Which Route? And How? A Level Student...

[VOZzer]

Hello all,

I appreciate this is probably thread #4723462374 on this topic but nonetheless I am in need of some serious answers. Please bare with me.

I am a UK student in my final year of A-Level exams looking for a career as a Pilot. I am taking Physics, Maths and Chemistry and am looking to get A*, A, A respectively.

However, I also hold a PPL and have almost achieved my IMC rating.

As far as I am aware, this rules me out of most airline integrated "sponsorship" schemes since I have more than 85 hours of flying experience.

However, I am also aware that the most favoured route for employment is the integrated route. As a result, I'd like to do the self-funded Integrated course at OAA to maximize my chance.

Again however, I may consider going to University to do an undergraduate Physics degree. By the point of completing this degree I would have probably amassed 200+ flight hours just from leisure flying in my spare time, which would make doing a "from scratch" integrated course quite silly.

As a result, I have considered the modular route. However, I keep hearing repeated stories over and over again that fresh modular pilots are unemployable. Indeed, apparently BA do not accept modular pilots.

So this is my dilemma. I want to do the APPFO course at OAA but am not sure it's best for me. Modular would be good but I am worried about the lack of employability.

I have attended many different airline career days, including several at OAA, and I keep coming away asking the same questions to myself in my head.

Any advice at all will be appreciated.

[VOZzer]

Thanks very much for your reply Slowbird.

I just have this niggling worry that Modular pilots are "unemployable". I really think this is beyond stupid and I am sure that there are modular pilots better trained the integrated, but it's just that everyone keeps throwing round the rumour that Modular is unemployable.

[Chris the Robot]

I'm going to stress here that I'm not a qualified pilot but I may have a few suggestions.

Whilst you have very strong grades, unless you have serious funding I and/or qualify for free uni in Scotland, I'd consider doing an apprenticeship/school leaver programme. That said, a good degree from a top-10 uni is no doubt worth a lot career-wise.

The best post-apprenticeship salary I've seen for a "normal" job is circa. £35k or so (without overtime), that was a manufacturing engineer for an aircraft engine manufacturer. Very difficult to get in but if you do you could be on that by the time you are 20 or 21, with no debt having also earned (albeit less) during your apprenticeship. I work in the financial services sector and many people at division-director level went into the company straight out of school and worked their way up.

Aviation-wise, if you have 85 hours and predict you will have 200 or so in the next couple of years you could try the West Atlantic scheme which is discussed in a thread in the Interviews & Jobs section. I think it might be closed for this year and I think you have to be 18 to apply.

I have heard of a couple of people getting on an airline scheme post-PPL. On The Air Show (BBC 1999) someone got into the (old) BA sponsored scheme with 150 hours on a PPL. You could go straight for the FPP when it next opens.

Slowbird13 has pointed out that the BA scheme won't take first job integrated unless they are FPP. Many of the supposed "integrated-only/integrated-preferred" airlines will put their "tagged" students first. A great deal of the non-"tagged" OAA students ended up at Ryanair (from the OAA employment statistics) which also take first job modular.

Talking about employment statistics, be careful. It has been mentioned elsewhere on this site that flight-school statistics which mention airlines who only take experienced pilots is a give-away that the school is potentially including experienced pilot movements from one airline to another in their figures.

Alternatively you could instructing (maybe part-time) whilst studying/doing another job. I believe it is difficult to get a job at the moment but I believe you can get paid to teach on a PPL with FI rating. It would I imagine exclude you from the airline schemes but many smaller airlines (turboprops) will take instructors who have also gained fATPL etc.

[thetimesreader84]

Sounds like you'd be a good candidate for...

West Atlantic Cadet Scheme » ProPilot - EASA ATPL Ground School (http://www.propilot.eu/your-career/west-atlantic-cadet-scheme)


Get a CV on file with them, ready for the next time it opens.

[Mickey Kaye]

"I just have this niggling worry that Modular pilots are "unemployable"

Utter :mad:

If you want to fly go and fly.

Save uni for the day you do lose your medical.