Thanks so far guys.
Yeah I realise that it will never be cheap, perhaps cheap was the wrong word to use in the first place.
For me, I am starting to think that it isn't feasible to continue in the GA world, not because of the increasing costs, but because I am not getting the theoretical study in needed to keep updating the memory bank. I have basically used common sense and memory dumped from a text book for the exams taken so far, but that is no way to become a pilot and it will eventually catch up and show. This is why I though perhaps a cadetship might have its pros. I am only saying that it might not be feasible because I work a couple of part time jobs as well as continue my studies full time, so its pretty hard to through PPL & CPL theory in there as well.
Completely understand that everything will have its pros and cons, and it's all about weighing them all up. Ideally I want to aim high, and become a future skip of a large commercial airliner. Yes I know some will come and say dream on, forget about it, wait in line or whatever, but that's the goal, and in my mind if you're not aiming for the top, don't bother. If the chance came for me to live in HK, to be locked into their company and fleet of wide bodied a/c I would probably take the chance. I would assume the time and $ spent/repaying back to get to that position might be more attractive then spending many years as a cadet/FO at jetstar then trying to swap to an international hauler.
On that note, is it that hard to swap from a domestic carrier into an international company? I would assume you would just start at the bottom (or thereabouts) of the pecking order every time one would move into another company.
Fee help isn't such a problem, mentally anyway. I have accumulated plenty so far through uni
so having another few figures over my head won't bother me, when I know I will be paying it back. This would be OK I guess with someone like a Cathay, because I can see myself in that environment over a life time. It wouldn't be ideal for a jetstar gig, paying it all back on a limited salary, flying syd-melb-syd all my life. If it meant going from jetstar to a qantas/cathay/emirates etc in an ideal time after the cadetship, I would consider it being ideal and worth a thought.