Does it matter where you trained if you have 4-5k hrs under your belt?
I am a citizen of a South East Asian country but have been living and working in the UK since my late teens. I'm at the moment considering studying for my fATPL either back home or here in the UK.
My long term aim would be to work in the UK (my wife is British), so at first glance doing it here would seem to be the first choice, all other things being equal, however.....
The cost of training in Asia is a third of what it is here (comparing integrated vs integrated), and there also seems to be a growing market in low cost startups in the region which from an employment perspective post graduation seems rather more attractive than UK at the moment (at least on the surface).
That said, the Asian license (based on the old pre-JAR UK system) is obviously not compatible in the UK, so there is the issue of distance learning groundschool to complete the entire JAR syllabus whilst abroad.
Ok, this is probably doable, but my biggest reservation is whether I would be disadvantaged in any way when applying for jobs in the UK (having clocked up 4-5k commercial hrs in Asia hopefully) having done my license in Asia?
I know that its been mentioned on these boards that once you have the hours it does not really matter where you trained, but does this extend to licenses obtained abroad?
Oh, and I am already in my early 30's...
Any comments/suggestions/advice would be most appreciated, many thanks