What do people think of this plan? I am 25 years old, have been working an office job full time since graduating from uni two years ago. Decent job security, pay is acceptable for this point in my life, low stress.
Always dreamed of becoming a pilot, got to final stage of interviews at a competitive cadetship scheme for my national airline (Ireland) in Dec '19, and (thankfully, as it turns out) wasn't selected. I can't bank on cadetships turning up again in the near- or medium-term, so I figure I'd better start training via the modular route and collect my licenses while the aviation industry in Europe gradually recovers.
My plan is to keep the day job, and pick up my licences on the side over a period of 3-4 years. Hopefully by this time, airlines here will be hiring again, and I will be in a position to apply, having ticked all the qualification boxes. What flaws do you see in this plan? Anything extra I should consider?
Some additional questions I have concern hour building. From what I gather, this is generally done after you've got your CPL.
1) What kind of hours are needed to be a competitive candidate in Europe? Can they be single engine or is multi-engine preferable?
2) What are the key considerations when building hours? Price? Location? Aircraft type?
3) Is it possible to build hours at a reasonable pace while working my current job? Or would it be preferable to set aside some savings and live somewhere cheap while building them? Or should I become a CFI or some other flying job and get paid to build hours?
I know the answers to these questions will vary person to person, but I'd like to get some rough guidance at least on which options I should exclude. Happy to give more details about my situation if that would help inform the answers.