Originally Posted by
Oleo_Strut
You will probably find that as most people do, you'll need to apply to many schemes many times, and whilst you should put every effort you can into preparing, not letting it distract from your plan in life which should be to fund your own training as far as possible (if you really want to do this as a job). Each time you apply you will improve and learn something new.
It is hard to comprehend how low the odds are on some schemes, so do your best but never presume you will end up with the golden ticket until maybe some day you do - most people do not get a place on these schemes until applying several times. You should see the first few attempts as learning opportunities to allow you to turn up the next year better prepared.
This is excellent advice. There will come a point when you need to decide whether you’re going to continue applying for these schemes in the hope you’ll be successful next time, but doing so too much could result in significant delays and/or derailment of the goal. Life gets in the way, age tends to mean roots matter more so your flexibility tends to decrease. People might scoff at this, they might say that you need to be fully flexible at all times. I don’t advocate anyone throwing their personal life away to chase the ‘dream’ that in all likelihood in a year or two you’d find is just another job that, whilst it pays well, it takes a lot of life away. Age matters in this case, the older people looking at this might be best to work it around where you are, trust me you’d be happier for it! Life priorities change sooner than you think. However if you do
really want it you will find a way of self funding, I believe the cut off for most cadet schemes is typically sitting an ATPL exam. I think once you’ve committed to an ATPL course it’s vital to focus all your energy into succeeding at that.
The good thing about going through the assessments but being unsuccessful is that getting experience in the airline assessment profiles is something that’s priceless. Practice is key. I know there are courses you can attend, and although they’re well meaning and helpful to a point, they
really aren’t the same as the real thing.
I’ve been fortunate in that I built up countless contacts throughout the industry prior to committing to commercial flight training. Even then though it was challenging securing a flying job. Some people are fortunate, they breeze any assessment thrown their way, but most people don’t.
Suppose it’s a long winded way of agreeing with Oleo Strut. Applying is great, but if you don’t succeed at that point then it’s still great as it builds resilience and tends to separate the ones who truly want it from those that just see it as an interesting option.