Originally Posted by
umop apisdn
The Rex Cadetship requires 7 years to pay back the loan, plus $25,000 up front. Do you have that kind of funding plus the required people to guarantee your loan in case you forfeit it for some reason? Are you willing to have not only yourself, but your guarantors take on that financial risk? That should be the biggest question you ask yourself.
The second thing to consider is that in order to upgrade, you will need command time. You will probably have about 70 hours command after your cadetship flight training. I'm sure Rex probably has some ICUS program in place to upgrade their cadets, but because you are bonded to them, it will be on an as needed basis. People go into Rex all the time with the required upgrade command time and then sidestep all of the cadets whenever the company need their next upgrade.
You have 12 years in IT, you could probably very easily get a relatively high paying job in that field, then fund flight training yourself at a fraction of the cost of the Rex cadetship. Flying is great, but just like any other job, the line between a hobby and a job becomes more and more gloomy over time. A Saab 340 might seem like nice thing to drive, but the thrill of flying it will probably be exhausted some time before your 7 years are up. Is the pay, benefits, corporate culture and lifestyle that Rex offers enough to offset that initial thrill of flying? If the answer is no, then you might find yourself in a dark place if there is no avenue for you to exit within the next whatever amount of years. Something to consider.
This might be an alternative timeline:
- Get an IT job in a major city where you can advance your career internally. It wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a ~ $100,000 pa salary after you prove yourself.
- Learn to fly on your own terms, as much or as little as you want, and fund it as you go.
- Once you get a PPL, you will be able to fly whenever you want, anywhere in Australia, this will give you an idea if you want to continue with becoming a professional pilot.
Thank you for taking time out and replying. Much appreciated.
Paying 25K upfront is not a problem but I don't have a guarantor as I am very new to the country. I was not aware of this guarantor requirement.
Yes, I can secure a job within my field. But since last 13 years I have been dragging myself to my workplace. I have almost lost all the motivation and was thinking on the lines of career change.
Flying at leisure after PPL does not seems like a practical solution for some reason.