Tom24....Sorry i didnt reply last month
A few things for you to consider when your planning your Type Rating:
1. Type courses are never easy or cheap! The more complex the A/C the worse it gets. Thats a bad thing to start.......say, for example, it was 15k and it was an A320. With just 250hrs it would be very technical and incredibly difficult and with the pressure of having to pass the LST, I personally, would be very close to braking point! I wouldnt want to come out the other end of a type course having failed my LST...............and it does happen!!!
If an airline was paying for it then there would be less pressure because your airline would almost certainly pay for a few additional hours if you needed it. On top of that the examiner would probably be in house and hoping/helping you pass.
2. You will ruin the T&C's for everyone else including yourself. I've got my job now and only today I was discussing how I am one of a new generation of pilots,that being the low paid ones with nothing much to look forward to! As the captain to my left has a large house,nice car, big pay cheque and comfortable life......I on the other hand have naff all and my T&C's dictate it will stay that way for a long time! In fact i dont earn enough to get a mortgage!
3. It is generally looked down upon by most pilots who didnt pay for their own training. How that would make your relations on the flight deck with captains, i dont know. You certainly wont be able to hold your head up high and say you worked damn hard to get that job.
4. You should take a stand against stupid dumb ass schemes like the SSTR's. I for one can say that i was in a pretty desperate situation before i got my job. However, I never once applied to Ryanair......I worked hard and plugged away till something came good!
5. Airlines like to train you to their own SOP's/standards.......You probably wouldnt be much use to an airline without time on type and knowledge of their working SOP's. Recently a friend of mine was told by an airline that they were to take him with a TR that they hadn't trained him to then thy would have to untrain him again to get him to the right standard.......................Basically it is frowned upon by alot of airlines even you have the TR that they operate! strange but true!!!
6. There will always be a situation where people can pay for their job and as a training captain said to me not long ago: "there are people who dont need to pay for jobs and there are people who do!" ...............Now ask yourself, would you want to be one of those pilots who had to pay for his/her job when your colleagues had theres paid for them!
Just to cover my own ass:
Yeah i paid for my own basic training but never paid for anything else! I got my job with low hours through lots of begging and pleading! Never once did i apply to an airline where i would have to pay for my own training nor did i contemplate doing my own TR!
In general Tom24 and everyone else, its not a good idea!!