Thanks Bluebaron for starting this, it's definitely been useful for me. Now I'm hoping someone will give me a little help and/or guidance on my situation.
Im currently 17 and finishing 'A' levels at college. I got 4 As last year, and hoping to get the same now. This summer I'll be looking around the airlines trying to get sponsorship of some sort; the aim, eventually, of getting a frozen ATPL. I'm not very confident of getting any sponsorship, although I'll still try like hell. I'm not very outgoing or particularly confident, and all the airline websites mention phrases such as 'leadership skills' and 'team-building'. This website, from what I've seen, doesn't give me much optimism about the chances of anyone getting into the industry at the moment either. Yet I've got 20/20 vision and as far as I know no health problems. martinbakerfanclub asks where integrated course students get the idea from that they'll go straight to the RHS of a good airline. I'll tell you; the colleges that run the courses. An example is the Cabair website, "Experience clearly shows that those completing the Integrated course have the best chance of securing a First Officer position quickly." And it's believed, because we want to believe it.
WWW mentions another alternative: PPL flight instructing. How do others feel about that. The work and the pay isn't a problem, but in the end, to be completely honest, I'm looking for a job in an airline, not a flying school.
Cheers,
Ioan
