NuGuy,
Thanks for the detailed reply, very informative and not discouraging at all, very aware of the long road ahead but definitely excited to go down it.
If time and money were no object I would absolutely invest in an unrelated degree. As it is, the FTO offers the Air Transport Management BSc alongside the flight training, so for only a little extra investment and in a shorter amount of time I can get the letters after my name to please the majors.
About this hand flying experience...obviously part of my training involves gaining an EASA CPL, mostly in a Piper PA28 but various other single and multi engine aircraft as well as sim time, so I do gain some 'true' manual flying experience. Obviously the course is specifically set up to give me the skills to be an airline pilot. But once I am in the RHS, I get the impression the manual flying time is limited.
I know the airlines require you to manually take off and land, plus there are sim assessments every 6 months. Is this enough to keep your handling skills sharp or do you do other things? Obviously the FAA think this is an issue, hence the 1500 hour limit. Do the pilots feel it was necessary or has made a difference? Or is there another reason that the FAA introduced that rule? Or are those questions best saved for another thread?
AM