Hi guys!
I’ve been a long-time lurker here on pprune, and I even had an account about 10 years ago (long lost now).
It has always been my dream to be a pilot, ever since I was a young child. But growing up, I just never had the opportunity to follow my dream. It was unrealistic as my family have very little money (parents rent a council house) and I felt like I would have been ridiculed if I’d said that I’d wanted to do something so ‘unrealistic’.
Fast-forward... I went to university and got a degree in history. Ever since then I’ve been doing TEFL. Teaching English abroad, for those who don’t know. Initially, I worked in Eastern Europe where pay was low, but I’m currently in East Asia earning a pretty high salary. Over the last four years I’ve managed to save just over £25000. I’ve just accepted a new job where I should be able to save at least £10,000 per year (It’s a cushy number, but with high hours). I now have quite a few qualifications in this area- but I find each day to be grinding (There’s very little enjoyment left in it for me now).
I still long to follow my dreams and become a pilot. I think about it fairly often, and come to this website (among a few others) a few times a month to just browse and wonder. The problem is however.. (Our old favourite) money.
So what do you think? Should I stay in Korea and try to save as much as possible? I’m currently 26 - so if my aim is to pay for my 0-ATPL I should be able to save £100k by the time I’m 33. Not too old, right? (Do I even need this amount?)
Or, should I quit my job (with little chance of getting anything good in the UK in the meantime) and try for a scheme like BA’s future pilot programme?
Option X is of course teaching in Saudi Arabia. I could save upwards of £20k per annum (Maybe even up to £30k), but it’s not appealing at all.
P.S: Sorry for dragging up the same old theme/ story. I read this forum often and see it all the time too. I just feel I need to vent my emotions and ask about my personal situation.
Thanks
