Originally Posted by
chrismonson85
I did everything (airline integrated)... so the more expensive route... and as mentioned earlier, regretting it slightly as I don't know how to pay it back.
Don't worry about it mate. I did the same thing. Fee Help / University degree (which actually funnily enough has probably helped me out a bit in more recent times)
Government student loans are the most forgiving thing you can get:
- No affect to your credit score or ability to buy a house, car, etc.
- Interest pretty much just pegged to inflation.
- No consequences for your family if anything happens to you, and no consequences to you if you never get to pay it off.
I did exactly the same thing in 2009. Would have I worked and paid my way through flight training having known what I do now? Probably.
I also had the opportunity to take a similar loan from a family member. I'm so glad I didn't do that. The pressure to pay it back would have completely stifled my career. You made the best decision with the knowledge you had available.
At the time I rationalised the premium as being the best way to keep age on my side and to get all of my licences done asap. I'm still thankful for that, and the timeline it set me on is still worth it in my opinion.
My only real suggestion with the debt would be to do your best to keep it where it is. Even though it's indexed at a low number, it can run away from you if you ignore it's existence for a few years, as I did. You might just scrape in at the repayment threshold every year, but if you make a plan to keep it where it is with extra voluntary repayments, you'll thank yourself for it later on.
Now I live in the USA and am extremely lucky to still have a job which will help me to make a good dint my student loans next year.
There are so many things with this pandemic that are unknown. It has the potential to create a downturn in the aviation industry for many years, but it also has the potential to exacerbate the pilot shortage to numbers you never even thought of, if the recovery happens quickly enough. A lot of airlines still have orders on the books and will be forced to expand over the next 5 years or so.
In the mean time, as soon as you're allowed, grab car and go for a drive to Darwin and WA. You never know what opportunities might pop up for you. Also keep on the lookout for jobs like survey operator, loader driver, or anything else that directly supports the operation of an aircraft. Lastly don't be afraid to go overseas to further your career. The US definitely has a lot of problems, but its still host to the greatest aviation industry on the planet. If you're interested in taking that route, at the very least you could apply for the green card lottery every October and see if you get lucky with a selection combined with a low case number.