How did you fund your training?

[FlyVeryHigh-]

Hi all. I thought it might be useful - seeing as the biggest passenger to the right hand seat is funding - to have a thread on how others funded their training.

I think it would be useful so that there was one place people could go to see how others did it and what method of training they undertook (i.e modular/integrated/integrated with airline backing).

So, how did you fund your training (BBVA/inheritance/savings etc)? Did you complete modular training? Were you integrated? What year and/or month did you undertake/or complete training?

[Jaair]

Currently training, modular - funding half through savings and other half through loan.

[FlyVeryHigh-]

Thanks for the responses so far!

[ComeFlyWithB]

Sold my car for initial Amount of money for ppl and bought a cheap run around, borrowed the rest from my parents and paying back whilst working. This way just enabled me continuity with training rather than work - save - fly - repeat.
Hours, ATPL, Medical, CPL-ME-IR will all be paid for from savings / work over the next couple of years

[plasmarb]

Can you do the ATPL while still working?

[Jaair]

Yes, a lot of people have done it that exact way through distance learning schools.

[RAFAT]

Savings for me.

I got my PPL at age 17 and then plodded along gaining hours until I'd accrued enough money and hours to do a BCPL to CPL/IR Upgrade course. From BCPL to Frozen ATPL cost me about £35,000 in total in the mid-90s, that includes everything: travelling, hotels, CAA costs, etc.

No bank of Mum & Dad here, and thankfully no debts.

[Tinstaafl]

More responses from the same question asked previously: https://www.pprune.org/questions/45915-what-did-you-do-before-becoming-pilot-pay.html

[Martin_123]

modular, started in 2014, finished couple of months ago. Savings and work all the way, sometimes taking overtime, no loans, no bank of mammy and daddy. Will begin a bonded TR in a decent airline next month, super chuffed!

[FlyVeryHigh-]

Fantastic to hear not everyone pays out the massive amount of money some of the bigger flight schools are looking with positive results - without risking of getting on to another subject entirely, the modular route is looking more and more promising.

[alexandrantonia]

Worked three jobs and crazy hours before leaving for flight school. I'd say I've saved up for flight school since my first paycheck at 14. I was only able to get a small loan, since my parents had just split up and were trying to sell the house we had planned to use as collateral for my loan.

I'd say that I valued the education more since I worked so hard to get there. We had some kids there who didn't really want to be pilots, but their rich parents thought it would be a good idea. We also get study grants and small low-interest loans through the government, which helped a great deal.

A year and a half since I finished with everything and I still don't haven't found a flying job. What I have managed to do is pay off my flight school loans, so at least that's something!

[clamchowder]

I would wager that half, if not a majority of cadets joining airlines on jets will be from an integrated route that costs big bucks and, in the majority of cases, are bank of mum and dad funded.

[SSDK]

Saved up some of it to be accepted by the bank to take up a loan. No help from family etc. Ended up with a 9+ percent interest in my bank post financial crisis. Managed to finish the loan in 9 years. 11 years ahead of the projected time.

I am utterly surprised as to how many of my colleagues managed to get a "loan" from family or just directly got everything paid for from day 1. I would say 80% of the people I fly with who have less than 2K hours on type has been fortunate enough to escape any sort of bank loan. I must admit that I sometimes envy them, as many of them are financially just as well off as I am even though they are almost 10 years younger than I am. But hey. Good for them!

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

I worked for 4 years flat out and saved up the cash and went through the modular route, this was all back in 1997. I am so glad I did it, its the best job in the world if you are motivated and passionate about flying.

[Jaair]

Just curious - did you guys even self fund the TR?

[rudestuff]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Martin Lewis method..

[Northern Monkey]

Funded mine through BBVA, finished in 2007, integrated and luckily for me straight into an A320 with the type rating paid for, because thats just the way it was pre-financial crisis.

I realised at the time how lucky I'd been but in hindsight I realise I was ridiculously lucky.

Quite how people are meant to find the money now BBVA have exited the market for pilot loans is beyond me. Fair play to anyone out there who is working overtime to get the money together by any means possible.

[FlyVeryHigh-]

Interesting read. The reason that prompted me asking the question was looking at the likes of L3 and on linkedin and seeing just how many people were having to pay out huge amounts of money - and the question to me was "how can these people afford it?".

Of course, there are lots of people from different financial backgrounds but the figures involved for integrated training and then a TR on top are mind boggling.

After coming very close, TWICE, for a fully-sponsored cadetship (10 points for anyone who can guess which one...) and ultimately being unsuccessful has led me down the route of saving to go modular, putting away £1000 a month from my wages. It'll take me a while saving, but a good route in nonetheless.

[BobsCousin]

Held out for a long time and finally managed to get sponsorship with an international airline, they give a training allowance during the MPL course and I repay once flying for them. Really is the most fair method but unfortunately nothing of the sort around anymore!

[Chris the Robot]

I came close to getting a fully funded cadet programme myself, few and far between these days. Thankfully my current role has allowed me to save a bit and that's something I'd like to continue into the future.

I'm guessing that a couple of the recent posters' favourite colour is green...

If I could start again at 18, assuming no fully sponsored programmes were available I'd go straight for one of the better apprenticeships, though I imagine the military is also an option for some. Both are a good way of saving dosh and the latter is a bit longer-term with some serious life experience on offer.

[maximus610]

Went modular, self-funded (had 2-3 jobs to pay costs involved), hence, took me 5 years from 0 to hero.

The only money I borrowed (privately) was for FI course.

After instructing for 2 years, finally got an RHS airline job in a TP.

Content with the path I followed? Yes, definitely!

[ilvaporista]

I find reading some tales of funding (I just tripped over £120k, re-mortgaged the parent’s house, had it lying behind the sofa, just put my hand out and asked etc.) quite depressing reading and I bet is off putting to many of more mortal means.
Here is a tale of everyday folk and how as a family we funded a modular course.
We are a normal family, no big salary, no deep savings pot and little in the way of assets, Our house has a normal mortgage, very little equity and we can afford few luxuries. A bank would view us as a poor risk for a loan.

Our eldest son from 8 years old has wanted to be a pilot, dreamed of nothing else and studied everything aeronautical. At that age the only sort of flying possible was in the virtual world and so started years of flight simulation, including building cockpits from scratch using reclaimed materials. This even went up to a full size cabin of a 737, which was later sold on to fund part of the ATPL course fee.

Every penny of birthday and Christmas money from aged 12 (he requested strictly no presents, cash only) and odd job money was put away and by 16 he had 1200 euros saved.

All through the flight sim years he kept networking and went to the World Air Games here in Turin, even winning a medal in the Virtual World Air Games and was interviewed on TV.

Through continual networking and searching he found 6 scholarships offered for 12 hours of flying and PPL theory, the competition and selection was intense and quite stressful for a 15 year old (and not much different for the parents either!). On receiving the call that he had been selected he ran outside and yelled at the top of his voice, the next-door neighbour’s dog dropped dead on the spot of a heart attack!

At 16, started with PPL and continued over the next 2 ½ years flying whenever he had money saved up and we could chip in with the odd hour here and there. The total PPL cost was 8800 Euros of which 2200 was the scholarship. So we had to find about 3k per year through economies, no family holiday abroad, shopping at discount stores and eating out limited to very special occasions only. Difficult but not impossible.

Hour building was a mixture. Some hours in Italy as and when we could scrape together enough for an hour here and there. About 1400 Euros whilst still in high school.

Then in South Africa including a bush pilot course. Total 8k Euros funded by part time work and a small legacy from his grandfather.

2 years of ATPL in Luton cost £6k all in, living in a dirty room in a shared house and maximum economy with one trip back home in that time, at the end to save further money has was sleeping on floors at friend’s houses, budget was £35/week total. Transport was by foot and at the end a £35 bike.

In between all of this a GA spares website was set up and through a lot of hard work and networking things started to move. The last 30 hours were done in Romania at a cost of around 4k Euros including flights and living, funded from part time work and web site earnings.

The biggest lump was the NVFR, MEIR and CPL at Bartolini. Around 21.5k Euros for course, living and flights. That was by far the biggest chunk to find. The second car was sold (nothing extravagant a Ford Fiesta) and a relative passed us a crash damaged 8 year old Renault Megane for nothing. I managed to patch that up to keep going for three years. I sold a number of items that I had built over the years and my collection of model railway items went as well. This plus the funds from the car, part time work, website earnings and further economies we just scraped through.

Unable to fund a type rating our son (now 24) is working in ground operations for a freight operator, using his salary to gain a flight instructor rating and flying hours to keep current, looking and hoping for the next lucky break.

I know that some will read this and say lucky b*gg*r has the bank of mum and dad. It’s been a struggle for us all but with team work and determination anything is possible.

[FlyVeryHigh-]

Really enlightening to read - I wish your son all the best!

[PA28161]

I don't think there is any such thing as luck. Your son was fortunate that you, his parents, loved and cared enough for him in that a very big sacrifice was made by you and to some part himself, to fund his dream. He's still got a long way to go and regardless of what people will tell you, airline pilot jobs are still very difficult to get for ab intio's. Direct entry is another matter but still not that easy. I wish you and your son all the very best in his endeavours
and not to give up on his dream. It will happen one day, he's still pretty young.

[SSDK]

Really great to hear that you could do all this as a family "ilvaporista". I certainly wish my parents had gone "all in" like that too. I also started early. I must have logget thousands of hours in flight sims, spent hundreds of Euros on RC planes and even more as a gliderpilot. (also funded by myself from I was 15). Although I had no money handed to me directly from my parents, I had their full support and I remember my dad driving me 45km each way for years to and from the gliding club before I had my drivers license. I have also more than once had to ask for money for food back when I worked for the harpe many years ago in the beginning! I am truly grateful that they chose to kindle my interest of flying from day 1.

I think your son has the drive to become an excellent pilot from what you describe, and with that level of commitment I think he is pretty likely to succeed.

With regards to the lucky cadets who have had everything funded by mom and dad, I did notice quite a difference in the level of commitment back when I was working as a FI. The guys who had to go the extra mile themselves did tend to be more hard working, dedicated and succesfull - Even though the natural abilities was lower in some cases.

[Northern Monkey]

I must say your son is MOST lucky to have parents who are so supportive and are willing to sacrifice so much to make his dream come true. I hope it does eventually.

All I would say is that it shouldn't be THAT hard. It speaks volumes about the state of the airline industry that families should have to sell cars and give up family holidays to allow their children to chase the dream. I'm assuming your son is an only child since I'm not sure I could justify robbing one child of their holiday to allow the other one to go flying! Quite a conundrum if you have more than one....

I hope he thinks the job is worth it when he finally gets there. Having been flying for 10 years now, for me it is definitely a JOB first - a means of paying the mortgage and feeding the kids. I suppose while I have huge admiration for your commitment there's something about your story which just rings a few alarm bells for me. I have a question mark over whether the reality of the job is really worth the level of sacrifice you describe. Particularly when you look at some of the increasingly depressing employment models and practices used by some airlines.

In any event I wish your son the very best for the future.

[ilvaporista]

Before I get reported to the European Court of Human rights for child depravation I should add that our three boys are treated equally. They had equal shares from their late grandfather, number one added it to his wages from part time work and went to South Africa for hour building, number two is using it to have fun, part fund his degree and has bought a small car. Number three has it saved and will decide when he leaves High School.
Our major holidays for five years were only within car driving range and ultra cheap B&B/camping, as opposed to before when we took flights abroad, hired a car and stayed in hotels. Luckily living in Italy we have plenty of choices of nearby destinations.
My wife probably suffered the most giving up her starts first time, almost new car for a multi coloured, not so reliable aged piece of junk. I never managed to get round to re-spraying the bonnet so it remained a different colour, though was easy to spot in the car park!
It was a bit of a wrench to part with my live steam models which I had built since a teenager but as I built them before I can do so again, something for my retirement years.
I do agree that outsourcing training costs on to the student is morally questionable but as we all clamour for cheaper flights a way has to be found to pay for that. So it is passed on to the one that can protest all they like but has no real impact on the airlines, no licence, no job. Supply and demand in a booming (training) market leads to that. The blunt fact is that until now people have been prepared to pay these high sums.
I merely presented this an alternative to those who maybe have the chance to do what we did. I accept that not everyone has that possibility and aviation is incredibly cruel, basically if you have no money or resources your chances in civil aviation are very slim.
In summary it was our determination to do as much as we could and not to fund bank's profit margins by using loans. Mission accomplished. Since April last year we have a qualified, debt-free son, earning his own way, saving monthly, flying for fun and building for his future with FI rating. The next steps are up to him.
PS Last summer holiday we lived it up, flew to Sweden, toured all round and stayed in decent hotels.

[FlyVeryHigh-]

Thank you for sharing! My family are in a similar position. I was the youngest of 4; and although knowing from a very young age what I wanted to do, my parents still weren't in any sort of position to help me much. From the age of 16 i paid for my own food + school uniform etc form part-time work. Loans for us were also out of the question, parents got a mortgage late and they did so through co-ownership. Even though at the age of 16/17 it had never crossed my mind that they could help financially, as I suppose I always knew they couldn't! Now my parents are in their mid-60's and my mums still putting in the hours at Tesco because she has no other choice. She always maintains that if she ever came into money that my flying would be the first thing on her list, so they'd help out if they could.

Knowing i've always wanted to fly though, and always knowing I couldn't access the funds has actually worked out well in a roundabout sort of way. Forced me to work harder and i've ended up with a BEng degree, MSc Degree from one of the best UK universities for Engineering. I've worked in some cool places, seen some amazing things, travelled the world, made some great friends and lived all over the UK. I earn good money, I've a good career, I'm able to save... and i'm able to help my parents out. Its actually worked out a-okay and i'm still working towards my flying - although i'll probably be in my 30s as opposed to my 20s when it happens!

[PA28161]

Very commendable and I'm glad to see you got a degree(s). Whatever anyone tells you education is the best investment in life you can make.

[RedMachine]

Modular student here. Started last year, almost got my PPL and will continue on.
Funding by gradually putting away money each month and spending it on flight training. As far as I've calculated, it will probably take me 3-4 years to finish everything - at least I won't have any loans to pay after. Of course I might get a loan when paying the TR - depends how fast I'll get a job offer but that is faaaar into the future thinking.

Have a good one and good luck !

[MaverickPrime]

My lady grew up a literal shack in SE Asia, her family struggled to put food on the table on some occasions and she swam in the gutter with her siblings for fun. She and the siblings are now University educated, with well paid jobs in various 1st world countries due to the hard work and and unbelievable sacrifice of their parents despite how little they had.

ilvaporista and his son are an example of what real life is like for the majority of the worlds population. However, we in this country are spoilt and expect everything to be handed over to us with minimal effort. The middle class parents in UK, who themselves are fortunate to own houses that are warm and dry with clean running water, are just as deluded as their pilot wannabe children when they remortgage their house for £120k and hand it over to L3 et al.

Moan and groan about greedy airlines all you like that are not willing to foot training costs or the greedy FTOs. There will always be fat cats at the top no matter what we try to do to eliminate them. However, despite the sharks, you really can achieve anything you want in life with real hard work, intuition and dedication.

[TRENT210]

I funded mine through working 3 jobs / 60 - 80 hour weeks from 18-25 years old (only 2 jobs from 16-18 while I was at college)
From getting my PPL at 18 it took another 5 years to finish through the modular route.

To me the funding part was the easiest. My full time job was working in recruitment and the other 2 jobs were working for 2 well known fast food chains on minimum wage for the other 20-40 hours a week which meant I cleared about £2k a month take home pay.

I funded it in 2 parts: £35k from my wages through the PPL, Hour building, ATPL ground school and into the CPL and a £25k bank loan to get me through the rest of the CPL/ME/IR/MCC which I easily paid off in 3 years (Around £770 per month repayments)

If you’re like I was: young, living with parents, kids free and mortgage free then there is no excuse why it can’t be done.
I get a lot of ground / ops staff saying that I’m sooooo lucky to be a pilot and moaning that they can’t pay for their training but they’re happy to lease that brand new Audi or get that fancy city centre apartment. They nearly choke on the suggestion of getting a second job which is quite easy for a lot of them working 4 on 4 off shifts.

Am I jealous or people who’s parents paid for their training or earned sponsorship ? Absolutely not, I enjoyed my path to the flight deck even it it did mean delivering take away to extremely rough council estates and turning up to all my friends 18th/21st birthdays sticking of fast food !

The poor determined working class violin I can play also helped at my interview. The pilots were actually impressed to see a CV full of work instead of just pilot training and some “Aviation consultancy” which everyone knows is code for “couldn’t be arsed getting a job while I waited around for my shot at the flight deck”

If you really want it and don’t have the funds already you’ve got to go out and earn it!

[Tobias0501]

I come from abit of a tricky background and struggling to see how to fund the training. I work in a small shop on an okay salary, but have weekly rotas, so working 2 jobs is nearly impossible, and with that there isn’t a huge amount of part time work in my area to be able to go too.

My parents split, and cost a fortune to my dad, which is who I live with. And barely have a connection to my mum these days (not that she could fund it).

I have to pay a subsantial amount of rent due to my dad being retired, this means that what i can save monthly is very very little (sub £500).

Being a pilot has been my dream ever since a young lad, and as time progresses, I feel less and less likely that my dream could come true..

If BBVA were still around with the loans, i’d probably be on flight training right now. But because of the sheer lack of funding available it’s not an option.

(Not looking for sympathy, more advice if you were in my situation!)

[TRENT210]

I come from abit of a tricky background and struggling to see how to fund the training. I work in a small shop on an okay salary, but have weekly rotas, so working 2 jobs is nearly impossible, and with that there isn’t a huge amount of part time work in my area to be able to go too.

My parents split, and cost a fortune to my dad, which is who I live with. And barely have a connection to my mum these days (not that she could fund it).

I have to pay a subsantial amount of rent due to my dad being retired, this means that what i can save monthly is very very little (sub £500).

Being a pilot has been my dream ever since a young lad, and as time progresses, I feel less and less likely that my dream could come true..

If BBVA were still around with the loans, i’d probably be on flight training right now. But because of the sheer lack of funding available it’s not an option.

(Not looking for sympathy, more advice if you were in my situation!)



Unless you’re already working crazy hours there’s usually time to squeeze in a few more if you find the right employer.

I highly recommend fast food delivery jobs (Dominoes, Pizza Hut etc) or bar / restaurant work. These jobs usually suit part time hours where the nature of the industry means they can’t offer full time hours. Where I worked around 50% of the staff were working there as a second job to top up their income for mortgages, holidays etc.

To give you an idea of what I worked...

Monday - Friday 09:00 - 17:00 - Office job
3-4 weekday evenings 17:15 - 23:00 - Delivery Driver (I’d also work Sunday 2-3 weekends a month)
Friday & Saturday Night I worked in a restaurant kitchen.

If you’re shop job roster is restricting you might want to consider looking for something else with more a more stable roster. Whether you like the job or not. Do you want to be still working there in 5 years or flying ?

[Tobias0501]

I guess i’ll have to chuck it in. I’m not fussed about changing my current job, it’s just nice knowing i’ve got x amount coming in every month. It’s a pain to be honest, I get the rota every wednesday for the following week, and shifts can be 8-4/9-5/10-6 and can run over pretty much all the time.

Living in a rural area there isn’t a huge amount of other jobs that are local, but i guess i’ll have to find something.

Would just be nice if there was an option like a student loan to be able to do it!

[Chris the Robot]

I guess i’ll have to chuck it in. I’m not fussed about changing my current job, it’s just nice knowing i’ve got x amount coming in every month. It’s a pain to be honest, I get the rota every wednesday for the following week, and shifts can be 8-4/9-5/10-6 and can run over pretty much all the time.

Living in a rural area there isn’t a huge amount of other jobs that are local, but i guess i’ll have to find something.

Would just be nice if there was an option like a student loan to be able to do it!


A sector where money is typically good straight off the bat is the railway. Plenty of overtime opportunities too and if you live in London in particular, lots of job opportunities too. I've listed some examples below with typical basic gross salaries:

Gateline (working the ticket gates): £15-20k
Platform/Dispatch: £23-30k
Ticket Office: £25-£35k
Guard £18-£25k (trainee), £28-32k (qualified)
Driver £24-£32k (trainee), £45-69k (qualified)
Signaller £24k-ish (Grade 1) to £45k+ (Grade 9), training salary is one grade below qualified salary in role applied for, so you can be a trainee on £40k from day one.

All of these you can apply for "off the street", though for Ticket Office or Guard you'll need cash-handling experience and for Guard, Driver or Signaller, you'll need to have some safety-critical experience (either through a hobby or through employment). Overtime can be good for boosting income (I don't do any myself), I've heard of platform staff grossing over £40k and drivers grossing over £100k, though don't rely on it. Also, bear in mind drivers (at least) have a long notice period, typically three months though some companies insist on six, you may have to lay back some training costs if you leave early, otherwise all training is paid for by the company.

I'm a driver and deciding to leave for a flying career would be a difficult decision to take, very unlikely I'd want to take the plunge without a flying job lined up.

Of course, there's other well-paid careers like the Merchant Navy, or accountancy (school-leaver trainee). You could also look at flying scholarships or sponsored schemes (rare as hen's teeth these days).

[Tobias0501]

Although the salary can be attractive, it’s not the reason I want to do it! It’s been a dream as a child and I love flying and a job where you’re flying all the time, travelling to different places, on a big jet would be awesome! It’s just the getting there to be qualified and in a job!

i’m keeping my eye out for sponsorships ect, but considering doing a ppl for now to give me a head start!

[Chris the Robot]

Although the salary can be attractive, it’s not the reason I want to do it! It’s been a dream as a child and I love flying and a job where you’re flying all the time, travelling to different places, on a big jet would be awesome! It’s just the getting there to be qualified and in a job!

i’m keeping my eye out for sponsorships ect, but considering doing a ppl for now to give me a head start!

I wasn't necessarily implying that money is one of the best things about an aviation career, I wouldn't know since I'm still saving up myself. However, the unfortunate reality is that, with the exception of a couple of mentored/sponsored programs, you'll need to be able to fund your training. I'd say you'd want to be saving at least £1k per month, even then it'll take you a couple of years before you can realistically start. Some people take out unsecured loans to cover part of the training, though I'd say there is a risk to that. Basically, you're going to need a good job to fund your training, the railway is one of the career options I'd recommend for that, it also helps that in itself it is a relatively fun place to be and will offer some great examples for interview questions.

[thisishomebrand]

If you want to go integrated then sure you can save up a load of money to pay for things upfront, but you can also work while learning to fly (although challenging if you have multiple jobs and lots of hours). I am currently working full time while part-time learning to fly as I couldn't fund it any other way and I can't see myself doing this (or any) office job forever. It works because you can manage the amount of flying you are doing based on the current state of your income. I would also look at 0% interest credit cards as a way to manage cashflow as these can work out better than a loan.