hi guys and girls, thought i should offer some of you aspiring pilots some insight and advice to the journey of becoming a commercial pilot. I started my cadet programme what must be 2 years ago, god time has flown by, and have now jumped over my last hurdle
officially a qualified commercial pilot....but its not all happy days, but i guess thats just reality. well recession has sure had a detremental effect to the aviation injustry, right now at an educated guess well over 50% of the qualified pilots are unemployed, me being one of many.
Fair enough, many people are unemployed in the UK at the moment due to the economic downturn, but the 100k debt im in isnt funny business! Im working 5 days a week, 9 to 5 a technician, as well as a part time job in a bar doing nightshifts just to be able to pay the bank from reposessing my parents house. I have also had to resort to moving back in with the parents as I cannot afford to pay the rent and am contemplating on selling my beloved vw golf. when i first joined CTC my initial reaction to the debt was, no worries once im earning as a pilot ill pay it off, take it each day as it comes.....HOW WRONG WAS I!!
CTC does not guarantee employment, and i cannot blame them for recession now can i?! it was my own risk, a chance i wanted to take to do something i loved, but life is not a dream and in reality there are things called "pay back the monthly installments of your loan or your family will live on the streets" and there's the other option "share a cell with a man who calls himself betty and likes to look at you while you're sleeping" so remember that whether you secure employment as a pilot or not, the loans have to be repaid...at 1k per month! the bank doesnt care you're not working! so my golden advice is if you are really wanting to persue a career as a pilot, learn how to count cards and win yourself around 80k from the casino, or if you have a rich father...start doing his ironing for him and make sure u wash his porsche every sunday. but not all of us can count cards or come from wealthy backgrounds rite?
so my strong advice (i sure wish someone had told me before I got myself in such a financial pickle) is to wait for the economy to come out of this slump, which can be anything from three to four years so ive been told by a friend of mine who is a financial advisor, and to apply then. that way once you graduate the economy will have had two years to really get itself going and employment will be...well hopefully...plentiful
look at it this way, although you may become a qualified commercial pilot later, the 100k debt is inevitable, and why not seek employment now and save up say....25k over these three/four years and be able to use that and pay towards the course. that way your bank loan is alot less and believe it or not will save you thousands in interest!! I sure wish I had followed that path! or you could do it my way, end up in an astounishing amount of debt, with little hope of securing employment as a pilot within the next 6 months and no flat, no car and too much pride to take money from my parents and girlfriend!
The number of unemployed pilots at CTC alone is increasing every month, and I cant imagine how the newly graduated pilots feel as they are further down the pecking order i.e good-ish news for me as I should be the next batch to secure employment....so they say!
I seriously do not understand why CTC continue to recruit as that would mean the list of unemployed pilots will be well...endless!!! 16-20 recruited every month yet there are still FAR FAR too many pilots in the holding pool. thats over 200 pilots per year from CTC alone!! dont forget the numerous companies in europe alone that train pilots! god knows how many there are in total! keep in mind that airlines do no purchase 50-100 boeings per year, they make 1 bulk buy and thats them good for the next 5-10 years!
i suppose people who work for CTC do have a family to feed and bills to pay! if only they would think of the consequences and the effects it has on us, the passionate pilots who only ever wanted to do something they love! dont get me wrong i appreciate all the support CTC has provided me and must say it is probably second to none but maybe they could warn people that alot of pilots who graduated are unemployed. if you ask them during your interview, or even check online they state that "since the company was founded to this date, all pilots have secured employment" I guess I should have known these statements were fiction as they also state that their CTC Wings Cadet Programme is a "sponsored route"...
anyway i thought id give you guys and girls an insight to the life of a graduated pilot...its not all high and fly! feels more like im trying to pay off loan sharks if im being honest...cant blame anyone but myself! if only someone had given me the advice im offering you guys. if you still want to apply now though, by all means go ahead, just hope to god there is not another 9/11, recession period and that instead of investing in football clubs, people start investing in airlines!!
and for those of you who have just recently joined as its too late to go back...good luck and i wish you all the best. believe me I know what you guys will go through. they always seem to be looking for new staff at the bar where im currently at!
Regards,
Jason