Hi, its not so much as having to wait until the end of 2018. The slection process will take most of the time between now and then, there are four stages to selection the first being the online application. After this you can book a selection day that is within a couple of weeks and after this you will have a few months of paperwork, medical and a few other bits before the final interview with a couple Qatar Training captains. Once this is done the last step is security steps and sorting course dates ect. So the actual wait (if you are first to book the slection day) is not that long. Spaces on courses are allocated based on when the selection day is booked from what I was told so the sooner you book onto that the sooner you will be offered a start date.