checkxp, A degree is good. It's honorable to get your degree first to have a qualification which gets you a salary to pay for your training. It's also a very mature way of thinking. I bet there are a few chief pilots out there liking that idea as they have gone down the same route.
I think it's true that if you go modular and train with more than two schools you might be treated as suspect. But only in times like these. When pilots are sought after no one gives a damn. All you need is a valid ticket.
I myself trained with six different schools in three countries: PPL, taildragger, IR, ATPL's, CPL, ME and IR conversion. When I began training I wanted to see as many places as possible while paying as little as possible. And I did. Did it disqualify me from getting jobs? Not really.
Came out of flight school in late summer 2008 and have never been without a flying job. It's been a helluva struggle but it's been so much fun. First job I got through word to mouth and the same with my current one. That being said, I also think I've been extremely lucky because I always met the right people pointing me in a different, most of the times, right direction. But make no mistake about it, there's not a single day where I am not contemplating my next move to create options. It's your own effort and willingness to sacrifice which counts. No more, no less. You need to be very proactive and basically be ready to eat
. I get the feeling a great many in western societies are no longer ready for that. They want it all right from the start.
While a few of my training buddies are already flying for the airlines and taking home much more cash than me I am slowly progressing and building up the hours and that ever so important network. There are times when I wish I would be in their shoes but what I like is the idea of slowly advancing but flying as many different aircraft throughout my "career" as possible. Why? Because it's fun. I think it's the first few jobs you do that you wish back once you have flown the line for many years. It also makes you appreciate much more what you have later on in your career (assuming you got somewhere!).
I am not kidding when I am telling you that in the midst of one of the worst post-WWII recessions aviation has seen I have a definite job offer flying a little twin, my hands on another twin flying job (my present one), on the waiting list with a European regional flying TP and a possible interview coming up with another TP operator. By no means am I trying to brag as I haven't achieved jack**** at this point but what I am trying to show is that it
is possible to advance, even in times like these.
When the airlines are not hiring you need to find a way of getting the hours up and yourself known in the industry, most likely GA. You need to come across as a decent pilot, but more importantly, one must like you and want to spend a day of work with you in the cockpit. The easiest way of achieving this is by starting off at the bottom of the chain.
But then again, isn't that with all jobs?