I am not saying don't be a pilot, if it is what you want to do, I for one know that one will throw away every other opportunity to do it. If you want to be a pilot then you almost
MUST do it or else live a life of regret unless you have a very strong mind. But it's the way you do it that is important. Your first way must be to try and get selected, be it military or sponsorship. Your second, unless you have very rich and generous parents, should be the modualr route - earn and learn - but plan it and work to it. The route I descrbed previously on this thread would, I believe, stand you in good sted. I just really don't agree with roping parents in on the debt. There
ARE ways around it. It is your parents and your choice though and it is their money/ property/ investments to do what they like with.
As for the degrees, I know guys with Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Accountancy and Medicine degrees (all who trained to be pilots) and none have jobs as a pilot and none have jobs that are even remotely well paid or within the respective fields. Well done Gordon Brown
. If I was going to get a degree it would be in one of the above as I personally still find them impressive to have if from a proper uni. An aviation degree is not going to detract from your C.V. or standing but it will from your time and money. It is your life to fit whatever you want in to, and, if an aviation degree is one of those things then that's the right reason to go for it. If you want to do it because you want to be a pilot then forget it and use your time and money more effectively.
I’m not saying that The Beaks advice is in anyway malicious
It really isn't and good on you for not thinking so - being able to constructively take on board things that aren't what you want to hear is a strong quality, something alot of people in this part of PPRUNE do not have. It is given with the best of intentions because I too was beside myself trying to decide how to go about training.