How did you get financed

[airkyd]

ok , i realy want to be a pilot, and i know that the probabilty of me getting a sponshorship is realy low. and seeing as i finish my A level next year in july, i realy want to start a pilot course, i have yet to find any universities to supply a pilot course. but the one that i have found is £7000 for 2 years but does not inlcude practie time..... so that will cost me a bit :/ at approximatly £180 per hour , and i will need how many hours of practice ??? 150 hours??? .... im not sure i read some where that to obtain the license you need 180 hours any ways im looking for a bill of about 4000 not including accomodation ect.... so how did you guys do it ?

[Özcan]

Hello airkyd!

I do not want to sound pesimistic but you should take a close look at how the market looks for pilots and probadly how it will look in the future before starting the training.

Most guys went the hard way and paid the £35-70k for their training and got it mostly from loans. I would not start the training until i had a good education to land back at and a bunch of cash stashed up for the training!

good luck

[airkyd]

your probably right but wat kind of ppl do get these jobs ...... i mean what do u look for before choosing a candidate..... all applicants will have the lincense ...... A-level???? i am doing maths physics chemistry and biology..... what else can they want???? we are only human :P

[Özcan]

well it's mostly the experience you have on airplanes (ratings/hours etc) and very importantly how you are as a person

[veetwo]

Actually I think airkyd has hit the nail on the head. At the end of the day, what you will hear left right and centre (particularly when involved in an integrated versus modular debate) is that all training schools and courses come to the same conclusion: We all get the same licence, and thus we have "all reached the same standard".

If thats the case, then when your CV hits the airlines you need something to differentiate YOU from the rest. Sure, a Degree is not particularly going to help you with respect to flying, but when it comes to getting a job, it very well might give you the edge. Airlines dont just want anyone who has a little blue book, they want rounded individuals who have interests other than aeroplanes, such as a sound grasp of business principles. This is particularly true as the market becomes more and more competitive.

Anything you can do to add a string to your bow will NOT go to waste. Be it a Degree, another A level.. etc, it will all stack up in your favor. Extra curcicular activites are also of real value.

There are, of course, other reasons to have sound educational achievements. A good "fall back" position in the event that you can't get a flying job is one. If you need to get a loan to pay for the training (and I suspect most people do) then the bank will want paying back. If you have some other qualification valuable outside aviation you will a) strengthen your business plan when applying for the loan and b) provide your self with more chance of making the loan repayments should the worst happen.

V2

[airkyd]

yea, im planning on getting a degree in aeronautic aviation first , work a while and save some money , then get that commercial pilot license. what otehr degree can you recomend to improve chances of being picked for that job :S. i'v also seen airport management as a degree course, but that will help me get a pilot job will it?

[portsharbourflyer]

Aero degree will always be a good choice if you do intend to get a degree, it worked for me, however I didn't have to pay tuition fees, if I had then it would have certainly delayed my pilot training after graduation. The aero engineering industry can be as cyclic as the airline industry, fortunately it is in a good state at the moment.

Finance orientated degrees, though not aviation related could give you a good chance of earning the type of money you need in order to fund pilot training and clear university debts in a reasonable timescale.

Also look into other possibilities, for example training as an electrician, payscales for an electrician can be good when the apprenticeship is finished, it also provides you with a backup career after the flight training. Also you could start earning straight after finishing A levels and start funding a ppl while avoiding university debts.