Hi Loose Rivets - thanks for your reply and useful advice. If you don't mind me asking, what/where did you fly?,
The latest prescription I had from my optometrist simply read -3.75/-3.75. I think one of my previous prescriptions from an older eyetest did have something under AXIS (which I think is cyl), however this was not mentioned to me and this current prescription has nothing at all recorded for it. I have presumed, therefore, that either I do not have it, or it is negligible enough that it would be within the limits of Class-I certification.
The job market does look fairly shaky at the moment (both in aviation and elsewhere, tbh - although aviation probably stands out as a career which requires significant investment of time and money, and returns little job security) - so I'm not entirely sure how I would approach it. I had been tempted to consider an Integrated ATPL or MPL course, however these seem to receive a regular slating on this forum. The MPL sounds particularly poor because it only certifies you to fly multi-crew aircraft - again no doubt making it more difficult to find jobs.
America certainly seems a lot cheaper for building up hours than this country - so that would certainly be an option. The other option would be to go to university for 3 years (this is effectively state funded in the UK, with a small topup of around £3,000 each year. Obviously accomodation is extra), gain a degree, and keep a close eye on the aviation market. During this period I guess I would do what you suggested about working around light aircraft, allowing me to get hours/contacts/experience.
Whether to go into aviation or not is a difficult choice and I've only really recently started to consider it as a career. This is partly because I was brought up with the fairytale that "no pilots wear glasses". I always saw myself going into law or finance (probably because my school turns out a lot of economists and lawyers
), and left it very late to actually think extensively about careers. I guess most people were doing the sort of research legwork that I'm doing now, a few years ago.
I've read in a number of places that the aviation industry goes in a sort of sine wave of 10 year cycles, with hardly any vacancies and lots of unemployment at the bottom, and the reverse at the top. Do you think there is any truth to this theory? Did you enjoy working as a pilot, and given a second chance would you do the same?
Gingernut - My GP was being overcautious I suspect - as I've never had any IGE testing done. The CAA lady said that this wouldnt be a problem, but I would still have to carry the EpiPen on board whenver I was flying. Seems pretty reasonable - and even if they didnt mandate that I'd probably do it anyway.
Thanks for both of your replies,
Matt