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My views on going to uni can be found without difficulty on these forums and differ somewhat significantly from yours. Not wishing to start a bashing of skulls that will get us nowhere, I would say that going to uni isn't just about the degree, it gives you a chance to get out and experience a life outside living at home with mum and dad and being spoon fed things at school. Would you agree with me that EITHER a) going to uni and spending the time constructively (which I class as getting into the military units or similar social activities which encourage teamwork, leadership and a general air of maturity) or b) working for several years after school in order to get the same sort of life experience is pretty important in order to become the rounded character you need to succeed in aviation?
I suspect that your views on newbie pilots training straight from school and mum and dad's house are similar to mine. Just one of your earlier posts seems to suggest that if you want to be a pilot dive in after A levels, which I feel is wrong and puts you at a serious disadvantage when it come to finding a job. As you said, rather bluntly, us <500 hour guys are two a penny, therefore you have to be head and shoulders above the rest in order to succeed. Without getting out in the world, I would be amazed to hear that you would be the stuff of recruiters dreams and I am sure you would agree it is dangerous to allow anyone to believe other than that what is contained in the CV is what will get you the interview spot - we all have the aeroplane ratings to get one!
Just for the record, I went to a red brick and got a 2:1 in an 'ology', and I would not for one minute consider not going again. The opportunities you are presented with at uni are never there again, sure a lot of people waste them (p*ssing them up the wall or watching them, stoned, as they float by) but because I wasn't one of them and I got out and experienced things, the life experience I gained was A1, sure I came out with 12 grand debt, for which I shall be paying something like £25 a month off once I cross the earnings threshold. Not a small amount of total expenditure, but for the experience, I would pay it again tomorrow, and I am sure many, many who read these forums would do the same!
Last edited by cfwake; 1st Jul 2008 at 19:10.