Well here we go.....

[belongins]

Hi everyone - awesome forum BTW :)

I have a question regarding finance

I ahve searched long and hard and found some really great threads but i still ahve this remianing question so here goes.

I am a research physicist working for a global defence company. I clear around £1800 pcm.

However I have always loved flying and actually flew solo in a motor glider with the ATC. Somewhere i have become 'side tracked!'

No matter i am back on path now and have embarked on a life and career changing experience courtesy of CTC. I have just paid £175 for phase II.

I understand that students get the ~60k bond via a bank loan but how do people 'finance' the rest. I mean you cant just take out £1800pcm from the fmaily coffers and not notice it right?

I believe that my wife and I will 'miss' my lovely £1800 pcm for around 2 years. Apart from being made redundant I dont see how this is possible.

Please can people let me know how they have managed it.

All the best
Barry

[ix_touring]

Slight side track but isn't 34 too old for CTC? (are you on a sponsered route or self funded/mod type route)?

iX

[Kerosine]

34 isn't too old for CTC, no. One my stage 2 there was some in there early/mid 30s. Can't remember their age exactly.

Maybe your best bet is to live like a bit of a hermit whilst your doing the assessments Lol, that rings true for me. Made only one social event in the month prior to S2 :D

[Kerosine]

Can always party with you guys over in Hamilton

Sounds like a plan!

By the way, change your location DJ! I'm sure you're a nice guy deep down ;)

[poss]

You can also take a personal loan ontop of upto 10k to help with living costs.
"(Arrogant Cuntox apparently)" Anyone with a point of view on this forum is likely to get called something similar to this :p.

[belongins]

Well i dont know how i am going to do it but do i will:)

Wife standby for hardship - can someone else tell her for me:)

I have phase 2 on the 4th June.

This is all i have ever wanted to do so we will just muddle through somehow. I am soo peeved that i have become side tracked and lost 7 years in a career that has been interesting but ultimately NOT want i wanted to do. I joined this company to 'stay close' to aviation. I joined hoping for a career in aircraft test and evaluation - they said they would give me a job but in RADAR and RF instead hehehehe.

Oh well at least i can still fundamentally have a career as a pilot:)

All the best

Barry

[belongins]

Indeed
only if work would make me redundant too then all my dreams would come true:)

I wonder how many of us older cadets are waiting in the pool though?
I read somewhere that the airlines dont tend to pick the older ones?

Is this true?

[nich-av]

I would say: prepare for misery.
You should not only be thinking of how you're supposed to survive over the next 2 years, but you should also consider how much would be left of you salary when you start repaying your loan.

At age 34 you should know that life is not about dreams rather about working hard to achieve preset goals.

This is what I would do if I were you:

Continue earning 1800£ per month, go modular and put aside at least 1000£ per month for training, ask your wife for support on the living expenses.
Fly during weekends, go to evening PPL ground school, do the distance learning. Become an FI in 3 years time, teach during weekend and other spare time. Board a cockpit job 48 months from now and start the good life without debts. Your wife is more likely to support you in this scenario.

Anyway I wish you good luck further in the "selections".

[Desk-pilot]

First good luck and congratulations on following your dream. Check back for some of my posts on the subject but basically I managed to get £30000 severence from my employer which paid the mortgage for 2 years and my wife carried on working to cover the rest of the bills. At the time I earned around £2450 a month after tax.

I borrowed £53000 from a Professional Studies loan at HSBC and a further £8000 Career development loan which just about covered the Oxford APP costs.

I ended up selling an endowment I had on the house for £10 000 when funds ran low and trimmed our expenses to as low as possible, indeed I commuted from Chertsey Surrey to OATS daily (60 miles each way) in a diesel in order to avoid having a second set of asccomodation.

In the end it took a lot longer to find a job than I expected so I borrowed £15000 from the bank which they thought was for a car but in fact paid the mortgage a bit longer!! Major stress I can tell you - especially when I started having to pay £700 a month back to HSBC!!

Eventually went back to IT as a freelance for 18 months (remortgaged to consolidate all loans over 25 years) and then got a job with Flybe.

Absolutely love it, currently take home about £1800 a month but about to rise to just over £2000 as I have been there a year. It was worth every penny I can tell you... I wouldn't go back into the old office job for £100 000 a year (which is about what I was earning when I was consulting for those 18 months!)

I surprised a few people giving such lucrative work up to take up a position on £24000 a year I can tell you!

Do go for your dream, money is no substiture, and I'm 39 years old now and have been surprised how many of the Captains I fly with in Flybe only started later in life. One was a TV repair man for 20 years and is now a training Captain earning £75000 ish!

Anyway it will be very very hard on you and your wife but stay strong, believe in what you are doing and don't look back on what you're giving up - think of what you're gaining.

Very best of luck,

Desk-pilot

[shaun ryder]

Hi belongins. I would suggest reading the previous posters input very carefully. Look at those figures that were quoted, do you really fancy that? Its enough to send a shiver down your spine. What about your wife? I feel sorry for her.

Please do not forget, that after the honeymoon period wears off, usually 12 to 18 months. You will start to hate paying all those consolidated debts back (will this include a type rating I wonder). You will start to moan about the Ts & Cs and management etc. Flying will become very routine (its a job dont forget), you will want to start looking for a new job that pays you a proper salary. Your experience levels will still be small in comparison with your age, so moving on and up may not be as easy as expected. You will probably be bonded aswell. This is all pending you getting the job!

Have you thought about how you will be able to improve you and your wifes lifestyle in the future if you undertake this mammoth task?

Money is everything and the grass will always be greener elsewhere, full stop! (My view from the other side of the fence).

[belongins]

Wow two very contrasting posts but both equally as helpful as the other - it sure is a difficult descision but this IS all i have wanted to do.

As I have said I have somehow become distratced fro the last 7 years chasing my current career.

My wife and i have talked long and hard about it and we will tread very carefully.

Anyway i amy fail selection yet:)


Thanks for all your help guys



Ps. I forgot to mention there may be a baby thrown into the equation too! - gulp - we dont do things by half :)

[Kerosine]

shaun ryder
Look at those figures that were quoted, do you really fancy that? Its enough to send a shiver down your spine.
Ridiculous statement to make. Completely subjective.
What about your wife? I feel sorry for her. :mad:
You will start to hate paying all those consolidated debts back (will this include a type rating I wonder).
YOU hate paying the debt. For most (anyone who has a house at least) repaying debt is run of the millYou will start to moan about the Ts & Cs and management etc.Does everyone moan about this at some point in all kind of jobs? Your experience levels will still be small in comparison with your ageThis the case with ALL pilots? Anything to back that up? Maybe just you?
Money is everything and the grass will always be greener elsewhere, full stop! (My view from the other side of the fence).


What a cheery bloke you are, a disillusioned miserable pilot that feels it is absolutely necessary to put off wannabes. Informative posts about declining standards in working conditions, T&C's, job satisfaction, management and the such, are useful and eye opening; what isn't useful is a generic 'it's a crap job' post.


Oh and one final thing, money is absolutely necessary, but definitely not 'everything' :ugh:

[nich-av]

Oh and one final thing, money is absolutely necessary, but definitely not 'everything'


Perhaps not when you're 20 and single with mom, dad & grandma to back you up, but when you're 34 and married with a kid, things are different.

Ridiculous statement to make. Completely subjective.

Why would you need to attack people like that?
The statement is not ridiculous at all and reflects the reality behind the dream.

[shaun ryder]

Great post. :D

Come the day when you flee the nest and drop your mothers apron strings, some of these issues may start to make sense to you. Until then, if you cannot understand grown up conversation....


Completely subjective? What are you talking about kerosine? No, I think you might find that debt is real.

Wives Do you have one? I think not, therefore we will leave that one as you will not understand.

My Debt? Sorry to disappoint you, but I only have the mortgage on the house to pay.

Ts&Cs etc, ok I will give you that one.

Ever heard of experience commensurate with age? You are right, not the case with all pilots, only the old inexperienced ones.

And finally, I never said it was crap, its just like anything else in the end, you go to work and you get paid.

[belongins]

Gentlemen, gentlemen

I think that it IS important to address these issues and I agree unless these issues are part of you life you can't really comment.

Niether of us know the others domestic situation and perhaps via typing posts on a fourm (as with emails) the message sometimes can be misrepresented/misunderstood.

Without intonation and facial expressions (as we normally communicate) we are communicating in the dark :)

BTW
The wife is very excited and happy about our potential change - thank God :)

[shaun ryder]

belongins I am happy for you mate, if the wife is excited too then great. I just wanted to put it to you, as I am around the same age as you are and imagined myself in a similair position.

Good luck old chap.

[IrishJetdriver]

Sounds so familiar. Was working in London until age 34, then with 6 week old baby, mortgage and a wife I jacked it all in and did the training. Did the old self improver route and then took 2 years to get a job. However, I did get in with Flybe (old Jersey European) and flew the Dash and the 146 eventaully getting LHS 146. I have now been at Ryanair LHS 737 for 1 year and still love it. Salary went from 22k to 77k since 2001, which I reckon isn't a bad result. I remember my first day of line training flying out of Gatwick to Belfast and I could actually see my old office in London where I had been held prisoner 3 months earlier. You can't describe the elation I felt! Still love it. The route is not easy and can be frustrating and even depressing.......but one day you'll look out of the window and see your aircraft shadow on the clouds below......a dark shape with a rainbow around the nose and a contrail streaming out behind......and you'll know that it was all worth it.

Best of luck.

[belongins]

Irish -
Awesome so reassuring to know that others have gone before and been successful.

We have no kids and we still rent (bloody housing market:))
So all in all this is a good time to do it - now or never we say (and yes i do mean we as in the wife adn i:))

Cheers all
Barry

Ps Shaun ...not THE Shaun Ryder? Surely not i cant imagine anyone would let him at the controls hahaha :)

[XXPLOD]

This is a really good thread. I very much welcome the mixed views, I think it's important to hear the views of the 'miserable old sods' who urge a little caution, as well as the very encouraging threads.

Personally, these threads have helped me make a choice. Sadly I don't think I'll go through all the training for that first job. I'm a police officer, currently earn c£50K and have a final salary pension of 2/3 of my pay to retire on aged about 51. The pay cut (far more than the training cost) plus the pension isssues, make the leap financial suicide. My wife and I have worked really hard to live in a very nice property and enjoy a nice lifestyle.

However, I have a PPL with 130 hours. I know of one retired officer, who achieved his fATPL as he retired aged 50 (damned handy, that fat commutation cheque!) and how has a second career flying a BN Islander.

I'm aiming to obtain a CPL over the next 18 months (D/L groundschool with CATS & a CPL/ME course maybe 2009/10). Who knows, in 15 years, hopefully I'll start a post, "You're never too old!"

Best wishes to all.

[belongins]

XXPLOD
Wowaweewha 50k in the force - jeeze thats doing well son:)

Your plan sounds fine to me - i cant wait that long though and I am guessing my lifestyle isnt quite as lux as yours and so a little easier to give up - in the short term of course:) Mind you Malvern life is pretty damn lush:)

Best of luck

Barry