Me, Pilot, Please. [Archive]

Shorty92

15th Sep 2010, 21:55

Hey, basically my dream since a young boy has been to be a Pilot. I no youve heard a lot of that but i need some advice on what to do, reading the other forums me and my Dad have come to the conclusion that I personally am ready to take the next step and so i went and passed the assesment and medical in a couple of days, but where to go now?

Ive got my place at Cabair if I want it, doing the integrated course that takes you through 18 months of flight school, and i know they make it seem all shiny and nice but we all no its hard work. The only problem is im getting mixed signals about the modular course, or the integrated course and how much doing different things could change my future career?

Also starting now in 2010, and hopefully finishing in late 2011 early 2012 should throw out of training at the right time? Obviously this is a risk but is it worth the 70,000? (Obviously I think it is but at the same time i need to think realistically) Of course im 18 and doing this course should leave me with a frozen ATPL by the time im 20, does this leave me in a good place, or too will i be too young to start my career?

I no all these questions will just leave opinionated answers and hopefully some opinions will help my Dad and I to make the correct investment in the near future. Be it the long way round or the short way round

Jake

Bealzebub

16th Sep 2010, 00:46

Hello Jake,

I suspect I have already provided my own viewpoint in another thread. (http://www.pprune.org/professional-pilot-training-includes-ground-studies/426877-help-son-wants-pilot.html)

I appreciate the prospect is very exciting but the realities are a lot more mundane. To that end and on the premise that £70,000 is a lot of money for either you or your parents to invest, it is something that should be studied long and hard before you arrive at any decision.

You need to ask yourself what it is that you consider your goal? How do you intend to achieve that goal? What contingency planning do you have in place if things don't work out as planned? What are your resources? How do you intend to use those resources effectively?

To be honest I think you should already be in a position to answer questions concerning age long before you consider parting with £70,000. Why do you think (if indeed you do) that airlines would be particularly interested in you or anybody else either now or in 2012 with a basic licence and 200 odd hours? There are currently thousands of people with similar low experience looking for any work they can find. There are people with thousands of hours of airline jet experience looking for work, years after having been made redundant. There are highly experienced pilots working abroad, some of whom would jump at the first opportunity of a suitable opening in their home market. In expanding aviation markets (and other industries) such as China and India there is significant demand for experienced personell, however these two examples have no shortage of people as a resource, and finding inexperienced people to train is something they are both doing and have no external need for.

In recent years people have completed training and found nothing waiting at the end of that training other than (if they are lucky) their old job, or another job that helps them to pay some of the bills. Even the lucky or clever ones have discovered that their expensively acquired licenses are a perishable commodity with no intrinsic value. Those licenses and ratings need expensive annual renewals. Those renewals involve tests that in turn require practice and currency. How much needs to budgeted for that? How much will that be if it extends over 2 years, three years, or longer? Can you borrow another £10,000 in 2 years time for additional ratings? Can you borrow another £30,000 for a type rating if it is needed to give you a fighting chance on the next rung of the slippery ladder?

Spend that £70,000 on a car now and in two years time and it will probably be worth around £45,000 if you are lucky. That money spent on a licence will intrinsically be worth nothing! It is simply a tool to be utilised on the road to something else. Yet I can guess your parents would not be considering lending you £70,00 for a car.

Does your choice of school have any tie ups with commercial airlines? Does the school offer any sort of placement or assistance service? Is the school used by airlines as a part of their cadet programmes? Have you applied for a chance on one of those rare programmes. Does that matter to you? Do you simply want a licence to embark on a structured career plan that involves becoming a flying instructor or some other branch of aerial work? What are vacancies like in those markets? Does the renumeration offered even begin to satisfy your loan repayment schedules? If not how would you supplement your income? Have you considerd modular training as a cheaper alternative if this is a methodology you would be happy to utilise? Would the savings give you the buffer you might need later?

Again, without repeating what I have already said in another thread, this is a lot of money for most people. It is my considered belief that any parent who lends this sum for this purpose, does so in the expectation that they will to a greater or lesser degree be writing it off. How do you feel about that? How do your parents feel about that? Investments are usually made where the degree of potential reward is in some proportion to the degree of risk. That is not the case here. The risk is huge, and even if it pays off the rewards are very moderate indeed. No sensible advisor would tell anybody to treat this as an investment. It is a gamble. However when it comes to parents and their offspring we often make wild gambles and prefer to use the term investment so that we can sleep at night. Nevertheless you should not delude yourself.

Could things be better in 2012? Yes they could. In fact we all hope they will be. However even with an astonishing turnaround in fortunes, the opportunities for low experienced pilots will be no better in reality than they ever have been. If you are relying on a miracle you will likely be very disappointed. If you have the drive, determination, planning and sufficient resources to see you through the hard times then you stand a much better chance.

It may not be as encouraging and glamourous as the stuff you want to hear, but it is the way it is. If you decide you are going to do it, then arm yourself well because in all probability you will need to.

It is not easy is it!

Finally, communication is a vital key component in this industry so (because it is driving me mad,) write one hundred times, "I know." ;)