Wannabe Cadet

[rolling stop]

Hi Everyone,

As a 26 year old Australian citizen hoping to be accepted into an airline cadetship, does anyone have any advice on which airlines/regions I am eligible for and should pursue or avoid? As I am not in the industry I am not exactly sure of the current conditions at the different airlines and which would be good to target.

I was originally going to apply to everywhere and anywhere that had an opening but I don't have enough savings to pay for a $100,000+ cadetship up front, does this just limit me to Australian programs eligible for FEE-HELP or programs paid by the airline with an employment bond?
I also presume as an Aus citizen I would not be eligible for european or american programs as I don't have unlimited working/living rights there, is this correct?

Apologies if this is in the wrong section or has been asked before, please let me know if so and I will move it/find the existing thread.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated, thanks very much.

[FLGOFF]

Basically all the major operators have a cadetship of some sort barring Tiger. Have a look through their websites. There's the Qantas Group Pilot Academy starting up, the Jetstar Cadetship run through Swinburne and CAE Oxford, Virgin at FTA and Rex via their AAPA in Wagga. Rex would typically be the last resort. Most other 'cadetships' for smaller operations are entirely self funded.

You can check a few international programs, Cathay's used to be very popular however is now only open to HKID holders and has been for quite some time. The American operators, Skywest etc are taking qualified pilots via the US E3 Visa so that is not an option.

Singapore Airlines have opened up applications for cadetships and claim to allow applications from worldwide, however I've heard this is severely biased towards Malaysian and Indian nationals.

Send in the applications and see how you go. It's a very competitive industry and the road to an airline career can often be an arduous and costly one. Don't be afraid to learn the traditional way at an independent flight school, it's not uncommon for these cadetships to end in tears and broken promises. All the best.

[A37575]

Don't be afraid to learn the traditional way at an independent flight school,
Excellent advice. Avoid racking up huge loans that inevitably will come back to bite you. With an independent flight school you pay for each flight one at a time and that way keep track of your finances. If after a few hours you decide it is not for you then simply walk away without further debt.

[josephfeatherweight]

And, kudos to you rolling stop for being a “26 year old Australian citizen” who can string a coherent sentence together with correct spelling and all! You’ll do better than most aspiring wannabes who post here! Good luck, FLGOFF’s summary is sound...

[Sparrows.]

The only bit of advice FLGOFF missed is apply for all of the cadetships.

Don’t just pursue one because that’s the airline you want to work for. Apply for all of them, because odds are you won’t get into every Cadetship you apply for. If you get multiple offers at the end of your applications, that’s when you can decide what Cadetship is the best for you.

[dr dre]

Excellent advice. Avoid racking up huge loans that inevitably will come back to bite you. With an independent flight school you pay for each flight one at a time and that way keep track of your finances. If after a few hours you decide it is not for you then simply walk away without further debt.

It would be prudent for anyone thinking of doing a cadetship to take some lessons prior to joining one as it will give you an idea of whether you’ll like it or not. But if you count up the cost of gaining a CPL, IR at an independent flight school plus all the theory training it can cost nearly as much as achieving it all via a cadetship. Plus the cadetship will be financially much better in the long run. Apply for all
you can first, and then I’d pursue an independent training path afterwards if you aren’t successful with the cadetships.

[4Greens]

Make sure you have a thorough medical preferably with a Doctor who does such a thing. Check with the CAA.

[markfelt]

Don't be afraid to learn the traditional way at an independent flight school,


I appreciate your question was asking about airline cadet ships however, another traditional path is via the RAAF. If your end game is to fly for the airlines, this provides another pathway to get there.

[dr dre]

another traditional path is via the RAAF. If your end game is to fly for the airlines, this provides another pathway to get there.

Contrary to popular belief that’s not a guaranteed path into a major airline, as a lot of RAAF pilots have been discovering recently. If the ultimate goal is to become an airline pilot, as the OP has stated is their goal, then they’re far better off applying to a cadet program.

[Seagull201]

Hi Everyone,

As a 26 year old Australian citizen hoping to be accepted into an airline cadetship, does anyone have any advice on which airlines/regions I am eligible for and should pursue or avoid? As I am not in the industry I am not exactly sure of the current conditions at the different airlines and which would be good to target.

I was originally going to apply to everywhere and anywhere that had an opening but I don't have enough savings to pay for a $100,000+ cadetship up front, does this just limit me to Australian programs eligible for FEE-HELP or programs paid by the airline with an employment bond?
I also presume as an Aus citizen I would not be eligible for european or american programs as I don't have unlimited working/living rights there, is this correct?

Apologies if this is in the wrong section or has been asked before, please let me know if so and I will move it/find the existing thread.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated, thanks very much.

Rolling Stop,

Your best bet is to apply for REX, but be aware, you will get a Maths and Physics test, as part of the selection process.

The other cadetship's and Airforce, will give you similar tests.

If you have been out of the education scene for a long time, you're better off, paying for your training as you go.
It might take you 3 to 5 years (part time) to get to CPL/IR/Flight Instructor Rating, but you will eventually get there.
Expect to spend about 150K, with ATPL theory exams completed.

If you want to do it, then make a start, there's no point in talking about it, behind a keyboard.

Just be aware, this game, costs a lot of money, and there's no guarantee of a job, but you will eventually get something,
as long as you stay in the race and there's no medical issues along the way.

All the best.