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Old 7th Aug 2017, 16:39
  #637 (permalink)  
crazypilot
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: UK
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Many guys on here asking whether being in their 30s is too old. No, I wouldn't say so!

I was 31 when I started training. Integrated. To me that seemed like the safest route to getting a job as soon as possible. I had a PPL from many years ago when I was 17, but didn't have the funding available to take it any further back then and didn't have the luxury of a wealthy family to borrow money from. Would have loved to have trained back when I was much younger but in retrospect, really enjoyed my years doing something else.

My biggest concern was would I find pilot training more difficult than the sprightly 20-year olds that I would be training alongside. We all tend to get a bit slower as we age. In the end, it wasn't an issue whatsoever and I performed just as well, and in my cases, better, than many of my younger colleagues during exams etc. So don't let that scare you.

I was fortunate to get an airline job (A320 FO) pretty much straight after finishing MCC/JOC so was over the moon with that. At no point did my age even come into question and in fact served me well - it was much easier to come up with answers to interview questions when you've had a wealth of work and life experience beforehand.

I'm really glad I took the plunge...left a well-paid job to jump into the unknown but certainly worth it! Still having a fantastic time, two years into the job. Being a more "mature" FO is also seen as a very welcome change for many of the Captains - having a bit of experience prior to flying, having done so,etching different, seen different places, etc etc, provides for a far more interesting day of in-cruise chat...at least that's what most of them say ;-)

Best of luck to anyone sitting on the fence...go with your gut instinct. It's well worth the ride. The views are as incredible as you imagine, and remember, you technically don't have to retire until you're in your 60s so you'll still be doing this for 30 or so years!
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