Yet again, a wannabe needs advice, college/flight training
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Yet again, a wannabe needs advice, college/flight training
Hi all,
I’m in a difficult situation: I’m 21 years old and graduate (if all goes well) in juni 2011 as Bachelor in aviation engineering (theoretical part66 B1/B2) in Belgium. My dream has always been to fly as an airline pilot, as many here. I’ve been reading this forum for almost 2 years, and because of this I started to hesitate. In fact it’s depressing, but realistic what I read here. For the last year I constantly changed my mind about what I’m going to do. Every 2-3 weeks it changes. There are 2 options: work as a technician with an airline and while doing this take modular flight training. All well, but I’m afraid that I’ll be very disappointed if I don’t find a job as pilot within 2 years, and would regret not having studied another 2 years. I know some people who have graduated from flight schools and have been without a job as pilot for 2-3 years. On the other hand, if I study another 2 years in college I get my Master degree, also in engineering. After that I’m 23 years old and can start working in the aviation industry (and other industries too). But what I’m afraid of then is the costs of flight training. If I look at only the last 5 years the prices for training have gone up a lot.
I also started thinking about taking my PPL lessons while still in college, but I simply can’t afford it with the jobs I have as a student.
The last 2 weeks I’m tending more to do the extra 2 years. But after those 2 years I still want to realize what I want to do. Sure engineering is interesting and can be a very nice job. But flying gives me a great feeling I can’t describe. As I can’t afford my PPL, would it be wise to start gliding again (have already some expierence, but stopped…).? I really loved doing that
It might sound as another wannabe again, but I’m someone who wants to earn the money first, and then spend it on flight training, not vica versa. If a master degree might help me to realise this, I’m more then prepared to take those extra 2 years. I know I'm the only one who can decide, but people here who are in the business have a better view on it than me I suppose.
Thanks,
Pieterjan
I’m in a difficult situation: I’m 21 years old and graduate (if all goes well) in juni 2011 as Bachelor in aviation engineering (theoretical part66 B1/B2) in Belgium. My dream has always been to fly as an airline pilot, as many here. I’ve been reading this forum for almost 2 years, and because of this I started to hesitate. In fact it’s depressing, but realistic what I read here. For the last year I constantly changed my mind about what I’m going to do. Every 2-3 weeks it changes. There are 2 options: work as a technician with an airline and while doing this take modular flight training. All well, but I’m afraid that I’ll be very disappointed if I don’t find a job as pilot within 2 years, and would regret not having studied another 2 years. I know some people who have graduated from flight schools and have been without a job as pilot for 2-3 years. On the other hand, if I study another 2 years in college I get my Master degree, also in engineering. After that I’m 23 years old and can start working in the aviation industry (and other industries too). But what I’m afraid of then is the costs of flight training. If I look at only the last 5 years the prices for training have gone up a lot.
I also started thinking about taking my PPL lessons while still in college, but I simply can’t afford it with the jobs I have as a student.
The last 2 weeks I’m tending more to do the extra 2 years. But after those 2 years I still want to realize what I want to do. Sure engineering is interesting and can be a very nice job. But flying gives me a great feeling I can’t describe. As I can’t afford my PPL, would it be wise to start gliding again (have already some expierence, but stopped…).? I really loved doing that
It might sound as another wannabe again, but I’m someone who wants to earn the money first, and then spend it on flight training, not vica versa. If a master degree might help me to realise this, I’m more then prepared to take those extra 2 years. I know I'm the only one who can decide, but people here who are in the business have a better view on it than me I suppose.
Thanks,
Pieterjan
Last edited by Poeli; 17th Jan 2011 at 15:28.
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Poeli don't get depressed the world is a beautiful place! You are young and have lot's of time to get into aviation. How much will the extra study cost you? If nothing then do it but if it's going to cost you money then put that money towards flying. Get a job and earn the money you will get there in time! Earning money first and going modular is definitely the right choice considering the state of the world economy right now!
Smile and Wave
Smile and Wave
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It will cost me personally nothing, my parents would pay for it... And college money is around 600€ a year, books excluded.
I know, follow your dreams, but following dreams without a plan is not a good idea
thanks
I know, follow your dreams, but following dreams without a plan is not a good idea
thanks
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College for 600 euros a year? I want to cry...so lucky...still, this is neither the time nor place to moan about tuition fees in the UK. I say do the extra 2 years if it is that cheap, it will help you get the best opportunities possible for getting a decent job to pay for pilot training.
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Hey
I’m in an almost identical position to you, although I have just graduated from university and I am 22. I’ve wanted to be an airline pilot since I was 5 years old and I have also been slightly disheartened by the ordeal that seems to be financing pilot training. The fact is everyone on this site who wants to be a pilot is in the same boat these days! Unless your parents have some serious cash lying around and can afford to pay to get you into a slick integrated school, then you need to get a decent job, save and go modular (or integrated if you want to save for a few more years!). It takes longer and will be hard work, but I want this career so much I’m prepared to do it! Also I’d rather be debt free looking for airline employment rather than have a mortgage sized training loan hanging around my neck, living off a pittance, constantly worrying that I won’t gain employment. That’s not to say there’s not people who do go through on a large loan and get employed immediately, but personally I wouldn’t like to take that sort of risk.
Don’t lose faith in it, most airline pilots on this forum have gone through the same as us at some point! Unless they got fully sponsored back in the good old days!
G
I’m in an almost identical position to you, although I have just graduated from university and I am 22. I’ve wanted to be an airline pilot since I was 5 years old and I have also been slightly disheartened by the ordeal that seems to be financing pilot training. The fact is everyone on this site who wants to be a pilot is in the same boat these days! Unless your parents have some serious cash lying around and can afford to pay to get you into a slick integrated school, then you need to get a decent job, save and go modular (or integrated if you want to save for a few more years!). It takes longer and will be hard work, but I want this career so much I’m prepared to do it! Also I’d rather be debt free looking for airline employment rather than have a mortgage sized training loan hanging around my neck, living off a pittance, constantly worrying that I won’t gain employment. That’s not to say there’s not people who do go through on a large loan and get employed immediately, but personally I wouldn’t like to take that sort of risk.
Don’t lose faith in it, most airline pilots on this forum have gone through the same as us at some point! Unless they got fully sponsored back in the good old days!
G
Poeli, do the masters. You won't regret it in the long run.
It won't help you fly a plane but it will help you stand out from the crowd if you look for a non-flying job, in engineering or in another area. It's a sad fact these days that with so many people going to university having a standard undergraduate degree really doesn't count for as much as it used to - get a postgraduate degree, get the masters!!!!!
By the time you finish you'll still be young enough to try flying or engineering, or both. Best of luck.
It won't help you fly a plane but it will help you stand out from the crowd if you look for a non-flying job, in engineering or in another area. It's a sad fact these days that with so many people going to university having a standard undergraduate degree really doesn't count for as much as it used to - get a postgraduate degree, get the masters!!!!!
By the time you finish you'll still be young enough to try flying or engineering, or both. Best of luck.
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Ahh a degree, in my position I can only dream of such a thing from a institution, my grades were so bad in school and in college that I was told by my teachers I would have no chance and I've had a 5-long year rut, catch 22 situation of bills and debts vs. anything I actually want to do... but the plan she is a'forming.
About a year ago my uncle bought a small private airfield and a Cessna 172 with his savings after passing his PPL and invited me for a ride in his aircraft... I was amazed, it was my first time in an aircraft and it was one of the most exciting things I'd done in my life and ever since then I've been craving a time when I could start learning to fly, he's said to me "get your license done and we'll talk", easier said than done as getting your PPL in the UK can cost up to around £7,500, but where there is a will, there is a way.
Recently I got to fly in a 747 and CRJ-200 and I was probably the only person in the aircraft excited to be there, I loved everything about it, I envied the pilots so much knowing they got to fly these beautiful and sophisticated machines, it only solidified my resolve to do my research and find out everything I could about what goes into becoming an airline pilot, what you needed, what the job role was all about, how pilots started out, how they progressed, what type of machines I could expect to fly if I pursued a career as a pilot and most important of all, what steps to take to become a pilot, it was a little shocking at first, but as they say, nothing worth having ever came easy.
I have vendor IT certifications, A-levels and a GNVQ in IT related subjects and although my mathematics and science skills are dismal for now, I'm planning my rise from the ashes... I realize I could be in a far worse position than I am now, but most pilot sponsorship schemes need 5 A-C GCSE's with preferred emphasis on math/science based subjects and 2 A-Levels with emphasis on Mathematics and Physics... there's a long climb to the top indeed, but this is plan B, it's best to cover all the bases and formulate strategies to meet your goals
Moving back in with mom and dad at 21 isn't something I'd like to have done, but it's necessary, it eliminates most of my outstanding financial constraints and frees up some time and money to re-spec my GCSE's and A-Levels for science and engineering based subjects.
I'm signing up for the OU engineering degree as soon as applications are open again, having that degree in process can only be a good thing on my applications and CV's and even when my GCSE and A-level respec is complete, it pays to have a subject ongoing that will continue to test my abilities.
Plan A has me self-funding my new career, as it stands I'm on £6000 a year part-time which is in no way good enough, and it's annoyed me for quite a while that I'm not using my vendor certifications (Microsoft MCP qualifications, useless as saturated as the IT market is in the UK, job applications typically get 240 responses), I plan to get on an apprenticeship with either BT or Virgin, I meet their minimum requirements for both and my other qualifications may put me ahead of other candidates... with the money I earn from the apprenticeship, £12,000 the first year, £18,000 each year afterwards, I should be able to afford to self-fund a modular course at BCFT, after that it will be a struggle to get rated on aircrafts but with the financial backing I'll have from my day-job, I need only keep my eyes open and my teeth sharpened to pounce on opportunities as they come.
Plan B sees me re-specifying my academic qualifications to meet the minimum requirements set out by most cadet sponsorship schemes, I will keep applying to any and all opportunities as they come and I will be saving up the £20,000 needed as front money by most airlines, but I won't be holding my breath as thousands of applicants apply for these, and I would stand no chance against people with degree's and previous flight training, all the same you can only keep taking steps that would make you more attractive to airlines and keep rolling the dice, and I plan to keep rolling it until my number is up.
About a year ago my uncle bought a small private airfield and a Cessna 172 with his savings after passing his PPL and invited me for a ride in his aircraft... I was amazed, it was my first time in an aircraft and it was one of the most exciting things I'd done in my life and ever since then I've been craving a time when I could start learning to fly, he's said to me "get your license done and we'll talk", easier said than done as getting your PPL in the UK can cost up to around £7,500, but where there is a will, there is a way.
Recently I got to fly in a 747 and CRJ-200 and I was probably the only person in the aircraft excited to be there, I loved everything about it, I envied the pilots so much knowing they got to fly these beautiful and sophisticated machines, it only solidified my resolve to do my research and find out everything I could about what goes into becoming an airline pilot, what you needed, what the job role was all about, how pilots started out, how they progressed, what type of machines I could expect to fly if I pursued a career as a pilot and most important of all, what steps to take to become a pilot, it was a little shocking at first, but as they say, nothing worth having ever came easy.
I have vendor IT certifications, A-levels and a GNVQ in IT related subjects and although my mathematics and science skills are dismal for now, I'm planning my rise from the ashes... I realize I could be in a far worse position than I am now, but most pilot sponsorship schemes need 5 A-C GCSE's with preferred emphasis on math/science based subjects and 2 A-Levels with emphasis on Mathematics and Physics... there's a long climb to the top indeed, but this is plan B, it's best to cover all the bases and formulate strategies to meet your goals
Moving back in with mom and dad at 21 isn't something I'd like to have done, but it's necessary, it eliminates most of my outstanding financial constraints and frees up some time and money to re-spec my GCSE's and A-Levels for science and engineering based subjects.
I'm signing up for the OU engineering degree as soon as applications are open again, having that degree in process can only be a good thing on my applications and CV's and even when my GCSE and A-level respec is complete, it pays to have a subject ongoing that will continue to test my abilities.
Plan A has me self-funding my new career, as it stands I'm on £6000 a year part-time which is in no way good enough, and it's annoyed me for quite a while that I'm not using my vendor certifications (Microsoft MCP qualifications, useless as saturated as the IT market is in the UK, job applications typically get 240 responses), I plan to get on an apprenticeship with either BT or Virgin, I meet their minimum requirements for both and my other qualifications may put me ahead of other candidates... with the money I earn from the apprenticeship, £12,000 the first year, £18,000 each year afterwards, I should be able to afford to self-fund a modular course at BCFT, after that it will be a struggle to get rated on aircrafts but with the financial backing I'll have from my day-job, I need only keep my eyes open and my teeth sharpened to pounce on opportunities as they come.
Plan B sees me re-specifying my academic qualifications to meet the minimum requirements set out by most cadet sponsorship schemes, I will keep applying to any and all opportunities as they come and I will be saving up the £20,000 needed as front money by most airlines, but I won't be holding my breath as thousands of applicants apply for these, and I would stand no chance against people with degree's and previous flight training, all the same you can only keep taking steps that would make you more attractive to airlines and keep rolling the dice, and I plan to keep rolling it until my number is up.
exia
You've got a couple of plans there, they seem realistic (Plan A more than Plan B - but you've worked that out). You also sound like you're prepared to make sacrifices, moving back in with mum and dad etc. I'm sure you'll get there. As for mathematics and science skills, if you can add, subtract, multiply and divide you'll be up to the mathematics. The science skills aren't that taxing - don't be put off by the subject title, and you might just find you're more in the mood for learning when you get around to it. Everyone's different and every teacher is different. It might just have been whoever taught you at school/college wasn't right for you or you weren't ready to absorb the information.
You've got a couple of plans there, they seem realistic (Plan A more than Plan B - but you've worked that out). You also sound like you're prepared to make sacrifices, moving back in with mum and dad etc. I'm sure you'll get there. As for mathematics and science skills, if you can add, subtract, multiply and divide you'll be up to the mathematics. The science skills aren't that taxing - don't be put off by the subject title, and you might just find you're more in the mood for learning when you get around to it. Everyone's different and every teacher is different. It might just have been whoever taught you at school/college wasn't right for you or you weren't ready to absorb the information.
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Hey Mr Grimsdale,
lol yes and no... see I got into college early to do my A-levels because my teachers thought I had real talent in IT and wanted me to take the AVCE along side my GCSE's... that makes me sound really smart until I tell you my school was ranked in the bottom 20 schools in the country, and even shards of brass can stand out when it's surrounded by crap.
My Maths teacher was a Spanish chick (ahh, miss. Vega) who didn't really have the best command of English, plus she was teaching a class that was 90% delinquents, 10% people who just wanted to get on, and of course it's near impossible to get on with things and have the teacher actually teach when there are fights breaking out, some idiot blasting music from his phone, another idiot setting another persons book on fire and the girls all talking at the back of the class... the same was for English and I didn't get to take any science subjects due to the AVCE conflicting with them, it was more a 6 hour circus than it was a teaching institution, and now I'm paying the price for not begging my parents to help me transfer and getting out in year 7.
All the same it takes courage to admit you've made mistakes and even more courage to slap yourself in the face and get your head back into the books, formulate plans, take positive steps and keep your eyes on the look out for anything that might be useful to reach your goals... knowledge is power.
I wish you gentlemen (and ladies) the best of luck, don't stop believing! even if 80% of threads made here lately are how the industry is worsening, if you loose hope, what are you left with?
and don't say flying school debts
lol yes and no... see I got into college early to do my A-levels because my teachers thought I had real talent in IT and wanted me to take the AVCE along side my GCSE's... that makes me sound really smart until I tell you my school was ranked in the bottom 20 schools in the country, and even shards of brass can stand out when it's surrounded by crap.
My Maths teacher was a Spanish chick (ahh, miss. Vega) who didn't really have the best command of English, plus she was teaching a class that was 90% delinquents, 10% people who just wanted to get on, and of course it's near impossible to get on with things and have the teacher actually teach when there are fights breaking out, some idiot blasting music from his phone, another idiot setting another persons book on fire and the girls all talking at the back of the class... the same was for English and I didn't get to take any science subjects due to the AVCE conflicting with them, it was more a 6 hour circus than it was a teaching institution, and now I'm paying the price for not begging my parents to help me transfer and getting out in year 7.
All the same it takes courage to admit you've made mistakes and even more courage to slap yourself in the face and get your head back into the books, formulate plans, take positive steps and keep your eyes on the look out for anything that might be useful to reach your goals... knowledge is power.
I wish you gentlemen (and ladies) the best of luck, don't stop believing! even if 80% of threads made here lately are how the industry is worsening, if you loose hope, what are you left with?
and don't say flying school debts
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Thank you, you too succes mate! Seems you're really motivated!
I think i've decided: study the extra 2 years and get the PPL, I'll have to work hard for it, but it will be all worth it!
I think i've decided: study the extra 2 years and get the PPL, I'll have to work hard for it, but it will be all worth it!
