I'm sorry people feel the way they do. Yes you may have dreams and aspirations of one day becoming an airline pilot. Hell, pay your money, do the courses, get the ticks in the boxes, stay current whilst you work elsewhere, but 5 years down the line, do not look back and regret it. You do it because you want to. You do it because your partners/parents/wives and children all backed your decision.
Just take a step backwards and look at the big picture. Common sense says it will be difficult for the 'foreseeable future' and even then, it's not going to be the same as it was.
I trained to fly helicopters with a dream to fly commercially years ago. I and many others took our time. Bit by bit, and when there was suddenly a hiring boom in the North Sea, we grabbed ourselves an IR (40k+ in some cases) and were lucky enough to get jobs. Others followed closely behind us and ended up with the same qualifications, all paid for by borrowing money and guess what? That boom finished. That was 3 years ago. Look where we are now. The companies are hurting. Money for leasing in aircraft, to replace the old, isn't easy to come by anymore. Swings/roundabouts.
WWW has made some absolutely spot on observations over the last couple of years and I totally agree with everything he says. maybe because we see it from the other side to the wannabes? I don't know. I get people ring me regularly asking if I know of any offshore jobs. I tell them all the same thing. Nope! Onshore helicopters is even worse. Just ask any onshore helicopter pilot about the market right now.
You may not like what WWW says, but hell, go to another forum and hear what you want to hear and good luck. As I said, go get those qualifications because at the end of the day, it's what you want to do. Just don't say you never knew about the harsh realities of life in aviation during boom and bust.
