There is quite a lot of luck involved in landing that first airline job and it is argued over and over again that a certain school or a certain route will inch you closer to that sim check, but I honestly think a lot more of it rests on determination and the kind of person you are: who you are, what you do and how you did it!
Some FACTS to definitely remember though are:
British Airways has taken on self-sponsored candidates directly from Oxford in the past. I think the tally is at nine so far and is set to rise. For info on this you need to see the lecture notes by a BA Captain (I shall withold his name just for privacy) which are displayed on
www.oxfordaviation.net after he gave a talk about BA's recruitment of Self-sponsored chaps and chapesses.
BAs candidates are, however, always Integrated ones. As is the case at BAe (see other thread with post from Wee Weasley Welshman) Integrated courses are the obvious choice for airlines and if someone new is to be taken to join the airline, the bosses will look for someone with as similar training to the sponsored cadets as possible. Wherever possible, cadets on EXACTLY the same course (start date etc) will be considered first, as these are as close to the sponsored guys as you get. I am not saying that sponsored/non-sponsored are better/worse or anything else (don't get me wrong) but continuity is key.
If you don't care about that tiny chance of getting snapped up whilst at a college then I think you'll find that honestly, it doesn't matter what you do or where you do it. What makes aviation so fascinating is that pilots within the same airline/company all come from totally different backgrounds with all different stories to tell.
Look back through the wannabes pages and you will find this topic heavily debated!
GOOD LUCK!
SB 2946
