i am currently halfway through a diploma in aviation at Southland Institute of Technology in Invercargill, New Zealand. this involves a diploma in management and a cpl(a) with a multi inst rating or a cpl(h) with turbine rating. i am doing a bit of both. a cpl(h) and
ppl(a), instrument(a) and turbine rating with the option of the remaining PIC time and C cat rating. the managent diploma is a free scheme and i get a student allowance to live on as the course is two years full time. the flying cost are paid by a government loan of which at this stage i will have to pay back. the debt is going to be big but everytime i get into the cockpit it seems worth it. when i was learning a trade, i paid for it with low earnings and the crap jobs. if you want to get ahead, i think the sacrifices should be made by the person who wants it. this makes sure you put 100% effort in and the reward at the end to me is worth it. my loan at the moment is $110,000 kiwi with the possibility of about another 50k for the PIC time and c cat. i just hope i can get a job in the industry at the end of this year. as for the loan, i dont care if it ever gets paid off. i will leave a legacy to the government when i die.