I enrolled into ATPL CBT theory course in July 2018, but due to some other studies I needed to take some training related to my current occupation, I didn't start actually comprehending the material until late Autumn (Oct-Nov). At that time I had just turned 31. I did my first sitting at CAA in Jan 2019 and completed my last sitting in Feb 2020. I am working full time at the job which is demanding, but gives some flexibility (i.e. I can control when to give myself some slack, and where to work harder, this way I could accomodate some of the studies during the workdays).I had to regularly (2-3 times a week) wake-up at 4:30 or 5 AM to do 2-3 hours studies in the mornings before going to work. I could spend 1-2 hours on weekends, sometimes. Also I had a couple of business trips in between, which I could use as a short sprint to work and study without family time (ii.e. 1 or 2 weeks studying every evening for 1-2 hours). So It's all doable within 1.5-2 years with full-time job and family, but it really depends on Your status, self-motivation, discipline and ability to absorb large chunks of information. So You'll need to assess Yourself. But I may give You a couple of scenarios, which You may face (or may not, depending on various factors). When I was starting up the course I anticipated a more exciting path, than it turned out to be
Scenario 1:
Working at Your day job before lunch time, You are so excited that You've started this ATPL theory course. You think, about how exciting it will be today's evening to start reading this new material in the CBT, after all You are so fond of airplanes, etc. The day is over, You head out home, pretty tired, because of the challenges You faced at work. Your wife and kid meets You with a smile on their faces as they haven't seen the Dad the whole day. Now the 4-year old kid wants to play with his Dad, so You decide You can spend some quality time with Your child, and then do some studying after he goes to bed. You have a great time, but also have to overcome some kid's stuff like "
I don't want to go to bed" or "
I don't want to brush my teeth" or "
Someone, carry me to the bathroom, I don't want to walk" and others. By the time the kid is asleep ~10:30PM You feel that it's time to do the studies. But You are physically and emotionally tired, so this airplane stuff doesn't seem that exciting any more at this point. Spending some time watching movie series with Your wife and sharing a beer feels much more appealing. So You decide You'd watch an episode for an hour then got to sleep, wake up at 5:00 AM - study hard before going to work. But no beer, because even a pint will make an early wake-up impossible. Now, You've had a good time, You set an alarm clock for 5 AM, and finally resting. The alarm clock rings at 5 AM, and You are so underslept wishing You went to bed earlier. This is the point, where You have to put all Your discipline together, get off the bed and got study the course. And again, at 5 AM with sleep deprivation, the stuff about number of fire extinguishers to be kept on the flight deck, or cycle through performance tables to find a fuel consumption for small twin-jet will not be as exciting as You anticipated
. Then You need to go to work and completely switch the context to something different. It will be especially harder, because You only slept 5 hours. The next day You will probably skip the studies, because You actually need to get that sleep (or maybe not, if You already accustomed to not sleeping much).
Scenario 2:
You need to go to a business trip to the place You have never been before for a week or two. On one hand You are so fond of travelling, on the other You see a great opportunity to study, since away from family and other responsibilities. You start really excited at the airport going through the material, and it seems it's now really great - You are rested, have plenty of time and the information is grasped really quickly - You are doing great progress. After flying 10 hours You get to Your destination. Jet lagged, lack of sleep, You try to keep the schedule of doing work dring the day and studying in the mornings and evenings, so You may probably skip dinner with Your colleagues, or keep it tight to return to Your hotel room early. By the end of the business trip You are so tired of all of this, that even a thought of opening Your laptop and launching CBT makes You sick. Probably a good time for a break
.
It doesn't mean this will be like that for You and I am not saying that these scenarios are something difficult to overcome. I am sure people doing integrated training or doing military air force training are under much more stress and pressure and time limit.
The caveat with modular approach and scenarios I've put here is that there will be nobody there who pushes You through and motivates You to go on. You will be on Your own, and when the pressure and exhaustion starts to build-up, Your brain will start playing games and You may feel, this is not as exciting as You thought it should have been. I found much more pleasure studying during vacation at 11 AM well rested and nowhere to hurry, than night studies
You will need to push Yourself to wake up early, or study late when You read a line, but do not understand what it means, so You have to reread it again, and mentally wake-up Your self. IN other words, due to having a job, You will be left with the times for studies at the periods when Your body and Your brain are not in the best performance condition. So maybe You will have to master some energy management, to make sure You are ready at the appropriate time.
I'm not trying to scare You away
But You asked if it's reasonable - The answer is yes it is reasonable - Just be prepared, that as You have a full-time job, You will have to make some sacrifice to pass all of it - it'll be either family time, sleep or job. You will need to find a balance and have strength to stay on track. I found it, and it went all well
As per Your concerns. You will always have them as the future is not known. ATPL theory is relatively small price in comparison with all the other training stages, but it is the most time consuming (i.e. the flight training can be done pretty quickly with full dedication, but unfortunately it is less possible to speed up the studying of all the material from theory - it just takes time). But going through it You will have a chance to reconsider Your direction again and again and watch the world situation changing, so if You have budget to allow this with no much sacrifice, I see not obstacles to go for it. There are more money consuming stages in You path where You will be able to make a final go/no-go decision.
Good luck to You
