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Old 19th Apr 2015, 13:54
  #466 (permalink)  
Ilyushin76
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: FL370
Age: 38
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Sameer. As a fellow South Asian let me answer your queries, keeping into account my experience.

1) Am I too old for this now? No. You are not. The smart thing to do is to accelerate your license training and bring it down to 1 year (just to save on additional time, considering you might have to pursue an instructor rating to build time - I am not aware of the airline hiring policies in India )

The retirement age is 65 these days. So you will have at least 30 years to fly (that is a long time to fly sir ! )


2) What if cant finished the whole studies? Studies are not an issue. It takes some discipline and a bit of dedication. They are quite do-able for someone who has been to college.


3) In one of seminar I attended by BA and CTC, the guest speaker said " Not everyone can be a pilot. Its not the career for everyone". What does he really mean by this?

In my opinion what he means by this is that you will not get an airline job immediately. You might have to go around, build time at meager pays (sometimes no pay at all) and be based at places that are tough to live in. Not everyone is built to heck it. Airline placement exams and interviews can disappoint even the brightest of candidates. Pay to fly programs have added to the crux. You just have to stay focused and work towards achieving your goal. Long haul flights will keep you away from your family and that can be quite a problem for some people. You are usually not available when the family needs you.


4)If I have ATPL from non European country will I still be able to get any job here in UK? It depends on multiple factors, namely your country of citizenship (non EU guys usually have difficulties in getting jobs due to permit and residency issues) as well as the total time you build after getting your license. Pay to fly programs are quite the norm these days so you have to do your research.



I think what you could do is fly part time in the UK and keep your job as well. I am not discouraging you from flying but please keep into account that this field will test your limits. And the people who hail eventually reach their goals. However what I do suggest is that the low cost aviation sector in India is on the boom these days. Why don't you go around and talk to the companies there and see what their hiring requirements are? They offer good flight time and the pays are decent as well.
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