Uncertain law student with nagging wish to fly

[HCB]

Hi there,

New member here, basically looking to bounce ideas off someone. I've always loved aviation, wasted loads of time on MS Flight Sim when I was a kid, scrounged a couple of flights from a friend with a private plane, etc. Decided to do aeronautical engineering after A levels, but moved countries and ended up postponing that (despite having been accepted by several good UK universities). Ended up working various jobs for a few years, travelled a bit, lived a bit, normal stuff. Got very interested in politics and economics, and when I finally decided I should knuckle down and get on with a career, decided to go into law. Was accepted by King's College in London, and am currently in my second year of reading law here in London.

Problem is, I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. In fact, I'm worried that I'm very soon going to develop a hatred for everything to do with law. And despite repeatedly telling myself that a commercial pilot is nothing more than a glorified bus driver, I just can't get the desire to fly out of my system. Today I checked the Class 1 medical requirements and it looks like my vision (between -5D and -6D for both eyes, haven't had an eye exam for three years, but can see perfectly) is not an insurmountable problem or soon won't be a problem at all in the UK. I may have been somewhat in denial about wanting to fly because I wouldn't have been able to get a medical in the UK, and living in the US is not an option for a lot of personal reasons.

So I was wondering about a couple of things. I'm 24-years-old: is that a bit on the late side to hope for sponsorship of some kind? If not, could I struggle through my law degree (another 1.5 years) without worrying about age being a limiting factor after that? Would a law degree help my chances of securing sponsorship?

Any thoughts or advice much appreciated!

[scroggs]

Archive Reference Threads - READ BRFORE YOU POST A QUESTION (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=131649)

In there you will find threads that refer to age, degrees and their value, different schools, and just about anything else that you might think of. It's right above your thread.

There are currently very few sponsorships around, and none that pay the entire cost of your training, so you need to think carefully about the financial side of things.

Scroggs

[Chitty's Leader]

Spooky! You are walking (almost) in the same shoes I was in 10 years ago! I too studied Law at Kings and thoroughly enjoyed it, despite my desire to go flying! My way of thinking is to suggest you complete your degree. You are already half way through, so attempt to hang in there. Even if you decide Law is not for you at the end of the course, it is a very marketable degree from a repected institution. Opens up many doors. Then, having completed your degree and probably knowing whether you wish to make it your intended career or not, you can make the next decision as to whether to pursue Law or to learn to fly commercially. Look upon it as a phase of your life - another 1.5 years is not a great deal in the grand scheme of things, and the long term benefits far outweigh the short term of quitting it through boredom IMHO!

[captwannabe]

Finish the degree. Always good to have a Plan B. Remember that flying training is not a decision to be taken lightly, particularly due to the cost. Consider all your options.

[HCB]

Thanks for the responses. Sorry for being a bit hasty with the new post, scroggs. I read most of those threads now, some good info. Congrats on your own ascendancy over the years to command training on the A346 by the way.
My advice as someone who has "been there done it," become a lawyer and make some real money!
Haha! If money held any fascination whatsoever for me I would be all set. But I chose law purely for the intellectual challenge. That said, I don't actually have any money at this point in my life (or parents to bail me out) so I certainly would have to seriously consider the reality of training costs.

I've found that law is not conceptually difficult but requires a lot of hours, which doesn't seem to suit my character particularly well.

Chitty's Leader: interesting! Your advice is probably very sensible. I suppose you decided to pursue a legal career?

captwannabe: Is having a Plan B "always good"? I perform best under pressure (in fact I almost require pressure to perform!) so I wonder if having another option would paradoxically be a bad thing in my case, as it would offer an easy way out if the going got tough (which I'm sure it would, at least financially). I've always been a bit of a risk junkie too.

[Martin1234]

If you finish your law degree and later on finds out that you don't want to be a glorified bus driver fulltime, you should be able to combine your knowledge. If you are practising aviation related law it should be an asset if you are working as a pilot as well.

I had a dispute in court with the Swedish CAA and their lawyers sure did know the law but had no clue about how the aviation world works which certainly was to my benefit.

[scroggs]

Hey, no problem.

Having a Plan B is a good idea in this business, because you never know when circumstances will make flying employment difficult. It's not a hypothetical thing either; when aviation goes through one of its regular cyclical downturns, we all catch a cold big time. The cycle within the airline business is vastly exaggerated from the normal economic cycle because we rely on discretionary spending. We are a luxury, both for individuals and for businesses, so air travel is one of the first things to go when money is tight. And pilots are expensive, and easy to dispose of when not needed. Just look at the fallout from 9/11, after which UK airline capacity was reduced by over 25%. In the US, they still have many thousands of pilots 'furloughed' (laid off) thanks largely to 9/11 and SARS - and a vastly over-optimistic business plan prior to 9/11, but that's another story. The fact is that those pilots are having to earn their money outside flying, and so could you, so it's never a bad idea to have a Plan B.

Scroggs

[captwannabe]

Well, if you like pressure, why not try to get an honours degree, and then train for CPL-IR, and get a flying job, all before the age of 30! That's quite a challenge. :ok: