Originally Posted by
Dan Mitchell
Hi all, appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this.
I'm currently in waiting for my results from my Class One Medical due to it being deferred however I'm wanting to get the ball rolling for everything else ASAP. I'm based in the UK (North East to be precise) and I wanted to ask for those of you who are training and those who are already are pilots, what did you do/are doing in the process of building up to become a pilot?
I've worked in marketing for the past few years with a degree from University and only 24 years old. I'm currently in a limbo state where I don't know whether to continue forwarding myself in that field, or begin to look for jobs/careers that are based with airlines (I have a friend who was a dispatcher before she became a pilot). If anyone could please advise as to what's best and if they can recommend any possible schemes that run with airlines or if it's worth getting myself in the 'aviation field' with a job in the area.
Any input on this would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Dan
I was quite lucky. Went to uni, got on a cadet scheme, left and went pretty much straight jerk training. The airline secured the loan for the training and I’ve now been employed for about two years. The schemes come and go but if you can get onto one with funding (any really) then that is 100% the way to go.
Job wise, if you’re good at marketing and can make decent money then definitely stay doing that. If I was recruiting I’d want someone who was at the top of their field and clearly possessing skills that not everyone has. Getting a job at an airport is easy, anyone can do it. Running six figure marketing accounts isn’t. I’d say that people who go from airport jobs to flying would most of the time have done it anyway, just so happened that they wanted to work at an airport. If you want to do it for fun great, but it won’t get you the flying job.
Main advice is to carpet bomb applications. Doesn’t matter which airline you start with, the first job is always the hardest to get, you can pick and choose later.