£500 a week in cash adds up to a lot more than £30k a year my friend. The painter works for cash and the customer is happy with the discount - the labourer works for cash and is happy. Everybodys happy - bar the taxman. Its the way of the world.
£500 a week in cash is available right here right now if you are willing to labour all day. Not a bad prospect if you are in your 20's. Beats not having money being half bored to death at University on a course that isn't quite what you had expected all the time wondering how and when you'll be able to get an ATPL and a jet job.
Honest, if I had a son and I couldn't persuade him not to become and airline pilots - and believe me I'd try - then my advice would be good set of A-levels to show you're not thick. Then a job as a plumbers/sparkies/brickies/painters/chippes mate, be keen, learn the trade as you go, live at home and save like a maniac. At 22 you'd have the £40k you need to move from your present PPL and ATPL distance groundschool to the full CPL/IR Frzn ATPL + MCC + FI rating and BE IN NO DEBT.
He'd have am instant fall back profession whilst job hunting, he'd have no debt, he'd still be very young and he would still be able to apply to nearly all sponsorship schemes as rarely if ever do they ask for a degree.
What's better:
A - 23yrs 225hrs CPL/IR Frzn ATPL MCC and FI rating, no debt and able to pick up £500 a week as and when there's no flying to be done, applying to all the airlines for jobs.
B - 23yrs 50hrs UAS time PPL pending, £23,000 in debt and applying for graduate jobs all over with some but not glittering success maybe securing a 'graduate job' flying a desk for £18,000. Applying to all the airlines for sponsorship if they are offering it.
But that would just be my 18yr old son and obviously everbodys different.
Cheers
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