Reality check

[NickFinch]

Hello there,

Perhaps other pprune users will be able to answer some of the following questions. They are questions that are currently at the forefront of my mind, and I would have thought that they may occur to other wannabes too!

I am currently holding my own career reality check and am seriously considering swapping my desk for a career in aviation. The major dislike that I have in my current job (and one that I had not envisaged would be a problem for me until I actually did it for a year!) is that I am away from home all week every week. I am happy to be away for, say, two-three day periods, and I am very keen to travel - but in reality would this expectation be realistic of being a short/medium haul pilot? I guess what I am really asking is, can I expect to get home to see family and friends for more days/nights in a week than I am away, even as a junior S/O or F/O?

Another aspect of flying that I am considering is becoming a Flying Instructor. I believe that this could be a career well suited to my strenghts (I love flying and enjoy working with others, and also have immensely enjoyed what limited (academic) teaching experience I have had). A route into this type of flying would presumably be cheaper (??) as there would be no need for the completion of the ATPL (??), and therefore more accessible than the highly competitive airline sponsorship market? But would anyone recommend instructing over airline flying? Or should an instructor have the experience of airline flying first (which would in all honesty make sense to me)?

Perhaps I should add at this point - I have no real flying experience to speak of. Perhaps up to 10 hours informal dual instruction (from my days in the cadets and UAS as a Rock Ape and not a pilot!). However, the flying bug has bitten me once again!...

I apologise for making this post sound as if it focuses entirely on myself - I hope that there may be other wannabes out there who may have similar feelings/misgivings, and that any info shared would be a help to all!

Cheers for now!

[FlyingForFun]

Nick,

Can't comment on how long short-haul pilots are away from home for, although there are plenty of people around here who will know.

As for instructing, there would be no problem with becoming a "career instructor" - many people have done this. Most instructors do not have any airline experience. In fact, many instructors are building hours so that they can move on to the airlines once they've got the necessary number of hours.

At the moment, getting any flying job is difficult, even instructing - many pilots who lost their jobs over the last year or so are turning to instructing to make a bit of money. But things are improving - see the many other threads on this forum to catch up on the ongoing debate.

Apart from that, the main issue with instructing, especially career-instructing, is that there's not much money in it. You won't be making much more than minimum wage, and you'll be working long hours, especially in the summer. Personally, though, I think it would be a great way of making a living, as long as you didn't mind the low wages!

The first thing you should aim to do is get a PPL. You can do this in your spare time, without quitting your current job. By the time you've got a private license, you'll know whether flying is something you really want to pursue.

You'll also have enough knowledge by the time you complete your PPL to decide whether to get an ATPL or not. Most people seem to think it's best to do the ATPL exams even if you only want to get into instructing, the reason being that if you change your mind later on, you can complete the ATPL without too much hassle, whereas if you'd started with just the CPL exams you'd have to do a whole load more exams to get an IR and continue with your ATPL.

Good luck!

FFF
-------------

[NickFinch]

Thanks FFF!

I had originally thought that doing a PPL first would be the best idea (that way shows commitment - personal and financial - and also guages ability for future employment). It's just that I've suddenly got all excited about flying and want to do it! Plus, having seen the requirements for the Britannia sponsorship (i.e. 0-30 hours) I had the half-baked idea that a PPL would even be a hinderance to airline sponsorship!

However, I think you are right. Leaving my current jub in current market conditions would be rash - so I will now definitely think about going ahead with the PPL.

Thanks once again!

Nick

[Broken Wings]

Nick - I too fully endorse what FFF is saying. Keep your job until you are certain the direction you want to go. Agree too with the ATPL exams and even if you don't end up going down that route they will have done you no harm for the FI career. Keep scanning the forum; there are some dreadful posts sometimes but in the midst are ones like FFF's with great advice based on hard won experience. Best of luck for the future.

[Send Clowns]

While declaring an interest (I work for a Flight Training Organisation, as a groundschool instructor) I would like to answer those of your questions I am able to.

There are a few jobs at the moment, but the forecast is for a shortage of pilots in 2004 (a realistic finish date if you start training now for a frozen ATPL). I can't tell you an awful lot about junior short-haul pilots, though my landlord is a short-haul captain and is home most evenings.

On the instructor side - it will cost you a little less to achieve, but not much, and probably in the end more. You will need a CPL and a FI(R) (Flight Instructor's Rating) at first, but will later want an IR anyway. The FI(R) costs around £5,500, and the IR brings you up to frozen ATPL level anyway. However an FI(R) is a good sideline for a later career, which is why I am doing mine now.

Instructing PPL is low-paid. However after some time you may be able to improve your ratings and instruct CPL and IR. The best jobs go only to those who have had at least some commercial flying or a military background, but it is possible to be a career instructor.

However look for a good school - I have been warned that there are a lot of badly-trained instructors around, so if your school does not have a good reputation you may struggle to find a job.

If you have any further questions about your options, feel free to email me. I will give you as impartial advice as I can, though obviously as an employee of one school I cannot give unbiased advice on all aspects.

N.B. - If you want to know what a good idea this career change can be, ask FFF whom he took redundancy from, and when :D