Job or not..
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Job or not..
Hey, just asking for a few comments and advice on this.
Heres my situation.
I've just completed my first year of A-Levels, which are ICT and ICT double. Basically same lesson but i will get 2 seperate A-levels. I achieved the overall grade A for single and B for double. However I really want to get a job full time to start my flying training (part-time jobs are non existant near me
or i just cant find them) and i am getting really frustrated and losing the will to work at college.
I am unable to decide whether or not to quit college and take up a distance learning course and then get a full-time job which will pay just below £13,000 pa. Or stick with college and put off flight training for another year.
The full-time job i am looking at would overlap with 2 mornings at most per week of college which i asked the teacher if it would be ok to do so. The answer was no. Does anyone think that telling him i will be quitting if i cant have 2 mornings off will change his mind?
lol
Regards,
Gary
Heres my situation.
I've just completed my first year of A-Levels, which are ICT and ICT double. Basically same lesson but i will get 2 seperate A-levels. I achieved the overall grade A for single and B for double. However I really want to get a job full time to start my flying training (part-time jobs are non existant near me
or i just cant find them) and i am getting really frustrated and losing the will to work at college.I am unable to decide whether or not to quit college and take up a distance learning course and then get a full-time job which will pay just below £13,000 pa. Or stick with college and put off flight training for another year.
The full-time job i am looking at would overlap with 2 mornings at most per week of college which i asked the teacher if it would be ok to do so. The answer was no. Does anyone think that telling him i will be quitting if i cant have 2 mornings off will change his mind?
lolRegards,
Gary
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My advice, from someone old enough to be yer mother (and, ipso facto, probably what your mother would say!!), complete your college and A-levels. Jobs in aviation are tough and it will be to your advantage to have another career on which to fall back.
Since the difference between starting flying training at 17 and 18 is the square root of diddly-squat, it will not be a problem to wait a year.
Get your A-level passes under your belt and then decide about full-time flying training, distance learning and part-time job (or full-time job).
Learn from the mistakes of others as you will not live long enough to make them all yourself!!!
Cheers
Whirls
Since the difference between starting flying training at 17 and 18 is the square root of diddly-squat, it will not be a problem to wait a year.
Get your A-level passes under your belt and then decide about full-time flying training, distance learning and part-time job (or full-time job).
Learn from the mistakes of others as you will not live long enough to make them all yourself!!!
Cheers
Whirls
Indeed. I sometime advise that University can be a waste of time and money but I think it is very wise to get some decent A-levels on your CV. GCSE's are now featuring on some of the premium breakfast cereal packets but a few decent A-level A/B's will give someone confidence that you are employable.
Plus I have found that those under 20 struggle with ab initio training courses as they are just too young and immature to sustain the training discipline for 12 long months.
WWW
Plus I have found that those under 20 struggle with ab initio training courses as they are just too young and immature to sustain the training discipline for 12 long months.
WWW
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thanks for the replies.
I am not going to uni whatever you tell me lol. Im just too eager to start flying! I think I will stick with my A-Levels and keep searching for a part-time job now, atleast i might be able to afford some flying lessons
.
Gary
I am not going to uni whatever you tell me lol. Im just too eager to start flying! I think I will stick with my A-Levels and keep searching for a part-time job now, atleast i might be able to afford some flying lessons
.Gary
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Why would you want to quit when you only have one year left? I think its because you have, or are failing the course and are too lazy to put it right. A-levels are nothing compared to the real world and without them you might as well forget it. In this day and age where GCSE's used to be the standard, A-levels are and soon enough it will be standard to have a degree. Why would an airline employ you over a whole bunch of other low houred candidates with A-levels and degrees? Be honest with yourself, theres no way of getting around the problem other than take it on and finish the course! You have your whole life to get a job and earn money. £13k a year is pennies, it would take you a lifetime to save the required amount needed for flight training and with the constantly booming costs of training it would be a constant uphill battle!
Now why put yourself through all that when all you need to do is work hard for a few years of your life and get your a-levels?
Think about it!
Regards,
F153G
Now why put yourself through all that when all you need to do is work hard for a few years of your life and get your a-levels?
Think about it!
Regards,
F153G
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Nicely put Flaps, cant agree more.
Gary, as a local Widnes girl, give yourself a fall back option, a year in aviation training espcially when you are 17 is nothing. Stick with your 'A' Levels, get a full time job, work double overtime every day and use your savings to start a PPL course. I been there, ....and got the tea shirt.
When we get the bug to 'fly' it sort of dominates our lives, nothing else matters, you only want to fly.........does that make sense.
The training is one thing, but a full time basic PPL course, is about £5-8K, part time about £120 per hour, I suspect ditching your A levels will be the least of your problems.,
Keep some focus and think the whole process out.....start to finish.
Good Luck
Rosie
One Life...Live it
Gary, as a local Widnes girl, give yourself a fall back option, a year in aviation training espcially when you are 17 is nothing. Stick with your 'A' Levels, get a full time job, work double overtime every day and use your savings to start a PPL course. I been there, ....and got the tea shirt.
When we get the bug to 'fly' it sort of dominates our lives, nothing else matters, you only want to fly.........does that make sense.
The training is one thing, but a full time basic PPL course, is about £5-8K, part time about £120 per hour, I suspect ditching your A levels will be the least of your problems.,
Keep some focus and think the whole process out.....start to finish.
Good Luck
Rosie
One Life...Live it
Educated Hillbilly
Here are the two options,
If you don't want to finish alevels, then the best option is to go and get an apprenticeship as a plumber or an electrician, the earning potential will be quite good at the end of the apprenticeship. Also you will find that the earning at the end of the apprenticeship will be adequate enough to fund the traning.
It will give you a fall back career. You won't earn alot during the apprenticeship but you will be earning hence you can start funding the PPL.
University worked for me, but I didn't have to pay tuition fees (it is something some of the posters on here seem to forget). If you do consider university then essentially you need to aim for a job in the financial sector in London; such that your earnings will clear both student debts and raise the cash for flight training in a reasonable time span.
The majority of jobs you can get at 18 with just A levels won't be that much better paid than the jobs you could get at 16 with just GCSEs.
If you don't want to finish alevels, then the best option is to go and get an apprenticeship as a plumber or an electrician, the earning potential will be quite good at the end of the apprenticeship. Also you will find that the earning at the end of the apprenticeship will be adequate enough to fund the traning.
It will give you a fall back career. You won't earn alot during the apprenticeship but you will be earning hence you can start funding the PPL.
University worked for me, but I didn't have to pay tuition fees (it is something some of the posters on here seem to forget). If you do consider university then essentially you need to aim for a job in the financial sector in London; such that your earnings will clear both student debts and raise the cash for flight training in a reasonable time span.
The majority of jobs you can get at 18 with just A levels won't be that much better paid than the jobs you could get at 16 with just GCSEs.
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Have to say everyone here has given you sound advice bud! I felt the same as you, didn't do great with my a-levels and wanted to go straight into training. However similar advice from people here and around me persuaded me to go to uni. Now about to start the last year,don't know where the time has gone!!!! Had some great times, met great people, got hammered and most importantly matured and gained LIFE EXPERIENCE!!!!!!! In my opinion a degree is not so much about its relevance to your chosen career (what can i do with a geog degree?) but the experience it gives you! Don't waist oppertunities, it will only lead to regret, aviation will be here in 4 years time! Now its summer i work night shifts, its so quiet i spend all night reading pprune and brushing up on my maths and physics as well as saving toward my ppl. I am even considering sitting a-levels in maths and physics once i graduate whilst i work to save some of the money i need to achieve my goal. Every oppertunity taken is one less lost!
Last edited by Rubes; 5th Jul 2007 at 01:11. Reason: can't spell!
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thanks for the advice, F153G, i am not failing A-levels, im getting the highest in my class wihch is A B, soon to put the B to an A. I guess im just being too inpatient about this... I just want to fly now lol 
.
Ill finish my a-levels and try to find some part-time or night shift work. Hopefully i can afford a few lessons soon
.
Gary
. I guess im just being too inpatient about this... I just want to fly now lol .Ill finish my a-levels and try to find some part-time or night shift work. Hopefully i can afford a few lessons soon
.Gary
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well said rubes! uni is one experience that i'll look back on with great fondness for the rest of my days. 3 years of your life that go so quickly you graduate before you know it, and also, to be honest, the debt that most people talk about isn't as serious as some would have you believe. i came out with my student loan, which, on a 15k job that i was in for all of 5 months, was costing me £40 per month to pay off and to be honest isn't like any normal loan. it's tied in with your pay packet so you don't get a big cut from your wages (think about it - they want people to go to uni, not worry about how much money they've spent!), an maxed credit card that i payed off in 3 months and an overdraft that i had 3 years to pay off, which was under £2500 - that, when you're young and have no real outgoings assuming you spend some time back at home, is payed off with no difficulty. believe me, i've been there and payed it off!
if you can't wait to start flying, then haven't you thought about doing a PPL at the weekend or joining the UAS? you need all the life experience you can get once you get into the job market (in any field) to give yourself the best shot possible, uni helps those people who go there to mature and gain their independence, and gives you a wealth of life experience. don't forget if you want to get a ppl, then you'll be going modular most likely, so you'll need to get 150 hours before you can go for a cpl anyway, you can get that while you're at uni and get straight into it when you graduate.
aviation is a tough career involving a lot of self sacrifice, as we hear from anyone involved in it, so why not spend some time (when you can fly - personal experience tells me that you can time a PPL nicely with uni) enjoying yourself, going and living and fending for yourself for 3 years and being given the opportunity to experience new thing that you'll never be able to do again. spent 3 years as a Navy Reserve officer with 52 other students in the URNU, went away, got paid to visit new places, payed to go skiing for the weekend, played as much rugby and hickey as i could cope with, which isn't any different from UAS or OTC, there are masses of social groups at unis, DON'T sack it straight off as a waste of time. at least if you try it and then give up then you've at least tried it. what's the worst that can happen? you might enjoy it.
also, not wanting to sound harsh, but remembering what i was like at 17, what chance do you think an average 17 year old with a levels has at a job interview when they're up against someone with the same professional qualifications (ie ATPL) who is, say, 5 years older, having been to uni, worked for a while as well and has the extra life experience in general?
if, say, you happened to want to fly for an airline, a company wants you to move down to london to fly for them, then they'll be concerned that an 18 or 19 year old who's come straight from school and living at home will be able to cope with moving to somewhere new, living on their own for the first time, and having what is an extremely demanding job. and that's any job, not just aviation.
if you can't wait to start flying, then haven't you thought about doing a PPL at the weekend or joining the UAS? you need all the life experience you can get once you get into the job market (in any field) to give yourself the best shot possible, uni helps those people who go there to mature and gain their independence, and gives you a wealth of life experience. don't forget if you want to get a ppl, then you'll be going modular most likely, so you'll need to get 150 hours before you can go for a cpl anyway, you can get that while you're at uni and get straight into it when you graduate.
aviation is a tough career involving a lot of self sacrifice, as we hear from anyone involved in it, so why not spend some time (when you can fly - personal experience tells me that you can time a PPL nicely with uni) enjoying yourself, going and living and fending for yourself for 3 years and being given the opportunity to experience new thing that you'll never be able to do again. spent 3 years as a Navy Reserve officer with 52 other students in the URNU, went away, got paid to visit new places, payed to go skiing for the weekend, played as much rugby and hickey as i could cope with, which isn't any different from UAS or OTC, there are masses of social groups at unis, DON'T sack it straight off as a waste of time. at least if you try it and then give up then you've at least tried it. what's the worst that can happen? you might enjoy it.
also, not wanting to sound harsh, but remembering what i was like at 17, what chance do you think an average 17 year old with a levels has at a job interview when they're up against someone with the same professional qualifications (ie ATPL) who is, say, 5 years older, having been to uni, worked for a while as well and has the extra life experience in general?
if, say, you happened to want to fly for an airline, a company wants you to move down to london to fly for them, then they'll be concerned that an 18 or 19 year old who's come straight from school and living at home will be able to cope with moving to somewhere new, living on their own for the first time, and having what is an extremely demanding job. and that's any job, not just aviation.
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Garywoodrow..........
I would definately advise you to complete your A levels. I completely understand what you mean by 'you dont want to wait' as i have also experienced this. But dont let this make you make a hasty decision. Think about everything carefully.
There are many posts out there with regards to going to university or not.
You will learn alot from university and gain a valuable qualification and experiences. However university is not a must for a pilot.
You may find this post of interest to you in particular mikes very good response.
http://ask.oxfordaviation.net/viewto...ght=university
hope this helps
I would definately advise you to complete your A levels. I completely understand what you mean by 'you dont want to wait' as i have also experienced this. But dont let this make you make a hasty decision. Think about everything carefully.
There are many posts out there with regards to going to university or not.
You will learn alot from university and gain a valuable qualification and experiences. However university is not a must for a pilot.
You may find this post of interest to you in particular mikes very good response.
http://ask.oxfordaviation.net/viewto...ght=university
hope this helps
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thanks for the advice, F153G, i am not failing A-levels, im getting the highest in my class wihch is A B, soon to put the B to an A. I guess im just being too inpatient about this... I just want to fly now lol .
Ill finish my a-levels and try to find some part-time or night shift work. Hopefully i can afford a few lessons soon
. I guess im just being too inpatient about this... I just want to fly now lol .Ill finish my a-levels and try to find some part-time or night shift work. Hopefully i can afford a few lessons soon
!! Hope to see you in the near future.Regards,
F153G.
P.S Keep a wise head and don't allow the lazy folk to persuade you to take a ridiculous loan without the necessary backup required to pay it back!!! You will not get a job with a major UK airline without A-levels until you have copious amount of MCC hours!!!!! (You will with A-levels, trust me!! It's an easy option!!)
Good Luck!!
(Ill teach you all the A320 has to offer!!)
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Our first officers that we get through the CTC scheme dont get the best grades either, CC at A-level will be more than enough as long as you revise the companies partners and policies you will be fine!! Its the best and only way my friend (for a young cadet) and its an extremely attractive option open to you, work at it and you will get it! Trust me!!
Good luck
F153G.
Good luck
F153G.
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Ill finish my a-levels and try to find some part-time or night shift work. Hopefully i can afford a few lessons soon
A part-time job whilst doing A-levels could be say, a few evenings a week and a weekend day so, say, 16 hours at, say £6 per hour. That will just about cover 1 hour's flying so that's an hour a week and you won't be saving anything for a professional licence. This of course assumes that all your earnings go on flying and that you can travel to work for free(!), never socialise(!) and never need new clothes(!).
You shouldn't be taxed as a student so that will help.
Just bear in mind that promotion prospects for someone who is essentially unqualified are zero. You may get a job without A Levels but that job will never progress. In all honesty, you'll be lucky to get a job without a degree if you want it to pay enough to be able to save to fly!
The business for whom I work has just recruited for a trainee accountant; there were no specific academic requirements but the person who was taken on had a degree. One of the candidates was a young school leaver but it was felt he didn't yet have the maturity to be able to fit into the work environment easily.
You do need to consider
1) how are you going to fund your flying training and work out a budget.
2) how will you earn money if you cannot find flying work
Nobody but nobody on here has said that it's a good idea to give up your qualification - that really should be telling you something!
Cheers
Whirls
I wouldn't bother with university if you want to fly professionally. You will come out the other end at least £9k in debt with a diploma and picture of yourself in a stupid hat. Yes you have a laugh along the way cut at age 18 - 21 you'll have a laugh doing anything anywhere.
People say "do an apprenticeship" but they often do not realise how hard they are to come by. I used to run such a scheme and they are rare, take 3 and often four years and are usually tied to day-release ONC HNC NVQ4 college training. Its a lot of time and effort to get qualified in something you plan to abandon to go flying.
Now, what I would do is this. Go the local builder merchants and ask very nicely to put up a small card asking for Labouring work. Emphasise you are 18, fit, RELIABLE, looking for regular work for the next 3 years, RELIABLE, willing to do outdoor work, weekends, evenings and are RELIABLE.
Within a week you'll have paid work. Within a couple of weeks your reliability and hard work will have been noticed and a busy local contractor will have taken you on pretty much full time. With a few contacts you'll also have your pick of extra weekend and evening work.
All you'll need is 3 pairs of jeans, 6 workshirts and 1 pair of heavy boots totalling an investment of time and money of around 2 hours shopping and £50.
What you should get back is £500 a week. Some of it in cash.
Live at home, take butties to work. You'll become very fit, quite handy at DIY, learn some very rude words and jokes and if you save hard (avoid the pub after work) quite able to pay for a Modular ATPL course in three years time.
Its very very solid money and some of it tax free. If you can manage to save £15k a year for 3 years then (with some interest - use your ISA) you'll have £50k in the bank, no debts, some hefty biceps and be all ready and much more mature to handle and enjoy a Modular ATPL course.
All at the age of 21.
Three years of site work will have provided ample things to talk about in any interview compared to your rival whose main stories involve the Student Union Bar.
Good luck, you don't realise at your age the wonder of the scale of opportunity that lies at your feet.
WWW
People say "do an apprenticeship" but they often do not realise how hard they are to come by. I used to run such a scheme and they are rare, take 3 and often four years and are usually tied to day-release ONC HNC NVQ4 college training. Its a lot of time and effort to get qualified in something you plan to abandon to go flying.
Now, what I would do is this. Go the local builder merchants and ask very nicely to put up a small card asking for Labouring work. Emphasise you are 18, fit, RELIABLE, looking for regular work for the next 3 years, RELIABLE, willing to do outdoor work, weekends, evenings and are RELIABLE.
Within a week you'll have paid work. Within a couple of weeks your reliability and hard work will have been noticed and a busy local contractor will have taken you on pretty much full time. With a few contacts you'll also have your pick of extra weekend and evening work.
All you'll need is 3 pairs of jeans, 6 workshirts and 1 pair of heavy boots totalling an investment of time and money of around 2 hours shopping and £50.
What you should get back is £500 a week. Some of it in cash.
Live at home, take butties to work. You'll become very fit, quite handy at DIY, learn some very rude words and jokes and if you save hard (avoid the pub after work) quite able to pay for a Modular ATPL course in three years time.
Its very very solid money and some of it tax free. If you can manage to save £15k a year for 3 years then (with some interest - use your ISA) you'll have £50k in the bank, no debts, some hefty biceps and be all ready and much more mature to handle and enjoy a Modular ATPL course.
All at the age of 21.
Three years of site work will have provided ample things to talk about in any interview compared to your rival whose main stories involve the Student Union Bar.
Good luck, you don't realise at your age the wonder of the scale of opportunity that lies at your feet.
WWW
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Its very very solid money and some of it tax free
Cheers
Whirls
If you think the taxman is going to lift one little finger to look at a 19yr old labourers cash-in-hand activities then you are seriously mistaken.
He'll be getting more than his fair share in later years when you're a Captain - trust me!
WWW
He'll be getting more than his fair share in later years when you're a Captain - trust me!
WWW
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thanks for the advice WWW, 1 problem im not too fit at the moment, ive just joined the TA so it souldnt be a problem at 18 lol .
Another quick question is it right you have to be 21 to hold a fATPL? If so i guess it would make sense to start saving until then to lower the debt after training.
.Another quick question is it right you have to be 21 to hold a fATPL? If so i guess it would make sense to start saving until then to lower the debt after training.
PPRuNe Handmaiden
G'day Gary,
You need to be 21 to hold a full ATPL. You need to be 18 to hold a CPL. That's what you'll get first and when you have the hours and pass an ATPL LST you'll get the ATPL.
As others have said, get those A levels done and dusted. I wouldn't worry about uni, you can get a degree later if you want one. You don't need one in Britain to fly. You're much better off getting a job, the labouring one's not a bad idea. I think Monarch are opening up their apprenticeship scheme again.
Reason why? You'll be working along side adults who'll make you grow up. No uni antics for them. You'll learn team work and learn what it's like to have to work for a living. This will definitely make you appreciate the value of what you earn and what you can buy with that. Handouts don't teach any one that.
I worked at a uni for over 8 years. The mature ones were the ones that had worked before and weren't there for the social life and cheap beer.
good luck
You need to be 21 to hold a full ATPL. You need to be 18 to hold a CPL. That's what you'll get first and when you have the hours and pass an ATPL LST you'll get the ATPL.
As others have said, get those A levels done and dusted. I wouldn't worry about uni, you can get a degree later if you want one. You don't need one in Britain to fly. You're much better off getting a job, the labouring one's not a bad idea. I think Monarch are opening up their apprenticeship scheme again.
Reason why? You'll be working along side adults who'll make you grow up. No uni antics for them. You'll learn team work and learn what it's like to have to work for a living. This will definitely make you appreciate the value of what you earn and what you can buy with that. Handouts don't teach any one that.
I worked at a uni for over 8 years. The mature ones were the ones that had worked before and weren't there for the social life and cheap beer.
good luck