Peter,
a degree which doesn’t relate to aviation directly
Is there any downside to completing, say, a BEng in aerospace in uni as opposed to a completely different field? I am currently very lucky to have my options open to most engineering fields and I'm still considering something aviation related. Thanks for your insight, best of luck to you in your aviation journey.
VariablePitchP,
Then it’s an absolute no brainer if it’s free.
Absolutely, uni provides so many opportunities not only academically but also in aviation that it's hard to resist.
Just to make it absolutely clear, without backing from your parents, you’re not getting a loan
I think that if I am smart with my money and work a relatively lucrative job then a loan will not be required. As I said before I absolutely hate the idea of having to repay a loan on top of the pressure to do well in the exams so it would probably for the best if I saved then paid.
Will it be a pretty grim 3 to 4 years of working full time whilst living at home / in a box flat on beans and rice whilst you spend every penny on training? Yes. Will it be worth it when you’re sat flying an airliner a decade from now, debt free? Also yes.
That's the dream
. All I can do is have faith that my hard work will pay off.
Beaker,
If you're a self-employed tradesman, you don't need to really worry about what a recruiter is going to think. I think you'd have no shortage of work if you were in a "in demand" trade, especially if you have mates in the business as they'll always be looking for good subcontractors.
That's fair enough although good money will obviously be important when I come to looking for different fields to get into. I'll research trades more though.
Don't take out loans for this. Do your PPL and some hour building alongside full-time work. It's an enjoyable hobby in itself and no need to rush it.
Absolutely, I think it will probably be better for my motivation if I treat it like an interest rather than a career, at least for the PPL part.
You sound like a sensible guy who's willing to listen to advice so I wish you the best of luck.
Cheers, fingers crossed the airlines think so too
rudestuff,
you could save half the money (£25k ish) in 2 years and easily borrow the other half
I think I would struggle to borrow 25k without collateral and would probably struggle even more to pay it off in the event that I cannot secure a job after training. Working in flight ops is definitely a shout though, I'll look into that.
you could potentially shorten your flying career by 2 years
At this point, going to uni, getting a 'real' job, saving, and training, I'll probably find myself in the right-hand seat of an airliner no sooner than 30 so 2 years is no biggie especially if that means having 0 debt at the end of it.
Thanks for the advice.
hobbit,
Several employers are probably looking for your ability to pay for a type rating.
Are you sure? The easyjet pilots (both FOs and Capt. when I've had the chance) that I've spoken to tell me that typically easyjet will type rate them as well. Then again almost all of them joined as integrated cadets so I could be wrong.
A degree will not (mostly). It is an academic qualification; the real world is very different.
I think you misunderstood; after I get a degree I can go and find a job related to that degree and build experience in the industry/make connections where I can.
You may be well advised to have a backup career/means of income
My plan is to get a degree in possibly an engineering field or go to college as a tradesman then use that career to save money and do flight training on the side or save my 50-60k and do the modular in one go.
software/computer engineering
From what I've read, sysadmins for large companies get paid obscene amounts of money just because they handle sensitive data for their employers. Might be worth looking into.
Unless you are lucky enough to be able to pay for £100k of pilot training outright
Well the plan is to pay for 50k of it outright through savings, yes.
Thanks for the reply anyhow.