Originally Posted by
macdo
Skornogr4phy
I think being in this industry has made you a bit cynical, the entire job market isn't rubbish. Sure, you can pay 100k to get a job in the left seat earning 40k, which if all goes well will be 100k one day. A kid I know has just landed a city job, straight out of Uni, earning 40k a year and she will work damn hard. But, she'll also get every weekend off, won't have to fight to see Xmas at home,won't suffer jetlag, will be treated with considerable respect (so long as she works hard) and has the potential to make a salary which would make a TRE wince. Her debt from Uni was 50k. This isn't that uncommon a story, the big names in London (and in the provinces) take on hundreds of folk like this every year. Why in the world would she want to be a pilot? This industry is a busted flush for the new guys, but there are plenty of opportunities out there for bright people.
Yes, they take on hundreds. However the UK produces 250,000 or so graduates a year. Of which about a third end up in "non-professional" jobs. So, yes, unless you are willing to gamble that you will be one of the hundreds getting a top city job, the Ryanair route is a more certain bet. FWIW, my nephew decided not to go to university at all, cost/ benefit not worth it, went straight into book-keeping. He's doing fine, training on day release courses etc, but at the age of 22 still no hope of being able to leave home, given the local housing market. But at least he isn't 50+k in the hole, and his chance of getting a 'glittering prize' was, realistically, pretty low. (not public school, wouldn't have got into oxbridge, had offers from decent tier 2 universities)