University is over rated
The university degree has become degraded by the number of people who have degrees in the fluffy non science subjects and the dumbing down of the last Labour government.
It is clear that people who should not have got a degree have them so they have gone from a "must have" to thing to put on the form in most cases. The bottom line is that if you are just doing a degree with the hope of getting a pilot job forget it.
With the volatility of the industry getting an aviation practical skill is probably the best safety net you can have and it will help you in the search for a pilot job.
Very few people want to get dirty hands these days so there is a shortage of Licensed Engineers so that would be a good place to start a pilot career, it offers transferable skills for both piloting and other engineering functions outside aviation if the aviation business goes really sour.
As far as airline employers go ( that offer a UK base) would offer a list for who you would want to work for in terms of T & C's that they offer and job satisfaction. ( I know there are omissions but this covers the major players)
1 British Airways
2 Virgin.
3 Monarch, Thompson, Norwegian.
4 Easyjet
5 jet 2, Flybe.
6 Ryanair.
Last edited by A and C; 11th Aug 2013 at 07:40.