i need help with making a decision

[justjoshing]

Hi, i have nearly finished my GCSE's and am expecting good marks, i have a place at my sixth form to do A levels but im not sure if thats what i want to do because i could work hard for those 2 years earning much needed funds for pilot traning.MY Ambitions is to become a pilot but im not sure which way to achive this.I could leave school now and get a job at the hotel near me and start doing a ppl and go down the modular route, hopefully strating ground traning by the time i was 18 at either oxford or cabair.The other plan i have is staying on at sixth form then getting a job and waiting until i ws about 26 before i could start traning, but if i went the modular route i could have finished traning by about 22 with no huge loans to pay of.

The way i see it is that if i did the modular route it would be cheaper and i could do it over a period of 4-6 years or i could work for 8 years and take a big loan out and do the intergrated route.The only problem i really see with the modular is employment, i have heard rumors that people who get the ATPL via the modular route never get employed and have basically wasted there time.Im a bit stuck with what to do.

Another option would be saving and going to another country like the USA and doing a JAA licence out there.

I really dont know what to do a so any help would be gratefully taken.
Thanks Josh.


P.S
does anyone no of any could traning schools in france or italy.

[danfulton]

Continue in school / college and get some good A-levels (Mathematics, Physics ....).

If you leave and take a service industry job, if your hopes of becoming a pilot do not come to fruition it will be very hard to return to education at a later date.

[greywind]

Hi
If you have a look around the wannabees interviews and training forums you'll find loads of information that could help you.
It would also probably be a better place to put your post.

Personally I would say get your a levels so you at least have a few more qualifications behind you if as danfulton said it doesnt work out. If you can afford it maybe do your PPL at the same time or just get a few hours at least.

Also don't feel like you have to get everything done right now and get flying as soon as possible as a lot of people seem to want to do. There's no rush, if you get a job flying you can fly till your 60, plenty of time to enjoy it.

Good luck with it!

[justjoshing]

i cant see a point in A levels, i dont reall want to go to uni and if i did fail ground traning which i doubt i would, i would just do A level night class then go to uni to do law or something.Just i would love to start a PPL now so i can basically start ground traning at the age 10 18.Just want to know hwat the employment was like.

[danfulton]

Sounds like you have made your mind up!

[christhevan]

He's already flooded the OAT forums, and has been given lots of excellent advice by Mike and the other members there, and even offered a ring back by an OAT guy so they could talk financial details.. but he refused.. :confused:

[justjoshing]

i havent flooded them at all, just wanted to know which was the best route to take and what the emplyoment was like for modular students.

[what next]

Hello!

Just one thing: If you decide to go to the USA for training, be very, very careful in selecting your flying school. I am just re-training a young man for a JAR-FCL license who recently finished his US CPL/IFR. His theoretical knowledge and flying skills are so extremely poor, that he has to do at least 80 percent of the JAR syllabus again, which means that he will have spent his money twice in the end. There still seem to been schools in the US, that take your money, but give you nothing in return except a stamped piece of paper!

And regarding your A levels: I have no idea about the carriers in the UK, but here in Germany you need a baccaluareate (more or less what your A-levels are) for the real good jobs with the large carriers (especially Lufthansa and its associates). Nobody knows why, but that's how it is...

Greetings, Max

[justjoshing]

ok i suppose i could do A levels and do A ppl at the same time then work for a year untill i am 19 with a well paid job thet start ground traning.I like the modular because it will cheaper and more flexible and i will probbally only take a loand of £18k.I like modular its just i dont know if the employment rates are good or if you never to get employment.

Thanks josh.

P.S
About the OAT forum, i havent flooded it i just came on here to get soem advice from pilots or wannabes as the people at OAT have already started there traning,BUT THANKS TO EVERYONE AT OAT AS THEY HAVE BEEN OF GREAT HELP MAINLY MIKE.

[munkypuzel]

I do hope that the reason for such dreadful spelling and grammar is due to keyboard 'finger trouble' and not your standard of education.. :confused:

[AltFlaps]

Sorry Josh,

I know everyone will roll their eyes here, but you are a 17 year old asking for advice from professional pilots, and as one, I have to say that your general diction, punctuation and spelling are terrible !

The earlier you start dotting those Is and crossing those Ts the better. If you fill in an airline application form like that, it will go straight in the bin.

Good luck though :ok:

AF

[Austy]

Just one thing: If you decide to go to the USA for training, be very, very careful in selecting your flying school. I am just re-training a young man for a JAR-FCL license who recently finished his US CPL/IFR. His theoretical knowledge and flying skills are so extremely poor, that he has to do at least 80 percent of the JAR syllabus again, which means that he will have spent his money twice in the end. There still seem to been schools in the US, that take your money, but give you nothing in return except a stamped piece of paper!

Hey there! Would you mind listing a decent batch of flightschools? Or maybe list the ones to watch out for, if that would be a shorter list. Also, would you suggest joining a flight club and training for your PPL as a good supplement, but go to a uni for the CPL?

[BHenderson]

To my knowledge both routes (Modular/Integrated) have their pros and cons regarding employability. If you go integrated you may end up paying 60 thousand for the course and then 30 thousand more for a type rating in something like the A320. Going Modular has the benefit (not only of being half the price) but you receive more hours of training and a longer exposure to aviation before applying for a job.

Read:

The never-ending 'Modular vs. Integrated' debate. (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=218620)
The Cost of Achieving that fATPL (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=220665)
Funding For Flying Training (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207270)
What A-levels (and degree course)? (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=164926)

Schools:

Aerofan (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=215585)
Cabair (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=205080)
CTC (ATP) (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=94832)
CTC (Wings) (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144926)
EFT (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=206623)
Flight Training Europe (Jerez) (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=215158)
Naples (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=213502)
Ormand Beach Aviation (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=135854)
Oxford (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=212061) (OAT Part 2 (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=234938))
Stapleford (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=217474)

Bobby

[ccopter]

There are lots of good flight schools in US, i have dealt with quite a few and only one to clearly avoid is Naples Air Centre - do some digging on here to find out why. EFT are busy but good as is Kissime in Orlando. Good luck to you :ok:

[pilotho]

Hey,
There are always questions about carrying on with education or carry out pilot training straight away. The thing is though, if you look at most flying schools and airlines, they require you to have at least 2 A levels so I think you would have to go to college anyway! The knowledge of physics and Maths at GCSE level, to me, are simply not high enough for ATPL ground school. Of course, you may have more knowledge but try getting your head around gyros!!
Never under estimate the ground school element!!
Also, although I am 20, I know I don't have enough life exprience to be a true professional pilot, let alone 17. I am not saying you're not a mature person but you may not have the life exprience airlines are requiring.
Ultimately, I suggest carrying on with education and at least when you have graduated, your qualifications would out weigh many others.

[BitMoreRightRudder]

This is all just my opinion so feel free to disregard if you prefer.

I think you'd be mad not to do A Levels. Even with a good set of A levels you will still find that the "well paid job" you are after is hard to find. The average starting wage for university graduates is not huge. A lot of people look at uni as wasted time and money, but I did most of my growing up there, and the selection for airline jobs focusses an awful lot these days on your character and maturity. Just a thought.

As pilotho has mentioned, don't underestimate the ground school element. I got good grades throughout my education and got a good degree, I still found much of the groundschool hard work. And I never want to talk about Gyros ever again!:ugh:

I can appreciate you're keen to get on with things but there is no rush. I'd say keep going with the education thing, go do your PPL and enjoy the flying, and then think about your professional training when you have qualifications in place that allow you to make a few more choices with what you want to do with your future career.

[Taildragger67]

Ever thought about military training? OK a long commitment, but unless you're planning to run a hedge fund, by the time you're 30 you won't be that much worse-off financially than your peers and someone else will have paid for your training. Fly heavies (eg. Nimrod, Herc, VC10, TriStar, C17, even BAe146 - and various replacements for some of these) rather than fast jets or choppers and you'll have your large a/c, multi-turbine, multi-crew experience (although I do know of at least one A330 driver for a major who came from choppers).

Just a thought.

[Mikehotel152]

I'm with those above who advise that A-Levels are essential even if not a specific requirement of entering the profession. You need that to fall back on if things don't work out for you.

I speak as a 30 year old with A-Levels, a Geography Degree, a Qualified and Practising Solicitor (lawyer to you Yanks) and a guy who has just got his PPL with a view to ATPL groundschool in September and flying commercially in a year or so.

BUT I'm very glad I've got the comfort blanket of another career to fall back on if this flying dream collapses in a pile of steaming poo. Get your A-Levels, get your PPL, then see where life takes you!

You never know, you might win the lottery and end up flying for fun like John Travolta...:ok:

[Taildragger67]

Mikehotel152,

:ok:

You sound like you've got your life well thought out, mate; and at the right age. Well done.

[kala87]

1. Do the A-levels. I can't imagine many airlines taking your application seriously without them, and I'm pretty sure many training schools will expect you to have them. Quite a number of pilot applicants have degrees, so where do you think your application without A-levels would go?

2. Modular is a perfectly acceptable training route and in the past this hasn't been a major barrier to getting an airline job. Other personal qualities and aptitude are just as important. Of course OAT and Cabair would tell you otherwise!

3. Believe me the ATPL ground school course and exams are no easy ride. This is borne out by the number of students requiring at least one or two retakes. I can't imagine doing them without education to A-level standard, preferably in science subjects.

4. Do the A-levels!

Good luck

[Mikehotel152]

And a big thank you to Taildragger for his ringing endorsement of my life(see above)...

Your £50 is in the post...:D

[Try Hard 4.0]

I am currently a graduating student. Actually am an IT student, but when my father offered me to study in Philippine Airlines for training, I took all my summer classes just to finish my bachelor's degree. But it's worth 2M PHP. It's really expensive.
Will it be worth it??
will I earn enough to pay back my father??
I hope you can post a reply

[EZYramper]

Josh

I don't know if you will still be even reading this because you posted about a month ago.

However...

You MUST do your A-levels if your career goal is to become a pilot, no ifs buts or maybes.

Pick 4, or if you think you can handle it, 5 subjects that you think you will enjoy, but ones that also have some real world credibility. I would say Physics and Maths are a must. I did Physics but not maths, and spent many extra sessions with my tutor outside of class learning things like logarithms! You can't fault physics and maths whatever career you go into.

As long as you have those 2 subjects I would say the others really don't matter, just find something you enjoy, something that will challenge and something that isn't film studies/media studies because they will be a complete waste of time and effort unless you want to be a film critic.

There is also a more important reason to do A-levels other then just qualification box ticking. The jump from GCSE to A-level is rather sizeable. I learn many things from my A-level that weren't part of the syllabus. With GCSE you are given the information and expected to digest it and regurgitate it in the exam.

With A-level you are actually expected to go out and get the information yourself *gasp*!

GCSE's were easily blagged with minimal revision. With A-levels the amount of work you put it is proportional to how well you do. No more of that leaving it to the last minute affair.

If the ATPL's are as difficult as I have been lead to believe, you will be a fish out of water coming from GCSE education level.

I don't want to sound harsh, but I think that if you want to be a pilot that bad then you need to just bite the bullet and get them out of the way. Believe me 2 years is nothing!

And if you need even more convincing, I made a lot of friends at Sixth Form and met some interesting characters. Doing things such as student council and the like as well look great on a CV for any job and also provide you some interview material.

To summarise, if you don't do your A-levels, you are shooting your career ambition in the kneecaps.

[snoopy1107]

Josh,

I’m not sure if this suggestion is really going to rub well with you as you have already expressed that you’re not mad on doing A-Levels never mind Uni, but here is something to think about.

Do as the fella's above have suggested and do A-Levels.
Go to Uni and get away, mature, gain life experience, friends, memories. Join the University Air Squadron... why? FREE FLYING loads and loads of Adventurous Training, all are ticks in boxes. At selection for Airlines if that what you decide to do you are against so many guys who all want it as badly as you do.

Put it this way, who do you think Airline XYZ would prefer to employ if you got through training:

19-22 year old, trained pilot, some GCSC's, no real life experience, previous job experience: hotel waiter to save for PPL

OR

25 year old, trained pilot, University graduate, life experience, maturity, well travelled various job experiences.

This is only my opinion and you are welcome to discard it but it is something you should perhaps think about, at least.

Good Luck

[world]

Can somebody explain me what's the differenece beatween IGCSE, GCSE, IB and A-level since i am not from UK.

Here in Serbia, we have high-schools which specialise in something. I took aviation, and except normal subjects (such as maths, physics, language, history etc.) we have air law, aviation english, aerodynamics, airports, aircrafts and meteorology.

Cheers

[captain_rossco]

I'm from the UK and wouldn't have a clue! I have 2 out of the 4 and have not heard of the others??????????

Maybe some international version, gaaaaaaawd knows.

Kind Regards

CR

[Mikehotel152]

I don't know what an IGCSE is, but GCSEs are usually taken at the age of 16, which is the minimum age at which you can leave school in the UK.

A-Levels are taken at the age of 17 or 18 and represent the standard level of educational achievement in the UK these days.

The IB or International Baccalaureate is the Europe-wide standard, which is supposed to be similar to the A-Level.

However the Labour government in Britain has lowered the difficulty of the A-Level in recent years in order to improve the number of higher grades. They do this because it's easier to make the exams easier than to improve teaching or fund schools adequately.

[Political rant over]

:E:E:E

[Taildragger67]

World,

Here's an outline from the British Council (http://www.britishcouncil.org/usa-education-uk-system-k-12-curriculum-england.htm).

[justjoshing]

Thanks for youre advice, i will do A levels but i dont want to really go to uni(wasted pilot funds).Just how hard is the maths and physics part of ground school,i will not have them at A level only GCSE level,will i survive?.

[justjoshing]

:bored::bored::bored:If i dont get A levels i am stuffed as far as becoming a pilot is concerned.:ugh:

[AlphaMale]

I am reading over my ATPL books now (so I know what to expect) and I wouldn't say the maths part is as hard as 'A' level standard, but with a good grade in 'A' level Maths and Physics I don't think ATPL maths would be worth stressing over.

I have not yet finished my ATPL books or even sat an exam yet, so I could be totaly wrong in saying that the ATPL exams would probably use complex maths that would rate somewhere betwen a higher GCSE paper and an 'A' level paper?

Andy
ex - GCSE and 'A' level Maths student

[Taildragger67]

Mate uni would be the best time of your life. Booze, girls, the lot. :} Definitely not a waste of money. If you don't do it (tertiary study) straight away, definitely keep it in mind - it might be a hard slog for a few years, but getting some qualification by part-time or distance study is well worth having - you might be bullet-proof now, but trust me, the shields start to crumble a bit as you get older and with flying, you're only one duff medical away from a new career; better to have given that some thought early on, rather than when you've got lots of other commitments.

Here (http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/ug-prospectus/courses-07-08/aviation-management-and-operations.cfm) is an aviation management & ops foundation degree which includes ATPL ground school (you're also expected to undertake flight training); LondonMet regularly advertise on PPRuNe. I've done some postgrad law courses there and while it's not Oxford, it's not a bad place either.

Here (http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/ug-prospectus/courses-07-08/aviation-management.cfm) is an aviation-management undergraduate course.

Here (http://www.city.ac.uk/sems/undergraduate/aero/programmes.html) are City Uni's aviation courses (undergrad and postgrad).

There are others, eg. Cranfield.

This is all very serious-sounding stuff, but that's because you're making some decisions now which will affect your life for a long time.

Even something like accounting done over a few years by part-time or distance is good - no load to carry, will help you in other areas of life, may be useful in a future job.

Mate you need your A-levels. It is not an option to go without them. Just put up with it, put your head down and study. Just think of it as a hurdle you have to cross. We've all done it (or similar). Unless you invent a new mousetrap or inherit squillions, chances are any job you will ever want - with or without wings attached - will require you to have A-levels at a very bare minimum. That debate just stops now. Don't even think of not doing them. If you bottle out of them, then empolyers will ask what else you're likely to not have the bottle for and it's a question you should ask of yourself as well.

[justjoshing]

I will hopefully get A levels but not maths or physics.My plan is to get A levels then start work on a job I know i can earn about 15 k a year,because my mum is the manager of that department.Then do my ppl when I have the funds so hopefully I would have a Frozen ATPL when I am about 22.If i have to wait 1-2 years to get a job it does not matter, I will get employed one day.

I dont care if i just fly cargo on some old small Turboprop, at least I will be a pilot.

Regards

[AlphaMale]

If i dont get A levels i am stuffed as far as becoming a pilot is concerned

Your learning. :ok: ... and when you get to that point and start working you'll struggle to find a job that'll pay more than £16k per year (£12,700 take home).

Take into account your living expenses, travelling to work, getting a car, running the car, fixing the car, food, possibly lodge to your parents, I really don't think you'll be left with very much to put toward that £30k+ (to put it lightly) modular flying bill.

At this point I estimate you'd be 22/23 years old with a fATPL and back up job that could earn you £20k per year.

If you go to Uni you'll have some great life experience and meet some great friends, you'll be 21 when you graduate and 'should' land a £20k pa job straight away.

Applying for you first FO job you'll be 25 years old, trained pilot, University graduate, life experience, maturity, well travelled various job experiences.

Choice is yours (plenty of threads on 'Do I need a degree to be a pilot' and 'what degree is best to become a pilot')

[justjoshing]

I hear you can do a degree which covers ground school, i would go and do that if it did cover ATPL ground school.

I wont have A level math or physcis at A level just GCSE,mainly becuse i am crap at them.Maybe ust becuse i never really bothered with them at school, oh well i suppose they can be learned.



PS

can you take an i pod on board an airliner if you were a pilot to kill time, just wondered as i doubt you would be allowed with headset and what not.

[AlphaMale]

Remember, If you gear all your qualifications towards being a pilot and it doesn't work out you don't have that much to fall back onto.

I have a BSc in Multimedia and IT Studies and am a qualified web designer/developer. Not my dream job but it's ok (I hate 9-5 and being stuck in an office) but I could handle this for the next 5 years and the money is good (Contractors get paid up to £600 a day and average .net developers get paid £45k pa).

Not doing an 'A' level in Maths / Physics due to the fact you aren't good at them is telling me your ATPL 's are going to be a stuggle.

Doing 3 'A' levels in Media Studies, PE and Art isn't not going to do you many favours on your CV when trying to get a job with BA, Maths and Physics will do a whole lot more.

[Blinkz]

And what the hell is that question about pilots taking Ipods with them??? What do you think pilots do when flying?? Just sit back and enjoy the view??? :ugh::ugh:

[captain_rossco]

Josh,

A few chaps i know just grab a bid old JVC boombox, a couple of hosties from the back and have a right old knees up. Autopilot takes care of the rest right? Just so long as your alcohol consuption is less than 2 units, your laughing.
Enjoy it mate, once you have the job its a piece of piss, there's no ongoing training or anything, once you have your lisence, it all done on trust, if you tell them you can fly it, you can fly it, IPOD or otherwise.
Thats why the pay is usually reasonable, because the job requires little or no effort, doesn't it?

Regards and Goooooooooooooooooooooood Luck, not that you'll need it.

CR

[AlphaMale]

OK this thread is making me wonder if an old timer is winding us up?

Your grammer is bad which suggest your a numbers guy, you then tell us your not very good and maths and physics. So what are you good at?

Saving up to the £30k for your licence earning £15k pa is going to take some doing, and £30k will be the cheapest schools you can find and passing everything first time and doing your ATPL via distance leaning (teaching yourself). So you might want to budget for £45k+ ... If your wanting to train at OAT as you mentioned then budget more again.

And when you do get the job your wondering if you can stick your iPod on and listen to 'Rolling rolling' by Limp Bizkit?

:D ... Nice to see what my competition will be like come interview time.

[justjoshing]

:rolleyes:I thought you would rether become a sheep farmer in the hills of wales, living in a shed.


Nice to see what MY competion will be like:D:D:D:D

[snoopy1107]

CR- Brilliant

Why else do guys pay up to 100k to be be qualified, i heard that in the new 'pimped my ride' cabins theres a pilots lounge with fish tanks, 24 hour porterage, cigar cabnet and XBOX 360.

[AlphaMale]

I thought you would rether become a sheep farmer in the hills of wales, living in a shed.


Is that rather or rether? ... For an English guy your 1st language is very poor. Strange how my second language is better than your English.

Wales has a capital 'W' too.

Think you just cut the rest of your help supply off from this forum with your silly remarks too. :rolleyes:

I would wish you good luck and all that but I think you need something more like a miracle.

[snoopy1107]

Josh I see this isn't the first time you have been completely rude to people who were only trying to help:

"Thanks for your advice Topjetboy, i am actually so happy to find someone decent engouth to give me a reply to the question i actually asked, i will try searching google for some phycometric tests
To all the people that critizized my spelling, i hope this pleases you, i mean is this to your satisfaction, are you ok with this.I will now take every effort to ensure my spelling and grammar is completely correct.




Ps.
Go **** yourself altflaps."

This must be a wind up.

[AlphaMale]

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=284387

:rolleyes: ... Kids.

[clanger32]

Josh,

I'll try and help you once more (after several attempts on the Oxford Forum).

I'm going to try and keep this brief, so please understand I can't answer all points fully.

- You ask repeatedly about A levels. It should tell you something that EVERYONE is saying you need them. RE: Maths and Physics - personally I don't think it will hurt you long term if you don't have them, but that would be based on just not wanting to do them - not a lack of ability. If you just "can't" do maths/physics, you will probably struggle with the ATPLs.

- I'm not trying to bust your chops here, but as others have said, you do come across as *ahem* not fully mature yet. It really, truly, honestly will NOT harm your chances to wait another couple of years, get that life experience and KNOW this is what you want to do (IIRC you've only just got the pilot bug in the last 18 months?). Please, please, please bear in mind that in asking someone to let you fly an aircraft, you're asking them to let you be in control of $55-$65 MILLION dollars of aircraft, and having the lives of 100+ people in your hands. This is NOT something where immaturity will be tolerated. Likewise, you have to REALLY want to do this, not just decide that it's a really glamourous career that pays really well. It isn't. It's a lot better than some other careers, but you can earn more, more quickly, without incurring the training costs in other industries. One of the posters here mentioned I.T. ....that's my current field and I can tell you that it's true, it will take me several years of aviation to earn the same as I do now. Lose the idea that it's this great, glamourous job that pays brilliantly. If you still want to do it, then it's for you. If it's only the thought that you get women throwing themselves at you and that kind of thing...it's not.

- Modular Vs Integrated (sorry all!) It really is your choice. Mod is generally cheaper, but is probably a tougher route to take (have to study whilst doing a full time job, on your own [totally] when it comes to finding a job etc). I can't answer this for you, neither can any of the others here...in fact if you look around you'll find that this is endlessly debated. Look at both options, UNDERSTAND both options and choose which is best for you.

- Money. I think you're doing the right thing to try and save some cash before you start training....too many mortgage their parents house to the hilt and rush in. Every penny you save now and don't have to borrow really will pay itself back twofold. However, be realistic on your salary aims....I don't know what the going rates are now, but for reference, my first GRADUATE job paid £12.5 k (admittedly in 1996/7). As has been mentioned, even if you get £15k or more, you WILL struggle to save significantly on that....you're young - I can't imagine you're not going to want to go away with your mates, have a beer (or ten!) etc. you seem to be taking a very lackadaisical attitude to the money....sit down, work out what you need to live (so minus any rent you pay, food, car [or travelling to work] costs, holidays etc) and then you can see how much you need to save. PLEASE bear in mind that whilst some will tell you, that you can get the fATPL for about £30k modular, that is RARE...it seems that it will normally cost around £45-50k through this method with contingencies in place. Do a search here...last year a mod student broke down his route to fATPL through modular and from memory it cost him £55k?

In summary, you haven't done yourself any favours, either here, or on the OAT website as you seem to constantly ask the same questions in the hope that one person will give you the answer you want and you can then ignore all the other advice. Think of it this way - generally if 100 people tell you you're ill, it's time to see a doctor, even if you feel fine.
It's fair comment, you DO need to work on your English - it's a key critical part of the aviation world...how are you going to converse with the tower "alright ATC, this is me, innit. I wanna land"? It's also a fair comment that you need to read more - you frequently ask questions that have been done to death on the forums and frequently (thinking of the OAT forum in particular) where the answers are clearly on the main web page. This just shows you haven't read the information on what you seek to spend a huge sum of cash on....not very reassuring!

However, all of this represents things you can work on. If you want to. There is loads of good advice out there, but you do need look for it, understand it and use it for yourself....none of the rest of us can do that for you. I'm not gonna try and offer advice again, unless I see that you're looking for yourself, answering your own questions and forming new questions which perhaps are a little less obvious. Good luck!

[Mikehotel152]

I agree with Clanger :ok:

[FlyerPhilec]

Josh

You must realise that your comment about the Ipod is just ridiculous and highly offensive to those of us who have prepared for over 20 years to be in a position to afford this training. This is a forum for PROFESSIONAL pilot wannabes. :ugh:

Some people at your age carry the necessary maturity to make the direct leap into employment and some simply do not get it.

I am an old codger at 36 but I do have life experience, a business degree, a professional qualification, experience of running my own businesses and one of my main concerns is having to compete with younger pilots who will offer a lower risk potential for the airlines.

I know that you are not indicative of that group but it does give me a modicum of confidence.

Do your A-Levels, go to University (join the squadron), get a life then get a licence.

Forget about being a pilot for now, with your attitude you will not be able to hold down a job in Macdonalds. You will even have to seriously sort yourself out before you go on a university interview.

Oh...and stop wasting our time with these posts - it is infuriating for the rest of us saddos who religiously read every single post on PPRUNE.

Cheers


Phil

[justjoshing]

Are there any courses at uni where you can complete the ATPL ground school and maybe get a PPL?.

I am not doing maths and physics becuse i did not choose them.I am about GCSE C grade standard in both.


Regards Josh

[AlphaMale]

If you can't be bothered reading the thread you started like post #32 by Taildragger67 then you have no chance of getting an 'A' level in anything due to having to research the subject yourself.

Get your GCSE's and find a job in a company where you can start from the bottom and work your way up the ladder on merit. Become an office monkey for a corporate company, become a runner for the BBC, Join the Army as a front line soldier ... actually scrap the last one - I don't think they would trust you with a penknife never mind a rifle.

:*

[snoopy1107]

Josh,

Im not 100% sure but if your thinking about going to uni to do a course that involves ATPL, I would imagen as part of the entry requirements they will be looking for A level in at least one of maths or physics if not both. BUT again I don't know that for sure, it is perhaps something you should go and find out.

Snoopy

[world]

As far as i understood, IB is similar to A-level. Why is nobody recomending IB? At my ex school in foreign country there was only IB.

[clanger32]

World,
I think there's nothing wrong whatsoever with the IB. This too would be a fine choice (and perhaps more recognisable through Europe). However Josh is a UK student in a UK school (in as much as we are aware) and as such would probably go through the more usual route of taking GCSEs (at age 16) then A levels (18) before moving on to an undergraduate degree!

Anyway, I think the point is that you're clearly advocating continuation of study beyond 16 - which is what we were all saying anyway!:} this emoticon may also prove appropriate in this thread....http://smiley.onegreatguy.net/beatdeadhorse.gif

[Wodka]

Are you guys thick?

This is a wind-up... can't you tell? And your all suppose to be training to fly airliners.... worrying! :ugh:

[world]

Clenger32

I understood everything, but i was just curious is it better to do IB or A-level.....since i had an opportunity for IB... However, in my country everybody is doing something similar to your A-level...

Cheers

[Mikehotel152]

Ah Wodka, I wonder whether you're right...

Is he an uneducated and inarticulate boy who wants to be a pilot to live out his X-BOX 360 dreams, but is too naiive to realise that grade C at GCSE in Maths and Physics is evidence of a lack of aptitude for commercial flying?

Or is he an exceedingly clever young man, who will make it in this cut-throat industry, who is testing our sense of irony and sarcastic wit...a bit like Posh Spice and her implausible 'Documentary' (self-publicity) about arriving in LA?

Um....gee....I wonder....

:O