Howdy,
I know I'm going to get flamed to death here. The regulars on this forum don't like integrated training as it's a "waste of money" blah blah blah. It's hard to justify the extra cost, but I managed to.
IMHO Integrated training has added value for the following reasons:
- The training is more likely to be delivered to a high standard (not necessarily better than all modular courses, but it's regulated by the CAA to tighter requirements as far as consistency and structure are concerned)
- It's all set up for you, you don't have to continue searching around for where to do the next module... and which module to do next. This means you can devote all your effort to training and not stress about organizing stuff.
- You're immersed in an aviation environment with loads of other students. You never stop talking about planes. You're not only learning in the classroom.
- YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO GET A JOB STRAIGHT AWAY. (That's gonna piss a few people off!) Early in 2006 at the "Flyer" conference at Gatwick I asked the chief pilots of 6(ish) airlines including BA and flybe and they all said they preferred integrated students. Many of them had (or had previously, when the market was good) different requirements for integrated applicants e.g. 750 hours if you're modular but if you're integrated then you just need to have passed the course.
I went to Jerez. Although I didn't get a job straight away, I'd still do it again. Once I'd factored in the cost of living (included in the price at FTE) it wasn't too much more expensive and for the above reasons I managed to justify it to myself.
The quality of training was excellent (I instructed for 18 months afterwards, so I've seen other modular students in the UK) And the lifestyle was great. That's really something you have to think about. If you're going to be slogging your guts out for over a year, you'd better do it somewhere you feel comfortable.
As for paying for a type rating. People here like that idea even less than integrated training! And this time I have to agree with them. Very few job ads only require a type rating. They want the rating to be current with at least 500 hours. You're only going to get that by paying for the TR and the hours. That costs a lot of money and the recruiters can tell that's what you've done. You're not likely to get a job like that.
The only realistic way to get an airline job is to get a bonded type rating. This means that either you pay for the TR and they pay you back over 5 years. Or, they pay for the TR and take it out of your salary for 5 years. If you leave, they charge you the difference. This way they ensure that you're not going to leave them so they get their money's worth. And they know who taught you and to what standards.