Locarno,
This is a bloody difficult topic to answer, because so many people will have different opinions. There is no right or wrong way, and you are quite right, it is a bit of a maze out there, however, there are a few things you should think about.
Firstly you dont
need A Levels or a degree to become a pilot, however, on saying that, it would certainly help you if sponsorship were available, airlines will look for people with a decent set of GCSE results and A-Levels. At the moment, to my knowledge there is no sponsorship apart from the Air Force. Post 9/11, all sponsorship appeared to die, however, airlines may run them again, I don't know? I must admit, I don't know much about it, but CTC run a cadet scheme for guys with no flying experience, check out their website
here.
With regard to qualifications I think it will help you to have them, purely as a back up plan, or maybe use them to your advantage to get a job in able to fund any flying training you do, if you have to pay for it yourself. This is the road I went down. After completion of College I used my Aerospace Engineering qualifications to obtain a job in that indusrty. I wasn't earning mega bucks, however it did provide me with the cash over a period of time to fund the commercial training.
Whether you should goto university or not is a tricky one. From other threads similar to this one, I know a lot of people think that having a degree in Aerospace Engineering, or something similar is of little value, and knowing what I know now, I would tend to agree. I bit the bullet and went to university, however, it was from personal choice, not necessarily to enhance my chances of getting a job as a pilot. I know scroggs is hot on this one, and always emphasises that you don't
need a degree.
With the above in mind, it may be worth thinking about CTC and the Air Force, but have plan B up your sleeve, which is most likely 1 of two things.
- Ask your parents to remortgage the house to fund your training
- Do some serious saving!
One of the good things about you is that you are young and have time on your side. So many things will depend on your circumstances, all I can say is good luck, and enjoy it.
Oh, and to answer your question yes it is PPL. I think you got the J from JAR. Went you get the licence issued, it will be a JAR PPL.