Hi all,
I am a 17 year old British citizen who currently lives in the United States. I've been wanting to become a pilot for as long as I can remember, and I am currently attempting to examine all pathways available to me since my residence is not permanent in the USA - I do not have a Green card, or citizenship here. Because of this, I would like to return to the UK to do flight training, but the options all seem to have varying pros and cons, and I am struggling to make sense of the intricacies and weird little caveats everywhere - that is certainly one thing the US seems to do better, flight training! I was wondering if I could perhaps receive any kind of advice from you all.
The pathways I have identified are the following:
1.) Return to the UK, do the integrated ATPL/MPL with L3 Airline Academy, and slap on the Middlesex University degree on the side.
Pros:
- Seemingly easier and wider opportunities for employment with a major airline
- All the "components" required are all done quickly in one course
- The Flight Training seems to take a relatively shorter time (18 months is the timeframe they have stated, though I have read on here lately that there are delays of sorts occurring too, not sure if that would still be relevant to me as someone who would start next autumn).
Cons:
- Cost. 100,000 pounds is not a small sum at all. While we could pay this off, I'm worried that this is an overly inflated cost that does not provide a true value for what you are provided.
- (Lack of) reputation. I have heard horror stories about L3 being a scam, and delaying training for up to a year for certain students. I do not want to sink 100,000 pounds into what is described as a ponzi scheme by certain people.
- (Lack of) flying experience. Their programs seem to have a great emphasis on streamlining the training process to cut out a lot of parts of professional development and piloting skills, such as flying aircraft solo and actually attaining relevant licenses.
2.) Return to the UK, attend a Uni that offers Aviation studies, such as Kingston University or Bucks New University
Pros:
- My predicted and attained grades are more than enough to attend these places.
- They offer to take up students to an fATPL in three years, and graduates seem to achieve employment with decent airlines.
- They offer better conceptual understanding and a wider education, such as knowledge about the airline industry as a whole and management techniques.
Cons:
- When I say "My predicted and attained grades are more than enough to attend these places" - I mean they are
far higher than what is demanded from these unis. I can apply to far superior unis than Kingston or BNU, and I am worried that they have low required grades for a reason; perhaps their facilities or teaching is subpar compared to others, and I want to go a good university that is both recognised and academically interesting.
- Cost. It is just as expensive as doing L3+Middlesex.
And finally,
3.) Go to a better University, get a degree in something unrelated to aviation (leaning towards doing something in Business, personally), then pursuing flight training after graduating and doing it with either an integrated or modular programme. (Bear in mind that I will hold an FAA PPL before I go off to uni in the UK, so I will look to be converting it there so it's one less year of Flight training I need to do.)
Pros:
- A better uni experience, as I can apply to Russell Group unis with my current predicted grades, and get a strong degree in something else as a "fallback" in the case that aviation doesn't work out for me in the future.
- Lower costs. I can get local fees in the UK (and in Scotland) and can apply for student support, making uni relatively cheap for me. I will also try to convert my FAA PPL to an EASA PPL, lowering training costs there. If I do a modular programme, it can cost up to 40,000 pounds less than what it may cost if I did it with the other two pathways.
- Higher employability. I'm sure airlines appreciate good degrees, after all.
Cons:
- Modular programmes - I'm currently trying to look into them, but good modular programmes in the UK seem few and far between. I cannot find many Flight schools in the UK that go beyond PPLs - perhaps I am not looking hard enough. I would appreciate some suggestions on this.
- More time taken - to get a degree, it may take 3/4 years, and then an additional year on top of that to get my further qualifications to fly.
Am I missing any additional pros and cons? Please let me know
So given these three pathways, what is the most adviseable one, in all of your opinions?