if you look from the non-singaporean point of view, a caas license would not be as good as a non-caas license because there would be only 2 flight schools in singapore. reliability wise, not very convincing. also, the only flight school that currently offers caas license,SFC, charges more than say any malaysian/australian flight school. so if sure you're not gonna work in singapore (which currently, i don't see how you're going to as a self sponsored guy), then my advice is that you shouldnt get a caas license at all.
I would caution anyone thinking of getting a fATPL about taking advice from someone who doesn't even have a CPL, not to mention a flying job. What industry experience does this person have? ZERO. He has also shown a certain attitude from his history of postings. Not good.
These are the facts:
1. There are more self-sponsored Singaporean pilots working in Singapore carriers, whether SIA, SilkAir, Tiger or Jetstar, than in the rest of the world.
2. Anecdoctal evidence is that there are only a handful of Singaporean pilots who started with non-CAAS licenses and who still have flying jobs overseas. Of this number only a very small fraction have been able to join Singapore carriers.
3. There are more pilots (almost all who were sponsored cadets) who have left Singapore carriers to work for other airlines elsewhere, but that is another story altogether.
What does this tell you about your chances of getting a non-CAAS license
and then (ie purely for the purpose of) trying to work outside Singapore?
If you want to be a GA pilot in Australia, Canada, the US or Africa for the rest of your life, go ahead. Nothing wrong with that at all. Good luck getting a job as a Singaporean.
But if your strategy is to build hours in a GA environment outside Singapore
for the purposes of becoming an airline pilot, I would suggest to you that you are wasting your time.
The selection process to being chosen as a SIA cadet is competitive and thorough. In other words, if you are not chosen, then it is because SIA does not think much of you as being part of their pilot workforce and eventually being capable of becoming a captain.
This is regardless of whether they are paying for you to do your fATPL.
It is far wiser to do your best to be chosen, instead of thinking about options if not chosen. Chances are if you are not chosen because of not meeting hard criteria (eg no 4 O levels passes in the required subjects in one sitting), then that is something YOU MUST FIX AT ALL COSTS if you are truly serious about becoming an airline pilot. If you are not chosen because of soft criteria (personality / character issues) then it is not likely that later you will have a higher chance of being selected.
So that begs the question if you are thinking of being a self-sponsored wannabe - what makes you think that after 10 years and 7,000 hours overseas you will now be (more) attractive to SIA? That is if you can even get the hours in the first place.
There is a "backdoor" of sorts into SIA as a cadet of which I have already mentioned in other posts. If you do not make the cut as a SIA cadet, then try to be a cadet flying instructor or failing that do your bloody best to be a private candidate at SFC.
So far the record for private cadidates at SFC has been good for those who work hard - the deserving ones (more than half the crop of self-sponsored candidates) were offered partial sponsorship, in return for the usual bond etc. They accepted and are doing OK.
And just in case you think that being a private candidate means that SFC will just take your money and make you a pilot come what may, sorry to disappoint you, they have also chopped private candidates because they were no bloody good.
Moral of the story - can't get in as as an SIA Cadet? Try Cadet FI. Cannot get Cadet FI, try Private Candidate. Get chopped as Private Candidate? Forgot about flying as a job. Completely. It's not meant to be.
The evidence also shows that for those who were chopped at SFC (private or not), and then went on elsewhere to complete their CPL or fATPL, that most were not successful. Some do have flying jobs, but they are the exception.
This sequence of events is much cheaper (in time and money terms) than going away and getting a fATPL on your own and more likely than not being jobless and in debt.