New career in aviation - likeliness and progression route
 

This is my first post on the forum after spending some time reviewing other threads on here that partially cover my questions I thought it'd be good to start a new thread covering both topics and to get current opinions (given the world is a volatile place and aviation industry seems to also be a highly volatile industry)

Essentially I'm 40, qualified professional in completely different field earning approx. £100K/pa, located in greater London between Heathrow and Gatwick, contemplating taking class 1 medical and if all ok completing the PPL with a view to progressing from there to fATPL via modular route if the new found passion for aviation is retained.

My questions are; should I progress to CPL level, how probable is it that I'll be able to land a job with an airline as FO relatively quickly given the ongoing market conditions, my age & location and career history....etc and secondly, if you were to estimate remuneration for the first role what would be a reasonable estimate?

I'd also like to understand from the first role, what does progression typically look like - sequence of job roles, time in each role and rough remuneration - all averages as i know it's variable

Get the class one medical first, then you'll get all the advice you need.

Yes fair comment, seems like that is the sensible thing to do, do you know if it's possible to get one done at a cheaper location (like Romania) and use it here in UK?

I'd say if you're looking to get a medical done on the cheap - you wont look forward to the further costs that come down the line.

look forward to them? Absolutely not lol but tolerate them for the greater good yes absolutely! For the medical though I understand it's a procedure that takes approx half a working day and costs about £1K where I am so if location doesn't make any difference then I'd prefer to use the £1K on the medical whilst also getting a long weekend somewhere new as well 😀

Does Romania have AMEs that are UK CAA recognised? No more EASA for UK passport folks (there are exceptions etc).
First pay? It depends on the job. If you can't live on £20-25K for 3-5 years after qualifiying then you can't afford to do the licence. (Worst case scenario). Depending on the job market, you may have to return to your current job to keep food on the table. If you have an instrument rating, then the debate is, do I keep it current (expensive) or do I let it lapse and get it back when things pick up?

What will the market do in 3-5 years time? Very difficult to forecast but with the bunfight in the Middle East not appearing to slow down, I would be on the cautious side.

But first, get that Class 1 medical done before spending a fortune.

Not possible. If you look at the UK CAA website, all Class 1 initial medicals are done at a small handful of aeromedical centres within the UK. There are no overseas centres providing Class 1 initials for the UK.

Thank you, i'll try to get my class 1 secured then proceed to PPL lessons :)

Would fractional ownership of an aircraft likely be the smartest/cheapest way of building hours?

Also assuming I am successful in making a career as an airline pilot, is it generally considerably harder to secure a position doing LH instead of SH as either FO or captain? Do many pilots get a mixture of both SH or LH or do you typically get bucketed as one or the other?

It depends on the airline and the type you fly. Virgin is LH only, Ryanair is short haul only, BA does both. There are exceptions but generally bigger types can go further, and once you're more than about 5 hours from base then you're generally staying in a hotel. For a first jet job most people go short haul on the smaller types (A320/B737) because there are so many of them. Some companies do take cadets in the 777 etc starting a cruise relief pilots but generally LH flying tends to be a second or third job. You don't get a lot of landings doing LH.