HELP!

[dan296]

HI EVERYONE, I REALLY NEED SOME ADVISE ON BECOMING AN AIRLINE PILOT-IM NOT SURE WHAT TO DO WHEN I LEAVE SCHOOL. I CURRENTLY HAVE 9 GCSE'S AND IM STUYING A-LEVELS IN MATHS, PHYSICS, GEOGRAPHY AND COMPUTING.IVE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE AN AIRLINE PILOT AND I HAVE GOT ABOUT £6,000 IN THE BANK-IF I LEAVE IT IN THERE FOR LONGER THE INTEREST WILL BUILD UP AND ILL GET MORE,IM 16 1/2 AND IVE HAD 2 SHORT TRIAL LESSONS AND IT WAS REALLY GOOD.HERE IS A LIST OF QUESTIONS I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW:
1. IS IT BEST TO START MY PPL NOW AND GO ON FROM THERE.
2. SHOULD I GO TO UNIVERSITY?- IF I KNEW A DEGREE WOULDNT HELP ME BECOME A PILOT THEN I WOULDNT GO, BUT STILL SHOULD I??
3. SHOULD I APPLY TO ALL OF THE AIRLINES SPONSORSHIP SCHEMES WHEN IM 18 OR WAIT UNTIL I HAVE GAINED MY PPL OR OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.
4. IVE ONLY £6,000 IN THE BANK, AND AFTER MY PPL IS IT POSSIBLE TO TAKE OUT LOANS, INSTEAD OF UNIVERSITY SO THAT YOU CAN GAIN YOUR CPL?
5. SUPPOSING THE JOB MARKET WAS GOOD LIKE 6 MONTHS AGO AND I HAD GAINED MY CPL/FROAEN ATPL, WHAT CHANCE IS THERE OF GETTING A JOB.
6. FINALLY, CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN THE BEST DETAILED WAY INTO BECOMING AN AIRLINE PILOT, BEARING IN MIND THAT I CANNOT JOIN THE RAF DUE TO -1 EYESIGHT!
THANKS A LOT.

[cubby]

stop shouting!!!!!


and go to uni....

[Trislander]

Hi Mate,
I'm 17 and 30 hrs through my PPL. I am in the 2nd year of college studying Physics, Computing and AS German. I also have an A level General studies. I thought it was necessary to do my PPL at his age because I could get somewhat of a headstart before I leave college and be ready to take the next step when I leave. My options were:
1. Airline sponsorship
2. Work, then modular CPL/IR
3. Goto Uni, then do either of the above.
Well the recent sitution ruled out no.1 for the time being and forseeable future. Then I though about whether option 2 would really be good enough when it comes to an airline interview (if I ever get one) and I thought I should take option 3.
Many people told me to goto Uni, but I was unsure of whether or not it was really worth all the extra hard work after I leave college. But in the long run it would pay off, especially as something to fall back on, and also, when it gets to that interview process and someone else has all the same qualificatons bar the degree, you will be more likely to get it. That is completely besides the point that Uni will be fun!
I am looking at the degree in Aviation operations and management at London Guildhall. For more info goto: www.lgu.ac.uk/ca (http://www.lgu.ac.uk/ca) and click on foundation degree.
Let me know if you have any further questions.
Cheers,
Trislander

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http://www.aurigny.com/images.gb%20/trislander.jpg
"Ayline 221 airbourne"

[Lucifer]

1) Get your PPL by all means, but bear in mind that if you do, then you have to keep it current somehow, although if you can get enough mates to come up with you in a four-seater, you can split the cost 4-ways with you paying just a quarter. A PPL will cost you in the region of £4500 were you to do it in the minimum hours and groundschool exams are included at the school you are using for free.

One reservation about this is that if you are so keen, be wary of doing a lesson per weekend and not flying constantly, as this will simply reduce you currency and result in you needing to spend more cash as more hours are need to keep in practice prior to the exam. Do it in the next summer holiday if you are going to do it at all (budget 3.5 weeks min to 5 weeks max) and work like a dog for the rest of the summer for extra cash, which you will need for university.

2) Which obviously suggests my advice is to go to university. Without a shadow of a doubt, only by doing this will you prevent yourself from ending up 'stuck' in one profession, and as many may have recently discovered that they are not qualified to do anything else were they to be laid off. Three years is not a great deal of extra time - do not listen to those that say get in as young as possible to get seniority, as the vast majority of those going into majors such as BA in recent year have themselves been graduates or spent time doing other occupations prior to going flying. There was I think one school leaver on the last or second last course run by BA in Michigan. Yes you want to get seniority, but at 22ish entering an airline you will I guarantee you be well placed to be at the top by retirement. Do not just do aeronautical engineering as it will not help you get a job, and if you were to fail due to lesser ability/interest this is a large blot on your CV, unless you have a desire to be an engineer as well as a pilot. Same goes for airlines ops and management unless you are really interested in operating an airline and managing. Do what interests you and you can do well at, be in economics, history, law, biology or psycology. They all have their place in making pilots one of the most diverse and interesting group of people in the world.

3) Wait until you are finalist at uni and have a little flying experience. Do no extra ratings beyond PPL and do just enough to keep the licence current (12 hours/year).

4) It's a lot harder to get a loan without a degree, and especially at the moment. Plus if no job, you are weighted in debt with no backup career.

5) The market will not be as good for a while for that stage, since it is flooded with those made redundant, those at the end of training and building hours and military leavers waiting in the wings for the market to pick up. End of degree would place you well to get in somewhere, and if self-sponsored at that stage it would also be far better than when you have finished A-Levels.

6) Ask your God - he's the only good economist.

[Sean Dell]

I wish I had 'only £6000' in the bank now - never mind when I was 16 !

[Trislander]

The degree I was referring to was the AVIATION Management and Operations one. Not the Aurline one. It is all about how aircraft, airports and airlines are run, and this knowledge would be very advantagous to a pilot I would think. That is why I am doing it. I have no interest in Engineering, or just the running of the airline, etc. Whats more, the second year is all the ATPL ground theory. :cool:
Rgds, Tri

[dan296]

Thanks a lot for the comments everyone-its really appreciated. Im not sure what to do a degree in yet, but ive been put off by aeronautical as ive heard that its very demanding and i dont know if that side of engineering would interest me anyway. I was thinking about surveying or maybe airline management. One more question: if you gaiend your own frozen atpl from a flying school, is it much easier to get into an airline?

I was thinking about air traffic control too- does anyone know how you go about that ??
once again thanks a lot.