airline jobs

[greyb33]

this might be the wrong forum to post this in but i am currently at collage in my final year of a levels studying maths,physics and ict i hope to become i pilot its a life long ambition, but iam worried that if i jump in and do my commercial pilots license there will be a lack of jobs due to rise in fuel prices and lack of airlines and therefore a complete waste of time.

any advice you could give me would be greatly appriated

thanks

[IrishJetdriver]

Have a good read of the forums in pprune. We are heading for tough times in the job market however, as you have not started on the route yet, by the time you finish things may have improved.

May I also add (not trying to be pedantic) that spelling and sentence composition are really important. You'll get much better responses both from future employers and ppruners.

[preduk]

In all honesty... no one really knows, if anyone does know they are just guessing!

I believe we will stay at the same level we are at the now for a while (which isn't an easy job market) but I think most industries are struggling with jobs.

My opinion though, others thing the opposite.

[rons22]

airlines are definitely heading for really tough times but it won't be obvious until the end of summer as most of the passengers booked their holidays long time ago and hence the flights are still profitable.
Give it till october and you will be seeing many companies cutting costs through staff reduction etc etc.

Not a good time to be a pilot. Probably good to be debt collector at the moment.
Also look at the link below to see typical issues faced by airlines staff at times like this.


pilots (http://www.topix.com/forum/com/nwac/T1MAEHC4VM95R2P8M)

[cirruscrystal]

This subject is thrashed a number of times a week on here. If you are happy to go through the trauma of training to ATPL and not have a job at the end of it then go for it as you dont want regrets etc...

The stats as published recently are approx 6500 apps from qualified pilots for every job in UK.

My advice would be roughly to get your PPL and IMC, enjoy flying and up the training if and when things look better!

[tupues]

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/175/Licence%20and%20Rating%20Issues%202006%20-%202007.pdf

6500 aplications for each job? Where did that come from? Everyone that has had a CPL issued in the last 6 and a half years applies for each job? If Ryanair wanted 400 pilots for 2008 does that mean 2.6 million pilots applied? BA 100 pilots so 650000 that brings us up to 3.25 million. Now i'm probably the first one to moan about the state of jobs but really....
Have a little common sense mixed in with the hysteria!!!

[ads1963]

airline jobs
this might be the wrong forum to post this in but i am currently at collage in my final year of a levels studying maths,physics and ict i hope to become i pilot its a life long ambition, but iam worried that if i jump in and do my commercial pilots license there will be a lack of jobs due to rise in fuel prices and lack of airlines and therefore a complete waste of time.

any advice you could give me would be greatly appriated

thanks

If you are starting from ZERO it might be a very high gamble because of the present down-turn in the industry and the many pilots who used to fly older aircraft models will be up for looking for new jobs, too and you will compete with them.

So its your call if you wanna take that risk.

[Emmett01]

Good advice would be go do a degree and maybe by the end of the four years or so....the industry will have recovered... Just finished my degree... best years of ur life.......

My opinion tho... At least if you cnt get a job with an airline after ur ATPL training, u can get a job in the discipline of your degree...

Advice

[tupues]

Except your employer will say what have you been doing with the last 18months of your life and you say training to be a pilot. They say 'so why are you not employed as a pilot?' You say because you can't get a job. They say ' Do you want a pilot job'. You say 'Yes'. They say 'Pi** off'

[AceD3]

My advice greyb33 is "go for it!"

No one knows what will happen in two years time after you've finished your training should you choose to do it.

There is a lot of negativity, and a lot of wannabes on here - just takes guts and giving it all you've got until you've achieved your goal. You'll be in an airline should you want it bad enough.

[john.o.pilot]

just takes guts and giving it all you've got until you've achieved your goal


"giving it all" - you mean giving it all cash you earned in roughly one quarter of your life and spending another quarter of your life paying back the debts.
:eek:
yeah go for it :rolleyes:

[veetwo]

You've gotta be absolutely crazy to start training in the current environment. Especially if you plan to take out a big loan to cover it. I literally can't believe that the integrated schools are still filling their courses - is anyone actually watching the news?!

[john.o.pilot]

veetwo: they fill it with lost souls who live in dreamland, some of these people are so deluded and also misled by FTOs, its unbeliavable. :ugh:

[Shiver me timbers!]

Except your employer will say what have you been doing with the last 18months of your life and you say training to be a pilot. They say 'so why are you not employed as a pilot?' You say because you can't get a job. They say ' Do you want a pilot job'. You say 'Yes'. They say 'Pi** off'

Ha - this will be my exact problem when I have a year off / work part time to do the ATPL theory. "So, what have you been up to for the past 12 months since leaving company X?" Er... went travelling? :oh:

[preetham]

This is bad news. I will be joining the Flying School next year.
Only thing I can say is. "Hope for the best, plan for the worst".

Good Luck.

[tupues]

The problem with 'using a degree as a backup if you don't get a job straight away' is that a well paid job using your degree is going to be impossible to get because the employer will know you will jump ship as soon as a flying job comes along. Ergo the degree is worthless for that purpose as you will only be able to get a 'none degree' level temp job.

[Re-Heat]

agree with tupues, better to get plumber or track driver qualifications etc. Degree could sometimes, especially with smaller companies, work against you.
Absolutely disagree. While I agree with the argument that people who wish to totally avoid all debt and have no wish to devote time to academic studies should not do so, it is a complete fallacy to suggest that better prospects for the future could be gained through avoiding a degree and becoming a plumber or trucker.

So long as you do not announce your intention to jump ship to a prospective employer, you degree and interests will not count against you at any decent firm. If anyone suggests that a degree might count against you, the firm is not worth your time or the job is below your skill level.

If you want fulfilling work (aside from flying), that is not the same for 40 years, you need a degree. If you reasonably intelligent and want career prospects in a profession aside from flying, you need a degree.

Clearly this does not apply to everyone, and it is not meant to be a cheap shot at those who are content and good at jobs that do not require degrees, and who hold aspirations to fly.

However, I am not going to beat about the bush - the OP is clearly a clever and motivated young person - for his/her personality, advice from people to avoid univesity is unhelpful and should be ignored.

[Atlantis]

greyb33, airline present requirements bear no resemblance to future requirements. It's always been this way. I've seen it over the last 28 years. Go for it if you really want to fly for a living. If not, enjoy office or factory work (or whatever). However, there will be loads of pilot jobs in the foreseeable future. You have got to meet the standards though. And they are high in all areas.

[AceD3]

"giving it all" - you mean giving it all cash you earned in roughly one quarter of your life and spending another quarter of your life paying back the debts.
:eek:



john.o.pilot. sounds like a plan to me so yes, spend that cash! A career as a pilot is an investment. Some risks are worth it and I say greyb33 is an intelligent individual who should absolutely go for it regardless.:ok:

[john.o.pilot]

should absolutely go for it regardless
Thats summarised it all.

Ofcourse you say go for it as it isnt your cash and future we are talking about.

greyb33: stay at school, get some good qualifications and when the industry is predicted to grow, get pilot training. Hopefully, by then you will have a degree and quality job to pay for the flight training. :ok:

It is not only economical downturn, but the current situation is further aggravated by fuel crisis and airlines entirely depend on a strong economy and low fuel costs. Assess the situation in a years time again.