Note: This was in response to a post above which has since been deleted so it might not make sense. Nevertheless I'll leave it here unless a moderator sees fit to delete it.
Oh dear oh dear. "CU PA", I'm not entirely sure where to start. Like akindofmagic says, your advice - which seems to be based on a far-fetched and wholly inaccurate impression of student life and its value - is completely misleading and, in a way, irresponsible. Not everybody goes to university with the intention of becoming a barrister or a doctor. Your post probably belongs in another thread about university as none of it seems much to do with CTC, however it's been posted in here in response to someone who asked a question and I speak as a CTC cadet who has been to university, as do a few on this board, so I feel a little qualified to respond.
Your idealistic "Guy B" obviously portrays what YOU think is the best way of getting into the right hand seat of an airliner, and no doubt is a route that many - particularly those who are unable (or don't want) to get into a programme such as Wings Cadets or something similar like Oxford's APP - would follow. You neglect to realise, however, that the whole point of programmes like Wings is to fast-track the best applicants into airline jobs without the need to become dispatchers, ramp workers, cabin crew and slowly build up a network of contacts getting themselves to a "it's who you know, not what you know" old-boys-club stage. For that reason, in the context of the programme we are discussing, your point about not going to university but instead following "Guy B"s route is completely irrelevant.
Moving on, I must take issue with your impression of what university life is all about. You say you are not a native speaker so I assume you are not from the UK, where CTC (being a British company) naturally takes the vast majority of its cadets from. On this basis, and from this part of your post:
guy A is 18 years old, he opted to go to UNI, 5 years going to class, plus 1 year extra (some failed exams, etc) at the age of 24 (still living either with mom n dad or under dad $houlders and not going out during weekends, not travelling too much nor taking holidays... basically 365 days in a year locked in your room forcing your mind to study something you reject to study)
...I also assume you have little knowledge of of how the university system in Britain works. Most degrees offered are only three or four years in length (a few, with intercalated years such as industrial placements or years abroad can be five, medical degrees are longer.) Very, very few people take an extra year due to failed exams; a small number may find they don't like their degree and start again, therefore adding on another year. The majority, however, are out of university by the time they are 21 or 22. The majority also live away from home in Halls of Residence at university or in rented houses they share with friends - I know this is different from some European countries where it is considered the norm to go to your local university and live at home, rather than one of your choice. This possibly explains your incorrect impression. I will be going WAY off topic if I start to explain why your view that everyone spends 365 days a year locked in a room studying is wrong but just take my word for it that if you really believe this is how things are at university, you're quite wrong. I'm not going to ramble on about my own background too much again but I'll say quickly - three year degree, away from home, plenty of social time, great friends, time of my life, wouldn't change a thing. And I'm now on the way to the career I've always dreamed about.
Also, returning to my earlier point, you said:
by looking for a job in order to save money for your career as a pilot, two to three years and then you save the money you need, you start to experience the WORLD of a wannabe pilot, 27 years old now, with a Frzn ATPL CPL IR ME MCC, then if you save good money, what? a TR maybe?... you start looking for a job...
Again, this is
irrelevant when talking about CTC Wings. The whole point of the programme is that you achieve all these necessary components of your training and THEN move on to type rating and get placed with an airline. It's all part of a single package; the intention is that there is no need to spend hours in the "world of a wannabe pilot" firing off CVs and banging on airline managers' doors. The whole point of programmes like this, which attempt to place you with an airline directly after training, is that you bypass what you term the "wannabe world".
You seem to live in an ideal world where the single important thing when trying to get that sought-after RHS job is motivation and vocation. While I'd agree these are extremely important, there is much more to it than that. The airline job market is so competitive now that you need to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Becoming a ramper or cabin crew and building yourself a network of contacts is not enough - you need to do something to make yourself stand out from the crowd and prove to the airlines and the training organisations that you're the right stuff. You need to excel - anyone can show motivation and desire, but you need more. You need to show why you're better than the rest. For many, getting impressive exam results at A-level and university is the starting point for that, and gaining maturity and (I hate this phrase) "life experience" at uni, building up a bigger picture and gaining experience - which you can talk about in your interviews to demonstrate your qualities - follows on. The reason CTC's programme is so successful is because their selection process is so stringent - they can afford to pick and choose the best people, and much of the time this is the route those people will have taken. (Not always, I hasten to add - see my earlier post.) Airlines like it because they know they're getting the best candidates from a proven background, unlike they would be if they took on "Guy B" and the thousands of others like him who have done their training bit by bit and at various institutions of varying quality, consequently having a more complex track record during their training. Don't get me wrong, people have shown it's possible to make it following that route, but your suggestion that going to university and then on to an integrated FTO is completely wrong and that everyone should be out seeing the world as a hostie/hostess and getting into the industry that way is a little bit strange and also suggests you haven't really researched the different routes into training, particularly through integrated FTOs, at all.
plus you can make CONTACTS, you save good money while you see the WHOLE world while you are young and FREE (with your own money) plus not to mention parties, best good looking girls
That's lovely, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. Not everyone who wants to be a pilot wants to spend four or five years of their life partying and pulling girls (or lads) and travelling around the world while they could be getting on with their training and getting another 5 years out of their career. If that's what
you want to do, fair play - go and do it. There are airlines around the world crying out for cabin crew. But don't come on a forum which exists to discuss a particular FTO and make inaccurate and ill-informed remarks that, as akindofmagic said above, belittles those who have gone down that particular road.
Also, I have just one more problem with your "Guy B":
at the age of 25 you would have save money, enjoyed gooooooooood flying, learned good skills (better than those who goes for a TR with low hours and want to sit in the cockpit without even knowing how does the earth looks like from 2000 ft and above...)
How on earth can you possibly qualify that statement? Who says that getting a PPL first and then gradually building up multi hours bit by bit as and when one can afford it will give anyone better skills than someone who's been a full time student at a school with one of the best reputations in the world for flight training? Plus, you seem to assume full-time trainees walk into the training centre on day one and get straight in an A320. Perhaps you really haven't done your research properly, but I can assure you it isn't the case and the earth does indeed look beautiful from 2000ft. I also suggest you research how much jobs like crop spraying, banner towing, air advertising (isn't that the same thing?), glider towing and instructing pays. If you think you'll be able to pay the bills and have a nice life partying all over the world, you might be in for a surprise.
you need someone who has a vocation, a desire to study what he really loves to do
Indeed, but if you do a little bit of studying of the industry yourself - the "Archive Reference Threads" posted at the top of the Wannabes forum adjacent to this one is a good place to start - you might find you need a whole lot more than that.
"CU PA", this is probably my longest ever post and I apologise for rambling on so much. Best of luck with whichever route you decide to go down, and I hope the points I've attempted to make to you make some sense.
EDIT: Just one more thing. Why not go to university, get a degree which will stand you in good stead for your future employment prospects should you not make it in aviation, and THEN go and travel and see the world, doing your flying in your spare time? Then you get the best of both worlds! Nobody says you have to come out of school as a fresh-faced GCSE-finisher and become the next "Guy B" without doing a bit more useful study.