Starting as a pilot advice
 

Hello all, My name is Adam I currently work full time and am looking at taking my PPL with a view to then go on and complete my CPL, I have 5 GCSE's maths, english and science all A-C however I do not have any A levels at this time although if needed this is something i will be looking to do at some point in the future.

I love flying I used to be in the air cadets and took several lessons, I also completed a powered gliding scholarship and went solo within a matter of weeks.

My question is, once laying out thousands of pounds on licences am I likely to get a job in the industry? I'm not really looking at airliners not for a good few years anyway, and what do employers in the industry look for? a levels degrees or hours of flying?

Also looking around one thing that confuses me is a job that's advertised will say a minimum of 1500 hours + 500 hours on type for example 747, well how do I build up hours on a 747 in the first place if the people using them won't give me a job without experience, and it's not like i can just go out and pay to use a 747 for a few hours.

Its something I've always wanted to do ( becoming a pilot ) and I'd like to make the dream come true but I'm really looking for some advice from anyone with experience and that is willing to help, even if you can just tell me how you went about getting into the industry!

Ideally I'd like to fly learjets etc for private charter etc in the end but I need a helping hand to get started! As I dont know anyone in the industry I thought i'd ask on here!

If that is your dream go ahead and do it. Don't worry about 747's, 380's and the like, you won't be starting there. Your best bet would be instructing, by the time you have got a bit of experience under your belt the present depressed aviation market might have relaxed a little, eventualy you will get a break. Don't expect it to happen overnight and stick with it, its not easy but the rewards can be great and will make it all worthwhile.

Yup contacts are the key. I got a great job a couple of years ago. Within 6 months I had received 2 further job offers (that were never advertised).

Corporate is all about:

1) Can you get on with your colleagues
2) Can you get on with the punters.

Some quite amazing opportunities can arise once you are in, eg low hours onto something big eg GLEX.

There is real variety out there, from the truly awesome employers to the absolute rancid (and everything in between).