What courses do i need to take at college?

[daxrice]

am about to choose what college to move on to and what courses to take, i want to become a commercial airline pilot, my school hasnt been clear and the careers advisors i go to see but put me down and dont attually help, would just like to know what people with their license already choose when they were in my positions.
Many Thanks
Dax

[stevop21]

Hi,

A little searching around the forums never does you any harm.
There is a substantial thread here.
http://www.pprune.org/professional-pilot-training-includes-ground-studies/164926-education-what-levels-degree-if-any-apr-09-a.html

Maths and physics is considered to be important if you are taking A-Levels. The rest is up to you really. I don't believe the maths gets any more complex than GCSE level.

School careers advisors are useless when it comes to aviation and not worth turning up for the appointment as they know little about the industry.

Do some research, pprune is a good place to start! Check out modular vs. integrated training and see which one suits you better. Make sure you don't get tricked by flight school salesmen and as I have said do plenty of research. Check out schemes like the flybe part sponsorship and mentored schemes. Check out sponsorships like Atlantic Airlines, Etihad and Cathay Pacific. Ask questions if you aren't sure. Whenever you get the oppurtunity speak to pilots. They are usually happy to talk to you. I was at LHR the other day helping my Dad through the airport. I helped him check in and saw the Captain at the crew desk. I went over and introduced myself and he was happy to talk! It can be very easy to learn and research just by talking to flight crew. He was telling me about being a pilot at South African Airways and possible training in South Africa.

[future captain]

Do what you enjoy. I done some subjects at A Level which I did not enjoy and it reflected in the results, compared to those I did.

You're 15, get the secondary education, Maths, Sciences and English done with good passes and that will always benefit you.

If you enjoy Maths and Physics, and do well at the secondary level, then they're always useful :E (from a mentored/sponsored point of view any ways). I doubt the ground school ventures into the realms of partial differentiation though.

Good luck.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Loads of useful material from the Royal Aeronautical Society (http://www.raes.org.uk/cmspage.asp?cmsitemid=Careers_Downloads); in particular I recommend the brochure "So you want to be a pilot?",

G

[daxrice]

Thanks i have a clearer image now, but just one question, after college and university etc, where do i go from there, RAF?, or training with aviation centres, or would being sponsored by an airline be better?

[stevop21]

Thats entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong way. They is a big Intergrated Vs. Modular thread here with useful information. RAF would be a good idea as you get your flying payed for but now I believe the contracts are quite long (can someone confirm this?). Cathay and Etihad offer sponsorships. It is very tough to get in as you may expect.