Merchant Navy or Sponsorship??

[Final Destination]

Hi Guys. This is my situation, I have been offered a place as a deck cadet with a well known shipping company. This course starts in september. The thing is if I accept this offer it means I have to train up for three years then I have to give another two years return service which would mean by this point I will be turning 27. My other option is to go out and wait until the big companies start offering pilot sponsorship in ???? amount of years. Any feedback or advice would be warmly welcome. Cheers FD :confused: :confused:
Sorry I forgot to add this bit: Once qualified the money is very good and I think I would be able to pay for my own pilot training in about ten years. However I really want to be a pilot but if I have to wait so be it.
As I said I would be greatful for any advice and/or other suggestions, Cheers FD

[Lucifer]

Depends what situation you are in: are you a graduate or not? What alternative experience do you have?

Met a few people who have been involved in shipping prior to flying, either as a job or family connections, and it certainly seems to be something that is an interesting alternative.

[Wedge]

The pilot market is so unpredictable post 9/11 it is impossible to know when significant sponsoring with recommence.

Go for the Merchant Navy and keep an eye on sponsorships, apply for them if and when they come up, then you can't lose anything!

[Final Destination]

Thanks guys for the replies. Unfortunatly I'm not a graduate however the course that i'm going to do will give me a degree in Nautical science.
Thanks again everyone, FD:D

[excrab]

Hello Final

Many years ago I was in the same situation as your self ( except the cadetship was as a radio officer in the days of morse code - god I feel old!).

But it can work well. I don't know what ships you'll be on, but I was deep sea on tankers and basically one six month trip paid for PPL, next paid for IMC, next for hours building, next for FIC (in the good old days before JAR/BCPL etc) - but you could come out of it in five or six years with a frozen ATPL and importantly no debts having had some extremely worthwhile life experiences along the way.

Your choice.....

[Pandora]

Hi Final,
long time, no see. If you have managed to secure a deck cadetship you must have done well in your exams, so - well done. My sister tried to get a deck cadetship on North Sea Ferries and they are as difficult to get into as flying cadetships. There must have been something about it that made you want to do it. Life often drags you off down a side road and you find you like it even better than you think - I was all set to be a vet until I got sidetracked. I would echo the advice which says you aren't going to see many flying jobs in the next few years, and life isn't one big race to see how fast you can get there. If you want to get into flying because of the big machines and seeing the world, then the Mercant Navy will certainly give you that. The only thing you won;t get are the views :D . The other thing is the world, and in particular, the aviation world has changed since Sept 11th. You will certainly get a much better social vibe on a ship than in a cockpit.

[Easy226]

I was reading about this in my careers book, next to a pilot and it said that you need perfect vision to pass the medical?? Also is there any websites to go on about this subject??

[jean-Luc RICARD]

congratulations for the sponsorship!!

It surely doesn't hurt these days to have another plan!!, i really agree with the previous postings, this will give you a chance to learn a very closely related activity and later on being able to combine both.
i would not hesitate to take this chance... you never know!!:)

Cheers and good luck to you!!

[Final Destination]

I love all you guys. Thanks for the great advice. My plan is now to be a master of the seas and a captain of the skies by the time i'm 40. HA- Maybe.
Cheers again, FD.:cool:

[XL5]

Went the Merchant Navy route myself, after 5 years with Shell Oil I walked away with a 2nd mates ticket and enough money (thanks in part to the tax advantages of being off-shore ) to pay for flight training. In retrospect it certainly proved the better option than that of sitting out a recession.

The MN isn't a bad job while you're young and without family obligations but the life style would be very difficult to put up with once the future wife and kids arrive on the scene. Suggest that you take the ATPL self study while at sea, when the time for the big push arrives it really does help you hit the ground running if the paperwork side is in the bag.

After experiencing both MN and airline life styles I can attest to the fact that there's little contest between which is the better. Using the MN as a means to an end is certainly a viable option with the only negative in your case being the two year commitment after training. Best of luck, you'll certainly not be the first ( nor even the second) to take this route.

[seadog]

I've just recently left the Merchant Navy after too many years, culminating in Captain with Stena Line on the infamous HSS.
I now fly for a well known big (regional) airline and after a year on turboprops I'm converting onto the 146.
My advise is to do the MN thing if you can't get airline sponsorship, but as the others have said , use the money and time to study for the ppl etc. You can't beat the experience of travelling the world on a ship and you will find that the academic side of things will be almost repeated in the ATPL's. The downside of the life at sea is that it takes a lot longer to get onto a big wage, and a Captain of a ship is on a lot less than the Captain of a long haul jet.
All in all, I don't regret having been at sea and I'm enjoying my second career unlike some of my friends who have another 20 years crossing the Irish Sea....

[g10]

my question is well off the topic.......

I was thinking about this MN option also.

My only problem is that i'm a crap swimmer - i can just about manage the 50m swimming requirement that BA stipulated for their CEP.

So how good does your swimming have to be? A friend of mine is doing a ocean mapping excercise in the North Sea and has had to learn how to escape a helicopter undewater. - I can barely hold my breath under water let alone keep my eyes open, so god knows how i'd escape a helicopter that's plunged into the sea!!!!

Does this all mean a life on the ocean is out of the question for me ????

Thanks for any info anyone can provide.

g10

[Tigerformation]

I know lots of pilots that hold initerest in the shipping business - many pilots I know are sailors in thier spare time. I would think that any career choice with regards to that line of work would be acceptable in any case.

You can always get into piloting at a later date or vice versa

Matt.

[XL5]

g10

I don't have wings, I can't fly, yet I'm a pilot. The MN will give you a boat (possibly a very, very big one ) to do your thing with. Now go figure.

[g10]

XL5

Thanks for your answer.

I know it sounded like a bit of a stupid question, but I was thinking more of the emergncy situations when you wouldn't be in the boat.

The submerged helicopter scenario is a bit extreme, but I thought these are the sort of procedures you would need to know how to cope with if you were to have a career on the seas. - but then again, i guess those people on pleasure cruises don't undergo this type of training before they embark on their journey.

Its a relief to know that my poor swimming ability will never be assessed if I was fortunate to get a place on a training scheme.

Thanks again

g10

[niknak]

When you do finally get around to flying, just remember that aeroplanes have a much tighter turning circle than boats, they stop/slow down quicker, and you don't have to tollerate the passengers at dinner each evening.:D
Best of luck.;)

[Final Destination]

Big Thanks to you all out there. Didn't know you all cared so much.
Cheers FD :D