Dickon,
My advice to you is get a JAA licence as it will make your chances of finding employment easier. When I did the exams three years ago there were many times that I thought to myself what pointless twaddle it all is. However, I knuckled down and got on with the job and passed them all without too much fuss. Some of my classmates kept whinging about the JAR system ad nauseam throughout every lecture.
Most of them failed or are still doing the exams now!
Now get on with it and stop looking for excuses not to! Save your energy for studying - you'll need it!
It's just another obstacle!
