Hi Sankara,
Good to hear you are keen to make your dream a reality. Hope that my experiences will give you some perspective on what you may experience.
First off, I’ll remind you that no investment is 100% guaranteed. You may start a business with the cash and it fails or on the extreme end you may start flying and God forbid fail a medical. Your hard earned money will come and go, pursue you dream so you may never live life wondering “what if?”.
Now to my experience.
I completed my training last year in Feb and only just got my first job 3 months ago flying a twin turboprop with only 270TT. Jackpot right?
What you may not know is that I started my PPL in 2012 and had to work at my hrs slowly as cash was limited. So it’s taken just about 6yrs to get through to where I am now. I can’t complain because I also built great experience and a name for myself in my previous industry. However now I’m starting from the bottom of the food chain and hopefully the skills I used in my previous work will help me build a good reputation and career in aviation.
So how did I get the job?
Some years back, I quit a well-paying job to earn ¼ of the salary to work in a flight ops department for a few months. That company has now hired me as an F/O. It’s interesting to share a cockpit with the same people I did paperwork for. I didn’t last in this job and when my 3 month probation was over, they offered a full time position because I did a good job; I declined. I declined because with the pay and hours I would finish my training when I was 40! Like you, I am 29 turning 30 this year.
Why did I do my training here?
The reason I opted to do my training here was because from my previous industry I understood that relationships are key to getting ahead. I weighed in on saving up and going to S.A or USA for training and figured that
1) I’d be away for 2-3 years and have huge license conversion costs 2)
When converting, the few schools that can do it here will take advantage of you since they think you have lots of cash from abroad or come from a wealthy family
3)I have no paying job in either industry when I return
4) Nobody knows me and I am just another C.V stacked up with the rest.
Someone once told me “People do business with people they like and they trust” It’s no surprise hiring works the same way.
In those years I have trained here (training standards may not be the best) and had to make up for my instructors shortcomings by my own reading and asking more experienced people to share knowledge. If you do your training in the region, expect it.
One of the big advantages of training here is that you will build relationships that could be key to you landing your first flying gig and getting a foot in the door.
Is it worth it spending the cash?
Personally, I may be making less money than I was in my previous job but I have learned and proved to myself several important lessons ; Whatever your dream you have the power to make it happen, Patience and the ability to stick to something no matter how long it takes (This is important because the next goal is to be a Captain and God knows how long it will take)
Invest in yourself first and keep doing it until you find what a right fit is for you. At 29 I believe we have 30+ years left before retirement so better get cracking at failing and learning quickly.
SAA, USA or Canada
Of all the 3 options, Canada seems to be the best. Not only do you get to fly but also get a shot at being a
PR(Resident) after you finish training. The more the world becomes interconnected the more you need a backup as you build your life. Don’t get me wrong, I love my country but we are living in uncertain political and economic times. You need to have access to something else should things go south on either end.
Is the business of East African Aviation growing?
“World Bank statistics show that African Aviation is growing tremendously with the number of passengers carried increasing from 37 million in 2005 to 74 million in 2015, tantamount to a 100% increase. However, these optimistic numbers mask the difficult reality and many challenges faced at country level.”
You may take this with a pinch of salt, but the truth is many African airlines are battling to survive and achieve profitability regardless of the huge population of the region. Factor in GDP and see how many people can afford to fly. Have a look at intercontinental trade for example how many Kenyans do business in Ghana?
So why do I still do this? Because having pursued the goal for so long I still don’t get over the fact that now I get paid to do my hobby. It’s remarkably different doing airline flying vs being a PPL holder and flying to the Mara for the weekend. I’m starting a new journey and happy to be here and no longer be a dreamer! (Even though the Dreamliner is a another Dream!)
Hope my two cents helps.
Clear Skies and tailwinds!