Originally Posted by
alexeyAP
hobbit,
Quote:
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.
Yes. easyJet is but one company. There are many, many others that have required prospective employees to self-sponsor the TR; this comes and goes in almost direct correlation to the supply and demand of qualified pilots. Hopefully you will find an employer (in 3-4 years) offering to bond you.
Originally Posted by
alexeyAP
Quote:
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.
Good plan.
Originally Posted by
alexeyAP
Quote:
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.
That's a plan. Bear in mind that this will take years. If you want to save £60k, for example, and you can save or spend £500 per month on top of everything else (this may be optimistic), then that's £6000 per year. At that rate, it will take you ten years to save up or afford your flight training.
Originally Posted by
alexeyAP
Quote:
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.
Yes, it might. I don't know that industry.
Originally Posted by
alexeyAP
Quote:
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.
I think you will end up spending more than £50k; over the last few years, the realistic cost of a PPL (for example) has gone from something like £8k to £15k. Your mileage may vary.
To echo other comments on this thread:
There is a world of commercial flying outside of the airline industry. This is not a bad thing. Some of the most interesting jobs can be found in:
- flight instruction
- aerial survey
- paradropping
- air ambulance (aeroplanes, not helicopters)
- cargo
- VVIP business jets
- banner towing
Some are well paid, others are not (flight instructors, for example, often earn less than minimum wage). Some can be a lot of fun. Some may be your only employment option on more than one occasion; especially since Brexit removed a number of opportunities for those who didn't add an European license. Don't make the mistake of assuming they are somehow a 'lesser' job. I have flown with more than one airline pilot who simply could not cope with the demands of GA (General Aviation; basically a term for the above list) flying, either from a piloting perspective (i.e. one guy just couldn't hand fly the aircraft, without an autopilot) or operational (such as dealing with the very different way that the ragged end of GA operates compared to the airlines; you end up having to be your own flight planning department, for example).
You may find you end up doing one of these as your first flying job. A surprising percentage of newly qualified CPLs have done an FI rating to do so. I strongly suggest that you don't discount them as an option, and I also suggest that you do not fall prey to SJS (Shiny Jet Syndrome: being desperate to fly the newest Boeing/Airbus to the exclusion of all else).
If the tone and content of my posts haven't made it clear: you appear to be very enthusiastic about entering a very volatile industry that comes with no guarantees. That's fine. But please do be aware, it can be utterly brutal. Do not bet the farm; do not end up flying for free either, please...(this used to happen recently. It might rear it's ugly head again). I recommend you factor in some cynicism to your calculations.(especially with regard to income and flight training costs).
Hobbit
(FI, former bizjet captain, former air ambulance pilot/paradrop pilot/aerial survey, etc etc etc)