Chris about 12-18 months ago in the wanabees forum in Pprune there was a thread that actively encouraged wanabees to get £70k-80k in debt for their training and then declare themsleves bankrupt... this was being suggest as a via and credible route to getting a frozen ATPL without the burden of the associated cost... it even received support from some of the more "seasonsed" Pprune veterans.
I'm absolutely astounded
What a bunch of
wits, those who considered it and those who encouraged it!!!
It begs the question, should the people that are willing to take those sort of risks be allowed to be responsible for several million pounds of captial investment and thousands of peoples lives over their careers ?
Everyone's looking for someone to blame for the mess we are all, some people are blaming the banks and financial institutions while others are blaming the government. Very few seem to want to blame the people at the heart of this mess, the borrowers, particularly borrowers who apparently seem to think it's OK to risk 70-80k because they have a dream to fly big jets, particularly when there is relatively little call for people to fly big jets and we a crying out for engineers, doctors and dentists etc.
All of the above are equally to blame, anyone who takes out ridiculously large career loans, anyone who takes out 100%+ mortgages, anyone who then takes out further loans to furnish their house, anyone who is willing to hand out these loans or take similar risks in the financial sector in the hope of big financial rewards and anyone who stands by allowing all this to happen when they have the power to prevent it like the Governement and any regulating bodies. We're in this mess because of greed, it's greed that's to blame and it's not just the greedy that suffer, the rest of us are suffering too!!
For a recovery to be sustainable we need it to be slow steady and stable. The wise aviator will take that approach with their training. If you don't have the money to spend on your trainning i'd suggest the old fashioned route, take one step at a time as and when you can afford it. Build hours however you can whether it be instructing or anysort of lowpaid ariel work that comes along, imo it will make you into a more rounded pilot. It may not make a difference in right hand seat of a fancy shiny jet where you're watched over by countless computers to reduce the chances of you making a mistake but it will make you a better aviator and I reckon the whole experience will be more enjoyable too, especially when you open that first big pay packet and you realise all of it is yours.
(by the way, for anyone who thinks that this will make aviation a career exclusive to those with wealthy parents, tough, that's life, if you think that's unfair then you've been sucked in by this government. Meanwhile the dilligent will refrain from whining, keep their heads down, work hard and get there by hard graft as they have done in the past and will continue to do)