Ok I’m not at Ryanair but giving another point of view.
I never paid for a TR. Rated on a TP over 20T. Haven’t flown since the pandemic hit and not a hint of even an interview until very recently. 3000 TP hrs mean nothing!!! My mate paid for his 737 TR the same time as I started. As soon as he hit 500hrs on type his salary jumped up. ATPL again. When I told him my salaries where I worked he couldn’t believe it. The second year flying his salary was x1.5 of mine doing less hours and third year was double. He also had 3 job offers months ago.
Yes I wish I had paid for a 737 or A320 TR now. Everyone I know who left my company and went to jet have jobs. Most who stayed now don’t. The ones that do are TRE/TRI line trainers etc.
It’s true we shouldn’t be paying for a TR but it’s the industry now. I have learnt that I’m down turns such as these you still get more opportunities. I have been contacted many times but they ask if I have 500 jet hrs. No. Oh sorry bye.
If Ryanair offered me a chance I would take it even now with hours. I am banking on it taking at least another year before the industry picks up again.
Another year of keeping current which costs £2k at least on an unpopular TR.
What is the other option, bond a pilot? Yes however people still leave. I remember a guy leaving us after 9 months. Had to pay £18k for a useless rating for that. Even if you are rated airlines bond you or salary deduct. You starting crunching numbers and between jet airlines there isn’t a massive amount in it. Ryanair is a training airline for the first 2-3 years of your career. Once you have the hours you have the options. If you stay go for command or SFI roles you can get as FO the salaries jump up a lot.
This is just some information from someone who didn’t pay for a TR.
Oh and has a side note. I have spoken to some who started with Ryanair 6-9 months ago on average. Each one told me after base training they started getting paid. Salaries during line training have been between around £2.5k a month after tax. That’s £35-£40k. More than I was on at my previous outfit.
Someone also mentioned about not being able to get a mortgage because it’s not a proper salary. Well I suggest you use a better broker. If you find a good broker they will take a 3 month window of average salaries and can use that as a guide to get you a good mortgage. If you do it yourself then yes they want to know your basic salary.