There is a bewildering amount of information out there which does not make it any easier.
There are basically 4 options:
1. Military
2. Airline cadet program
3.Integrated pilot course
4. Modular training course
As far as the feasibility:
- Military has very stringent assessment and an age limit which I think you've already passed.
- Airline cadet program would be a airline sponsored full time training program. You'll find various airlines across the world that will advertise assessment and enrollment dates.
Many have an age limit.
You may or may not meet the educational pre requisites.
Depending on the program you may or may not end up with what is called a MPL ( Multi Pilot License) which restricts you to that airline for a number of years.
- Integrated pilot course. This is where it gets tricky as these are aggressively advertised by commercially run schools many of whom claim exclusive access to one airline or another.
Integrated means full time no work (income) on the side. If you don't meet the schools standards you may be asked to discontinue and leave some funds behind.
- Modular training is where you do everything yourself one section at a time. This is the most work and effort as you're not paying for a school to baby sit you through a course.
An option to do this debt free if you are very strict with yourself. You basically work and save maybe 25-30% of the total training cost and work part time or full time in segments to save for the next rating or training course.
Will probably take the longest.
If you keep pushing and never let go of your dream it may take anywhere from 3-7 years or more to get a decent job in aviation.
This may not be at a major airline.
In short my advice to you:
If you do not have any dependents, try any cadet program that you qualify for first.
Then if you're still motivated enough try the modular route. It also allows you to stop at any given time without huge losses.
Plan on a good chance of spending the rest of your flying career outside of the U.K. or even outside of Europe.
Do several assessments at your own cost. Including medical. It sounds rude but "I've always dreamt of being a pilot" doesn't automatically qualify you for the job.
You also need a squeaky clean background. Anymore more then a couple of speeding tickets will be frowned upon by future employers.
The USA, Canada and Japan for instance may (will) refuse you entry if you have a criminal conviction.
A drunk driving conviction statistically puts you at the back of a 50,000 applicant line.
Ask if you have any questions.
Last edited by B2N2; 8th Aug 2017 at 01:34.