No, it is not me, however I wholly agree with what this guy has said. He, like me is man enough to admit that he has been taken for a fool by themsleves and the aviation industry. "Return on my investment", full marks for having the balls to admit this.
The trap has a number of phases:
1. U have a job which doesnt fulfill you and you dream of doing something u enjoy for a living which pays well. You want to do something which you enjoy, and which will also pay you a decent wage.
2. You have a think and go ahah! Pilot! Great job, fly all over the world etc, plus airline pilots earn lots of money dont they!
3. You look into flying training and go round a few flying schools, who tell you- u can get your FATPL for 30grand, plus theres loads of jobs out there, get first time passes in exams and skill tests and ull be sorted. You think 30grand, a fair bit of cash but perhaps not a bad price to pay for a good career and life, plus ull earn it back in a few years, no problem. You do a bit of research into the job market, ok it might be hard to get a job with low hours, but people do. Ill approach it with a good atitude, make my own luck and Ill be sorted.
4. you do your training, 30k turns into 40k, turns into 60+K if you go out and get a FI ratng, pay for a TR, etc.
5. you finish training, then try to get a job. Nothing happens, dispite your best efforts. You realise that your expectations when you started training aren't gonna happen any time soon and that you've basically made a very big mistake. You realise, when you come down from the excitement and promise of being an airline pilot that you have been a fool.
This trap is not the fault of the aviation industry directly, wannabe pilots are victims their own naivety.
I seriously think that managers of flying schools actually think we are all mad. The flying schools have a never ending stream of idiots prepared to put money in their pockets, the airlines have a never ending stream of idiots who are prepared to pay for training which they should pay for, its plain business sense to take advantage of them.