally next summer.

2) Aviation Academy and hopefully come out with a degree and take up some job in an Airport or Airline. Get to know the set up more, make contacts etc, earn (hopefully) better money then Morrisons and in the not too distant future start flight training.

I would much prefer to do the second option but when im sat in a class room watching aircraft taking off I know the burning desire I have will become stronger and I will be thinking dam, those god dam beeps on the checkouts at morrisons = £ = PPL etc.

Its good to find other people in a similar position! :ok: So what would you guys and gals do? Its quite depressing thinking that the nearest thing I am to flying is pretending i'm accelerating down a runway .... when i'm actually doing 70 in my corsa down the A1... I even got a Jet engine sound track CD for my birthday for the car ... my parents do know how to take the pi$$ quite well! :ugh:

[SparksFlyHigh]

Its a total 50/50 decision but i would say having a degree and starting later will probably work out better in the long run.

I used to do that in my fiesta, but i bought a 1.8 306 so i can imagine having a jet job and accelerating down the runway :hmm:

[gfunc]

If you have the ability and interest I would wholeheartely recommend going to Uni and getting a degree before flight training.

Yes you could working in a supermarket for those three years (at 15K per year), but you'll die of boredom after the first one. Yes a degree 'takes' three years of your money-earning life but (i) You can work part-time during university and full time during the holidays to keep the PPL going (ii) You'll probably not be stacking shelves and earn on average 25K asfter leaving: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/How_much_could_I_earn_/Salary_and_vacancy_FAQs__2_/What_is_the_average_graduate_starting_salary_/p!eaLXbeX (http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/How_much_could_I_earn_/Salary_and_vacancy_FAQs__2_/What_is_the_average_graduate_starting_salary_/p%21eaLXbeX)

Plus you'll get a qualification that you can pull out for a back up career if something goes pear shaped along the line. Of course also there are the intangibles that have been mentioned in previous posts.

From my own personal experience, I thought I was grown up enough at 18 to give uni a miss and start working towards flight training. To cut a long story short, things got messy at home and I ended up going to uni after a year in work. After graduating I looked back on my experience to realize that at 18 I still had a great deal of maturing to do. I would have to say that my undergrad days were best days of my life (so far!) and I wouldn't take those years back for anything. At 18, you are mature enough to know the direction you want to go and are very driven, but because you are 18, you really haven't seen much of 'life' (I sound like an old man!). Three years at uni are really a good boot camp and the experience will help you both at the study and interview stage for a flying job.

Although most people say "do a subject you like" I would urge caution and get degree that you are interested in, but has a useful application afterwards. Don't do a flimsy 'hobby' degree (e.g. 'Rock music' or something), bit the bullet get yourself a firm technical degree (engineering, biotech etc etc). I say this because the people I know who did those mickey mouse degrees had fun and grew up over three years but are now back in the supermarket at 15K.

Just my opinion based on my personal experience!

Good luck with your choices,

Gareth.

[GeorgEGNT]

Thank you all so much for your responses I have great respect for the the people on this forum particularly this section, theres people who've done it and people on the way who you can share your stories with.

I would just like to let you all know that after a long discussion with my head of year and a careers adviser, and also taking advice from my parents and even you lot on here into consideration, I have chosen to accept the offers I recieved a few months ago from universities.

Hopefully I'm off to Salford in september to study aviation technology with pilot studies. I chose Salford purely because of the broadness of the course spec, yeah there is flying and yeah there is aircraft but there is also a lot of general engineering practises covered and in the last year there is a management and business module and also a massive enterprise project looking into airport operations at a local airport (Liverpool I think?) so there are loads of possibilities for provisional careers and also will help me with the ATPL.

I know it was a rather quick decision but its done now and to be honest I'm personally getting a lot more sleep at night now (well during the day when I'm back from work, even that'll be going soon) So thanks all again.

[benish]

GeorgEGNT you seem to have made that decision quickly, it was only 3 days ago when you first posted!

I hope all goes well, I can guarantee you will think about changing your mind in the coming weeks but stick at your decision if you really want Uni!
My mind changes (DID) week on week. when I first got told to apply for Uni by my 6th form, I did all the ucas crap and I was set on Uni and putting flying on hold, I then changed my mind.

GFUNC, well done for getting back into education, I think after I have been in work for a year I might want to apply to Uni to advance myself, but there would be one problem for me, I would not want to leave my home. I have a girlfriend! A car! I need to earn somehow and live rent free at home, so...! But as much as I could do a good uni degree here in Bradford or over in Leeds I just cant imagine going to Uni if im living at home, id have to move just fopr the experience and then I can only see myself using all the money I have saved this year rather than getting a loan! lol! Ill re asses this next year!

EGNMCharlie, how on earth are you on 15k at Morrissons having only just finished A levels!??????????
I live down the road from LBA, Ive looked into the aviation academy. It has a good set up but for me, all the pupils seemed abit gay! and It only taught (in the airline and airport ops) the same sort of stuff as what you could learn from working in the airport, although having that qual would get you in higer up quicker!

[Sam-MAN]

there is a management and business module and also a massive enterprise project looking into airport operations at a local airport (Liverpool I think?)

Manchester :ok:

Although Liverpool is only 20mins down the road.

Sam

[Shiver me timbers!]

GeorgEGNT - only you can make the decisions, and only by what you think is right. Have a serious sit down with yourself, get a pen and paper out, look at ALL costs involved, and make some kind of gantt chart (http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=gantt+chart&meta=) - but be true to yourself - give realistic time & budgets then add some. It hurts to be realistic - I know the feeling...you want it all now - but unless you have £70k+ for integrated you won't have it all for years (of hard work) to come.

I'm in a similar situation to you although just finished Uni - all today I’ve been helping my uni friends of 4 years move to a new flat in the city centre - tomorrow I’m heading home (different city) to start my modular dream - In the taxi home tonight was like going down memory lane - 4 years of memories - Uni has been the best time of my life and i wouldn't swap it for anything - its quite sad to leave it all behind....but I do so with an excellent classification, 1 years solid professional work experience (sandwich year), a graduate job sorted and loads of great friends...one might say the foundations of a nice backup plan.

I've been planning my strategy to fATPL for months and months (probably spent just as much time on here reading then doing my dissertation ) and know the feeling...you want it all now now now. Hell, it still pisses me off knowing that its gonna take me years - even on a graduate wage - but I couldn’t imagine doing it on anything less than that (BTW – your looking at more around the £16k-20k mark for a grad wage…just been realistic again). Ultimately you need a good balance between your salary to fund training and work experience/back up plan - whether you achieve this via uni or not that’s totally up to you – this site proves it can and has been done either way.

Good luck – if you want it enough you’ll get there. Just be patient. I'm just grateful i never decided to really 'go for it' before uni (the want it now feeling hurts).

P.s. Manchester airport is v. easily accessible from Salford - I should know :)

[EGNMCharlie]

EGNMCharlie, how on earth are you on 15k at Morrissons having only just finished A levels!??????????

My exams finished on the 20th May, I earned £1220 last Friday at pay day! So the £15K is assuming I carry on doing 50 hours a week sat at a checkout for the next year. (cringe!!)

I live down the road from LBA, Ive looked into the aviation academy. It has a good set up but for me, all the pupils seemed abit gay! and It only taught (in the airline and airport ops) the same sort of stuff as what you could learn from working in the airport, although having that qual would get you in higer up quicker!

Exactly my thoughts, but: 1) it wil be cheaper than going to a conventional Uni, 2) the set up is ideal for me, 20 min joueney, free house, get to keep the luxuries of a car, existing friends, family etc 3) I guess it shows that i'm more committed to the industry as its a qualification at the end of the day 4) Having made rubbish decisions for A-Levels, a lot of the high UCAS offers are out of my reach 5) I'm living in hope that they will get the Pilot Pathway part of the degree. 6) On talking to a MyTravel Pilot a while ago, who went straight from school - Integrated course - Flying for MyTravel, he said that on reflection he was not mature enough, he didnt have any idea about managing money and his only friends were his work colleagues I guess its best to live a little before getting too involved with my flight training :confused:


I know it was a rather quick decision

Wish I was like you! It takes me an eternity to decide what to have for lunch never mind my career path.

[JohnGV]

"I was on £25k in my old job but take tax and living expenses from that and your left with enough to fly 1 hour a week as long as you clean the fleet at the weekend" - sparks fly high

I have to say that what you said is absolutely f***** ridiculous!

If what you were saying, at 18, you were on 25k then that is absolutely more than enough to fund a pilot training programme that would exceed 1 hour a week.

Either you were spending all your money on drink n drugs or burning it!!

Even with high living expenses, i find it impossible to believe you had any less than £1300 - £1400 a month free to spend on flying. either that or your parents are taking the real michael out of you!!

Lastly, I'd like to add, All you 18 yr olds responding to posts like this, please think before you post. advice is being given by pro pilots here that make a lot of sense. they have been there, perhaps you should be thinkin less about giving opinions on what you HAVENT achieved and rather ASK ADVICE of those who have!! This isnt to all the 18 yr olds, just a few

To the creator of this post, Well done, you seem sensible with your plan, mayb according to what the other guys are saying you should revise your plans on certain outgoings you can do with out.

Im doing it the same route as you. Im fully aware it could take me up to 10 yrs and thats fine. im saving 80% of my wages - that is due to major sacrifices - if you want it bad enough though, its what you gotta do.

I work at LGW in the terminal, and have a licence, had one for five yrs but havent got a car as its cheaper to get the train.

Goodluck buddy
JohnGV