Nurse2Pilot

Personally, I wanted to have everything in place, money in hand (or most of it), and a plan written down. As I learn more and more, it seems that to get to that point (if ever!!), I'll need loads of time and silly amounts of research to cover every possibility. I may come to regret this down the line but I've had enough of planning and I've decided to say "fk it!!" and step off the cliff. I want to fly and commercial was a way to do it and get paid, but I have to remember that I want to fly more than I want to get paid. In the end of all this, if I end up with an airline job, then it's a big win. If all I end up with is a PPL and an odd flight every now and again, it's still a very good win. I guess it all boils down to what you really, really want in the end.

Another thing I've considered is the saving part --- knowing myself, if I had a good chunk of money saved up, I'm sure to have some odd side project that will take up my time and money, thus leading me further and further away from my goal in both time and resources. By closing my eyes and taking the plunge, I've committed myself to this.... any money saved MUST go to flying or else I'll lose my skills and would have to fly some more to keep up. Any money saved MUST go to more lessons to get better. I wager once I've had a good taste of flight, it'll draw me in more and more and it'll just happen.

Lastly, I have to be in it to win it. I could save up for 5 years and do all my training in one go, but who knows what opportunities I missed on those 5 years? I'd rather start now and be in it and be ready and available for opportunities that arise. Who knows, one of those opportunities just might be a solution to my financial problem!

Not saying you should follow what I'm saying, just putting my thoughts to words here and trying to convince myself that I've not gone bonkers!!

rudestuff

Now is the time to get into the industry. Every year you wait will make your pilot career a year shorter, which equates to £100k+ in today's money. I'd go and check your credit score.

Maverick97

I recently spoke to a Channex skipper after my flight who recommended that I do whatever it takes to get that licence and get a job. He was very direct with me which I massively appreciated. He basically said its all fun and games mostly right now but when the market takes a downturn and you can't get a job you'll be wishing you took that small bank loan to cover the rest of your training. Can't say I disagree, he seemed like a very wise man with plenty of experience under his belt. I believe he was a training captain so he knew a lot about the types of guys coming through the door.

Jason0918

Ivan aromer

Jason0918

You can’t use the Private Messaging system, add url links or images until you have an established posting history

Radicalash

I currently have a space with cae for their Madrid atpl whitetail training, however it's expensive and I would have to pay for my living costs abroad. FTA shoreham on the other hand is more local and I could easily commute, stay at home plus it's cheaper. Does anyone know why it's cheaper? Would I be missing out or getting a worse training? Harder to get work afterwards?

mik3bravo

I found this recent YouTube channel set up by a chap who used to fly for Easyjet and more recently as a Captain with BA.

His channel is dedicated to providing advice to wannabes but more importantly the guy has given up his career as an airline pilot and his channel explains why he took this decision and tracks the next chapter in his career development.

The following clip contains up to date information to help anyone flirting with the idea of pursuing a career as an airline pilot:

wiggy

RHSandLovingIt

It would appear not, yet...
He mentions he is on a 4 year contract and is aiming to transition to his "other" career (I believe it is app development?) at the end of the contract.

Newbi

Dear all,

​​​​​​I am sure this has been asked many times and infact answered many times throughout the journey of this forum. However, if you could take the time to answer for my specifics it would be greatly appreciated. I did look at the stickys and wondered if posts or replies from 2013 could perhaps be outdated? I'm not going to waste your time telling you my story since I've already wasted enough time.

So I finished mech engineering and now I want to be a pilot. I want to do it ASAP so preferably a fully integrated course as I'm already 24. My father can pay for it but obviously, cheaper the better. I've spoken to a few pilots and they all point towards America. I am from the UK so that would mean I need to do a conversion course which i am not fussed about but, however I've recieved mixed answers from a few people I know. Some say conversion courses cost no money but a bit of time and some say it is really expensive and not worth it. I really cannot see doing it in the UK and paying up to 95k when doing it in America could be as cheap as 50k. Obviously accommodation and food needs to considered into the overall payments. So I really would like someone experienced to shed some light into this please.

Furthermore, if America is the most optimal place to do it, or wherever it is, would someone mind shedding some light into any good academies that I should be looking into? And before anyone asks, this is the only thing I want to do. The pilots I spoke to said there is a "shortage of pilots in the near future" but of course I won't go forward fully dependent on that. I want to go forward as I'm sure this is the only thing I want to do. Sorry about the long post and thank you very much for reading.

Kind regards,

Newbi
​​​​

Newbi

Yeah as I was researching further today. I think modular is the best approach. I'd like to do it ASAP, preferably within a year if possible. The whole thing I mean. But it's so confusing. If someone could list me the detailed breakdown, it would be amazing. For example I read a post where someone would do their ppl in South Africa. But my friend who's a pilot says you'd then need to convert that back to uk which costs more money. But simply doing a ppl from uk is vastly more expensive than doing it anywhere else it seems. Furthermore, what is with the exams? Can I do it in my own time and just attend the exams? Would that be cheaper? And then the hours later on, can I do that anywhere or does that somehow need to be converted to UK too? And then just do the cpl in UK? What about the things you do after cpl to get you fATPL?

I must be annoying you by now Joshua, but I'm really really confused.
​​​​​​
Thank you very much for your reply though. Hopefully you might be able to provide better insight for me.

AD27

Hello everyone!

I would like some advice, regarding my situation. I'm currently finishing my Bachelor studies in Business, but for sure I want to be a professional pilot. As i have heard from some pilots, the integrated training is a better choice right now to be in a f/o seat. Do you know, which schools/trainers do financial help, or any state that provide financing or bank loans, that doesn't neked to be payed back until I start working? I live in Budapest now, but willing to move in the EU.

airbourne

The search facility is a little bit old and throwing up responses from 2004 etc. 18 months etc.

In today's market what is the expected wait time from fATPL to first job?

stephxox

Hello,

I am 34 in a week, from the UK and want to train to be a commercial pilot. I have worked in other careers in the past but nothing I have done has given me enough job satisfaction and I end up doing something else. I have worked in hospitality, as a hairdresser and as an outdoor education instructor (which I have a degree in). I do enjoy Outdoor ed but the pay is terrible, you would be lucky to earn 24k a year in a well paid job. I love travel and have been traveling for about 5 years now.
I worry that if I became a pilot I would get bored of it or would the job keep me interested? I would like to fly smaller aircraft's (such as the twin otter) as I would like to fly in more remote places.

Also i worry about funding. I have some savings at the moment (35000 GBP) but the modular training costs between 50-60k.Is it best to wait until I have all the funding before I start training in case I can not finish due to lack of funds or is it a good idea to get a loan for the last 20k or so? I would rather not wait another couple of years to save the extra money as I will be 36 before I start training. Also is it difficult to find a job as a new pilot? If I did get a loan I would need to start paying it back quite quickly so would need a job.

I wondered about becoming a flight instructor but I see its still more money than I have saved to do this so I am a bit stuck on what to do.

Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you

stephxox

Thank you for your reply being very honest.

I didn't expect it to be glamorous to be honest, its not really what I look for in a job, job satisfaction is one of the key points as like I said, I get bored easily which is why I think smaller aircraft and more remote flying would suit me better. I have a trail lesson booked for next week and as you suggested I will go ahead with my PPL and see how I go from there.

I don't think it sounds cool or fun and its something I had not thought of doing before. I think it could be interesting and challenging. I recently was working in a very remote place and they had pilots there that worked on twin otters, dash 7 and the bazler BT-67 and i never knew about this side of aviation before. I figured pilots flew large aircraft's from airport to airport and if you flew remote you had to be in the forces or something, naive I know but I never really thought about it.

What are the major difficulties in becoming a pilot?

Thank again

Training Risky

1. Hand-eye coordination - use your trial lesson to figure out if you have got it. Some people may have all the brains in the world but can't fly straight and level!
2. Mental arithmetic - you say you have a degree in PE, any maths in that? Can you do distance/speed/time problems while under pressure. Some people have all the hand-eye coordination but no mental maths ability!
3. Deep understanding of meteorology, aircraft tech and performance - lots of studying involved.
4. Resilience - can you bounce back after a good sortie, or a failed test flight?
5. Attitude - can you get on with all types of people? If not, can you compromise and learn to make the best of a bad pairing with a difficult Captain/Ops Manager?

These represent about 0.001% of the possible difficulties in becoming a professional pilot.

I was a military pilot for 5 years, then moved to a ground-based Ops job. I didn't even attempt the CPL/ATPL exams because I had started a family and just didn't want to fly for Lyin'Air or Sleazyjet. You must prioritise according to your age, commitments and cash!

airbourne

So I am type 2 diabetic. Not insulin dependent. I take a couple of tablets a day. I have good blood sugar control.

Question is has anyone with type 2 diabetes gained their Class 1 medical and went on to the flying.

Plenty of posts about being a pilot and becoming diabetic but I am looking before the horse bolts!

The rules are different in the US and other countries so thats why I am asking about the UK & Ireland only.

parkfell

Iris9er

Hello everyone
I'm thinking of starting flying school this or next year but I get more confused the more i dig the info about flying.
I'm a Pakistani i can't get a flying job in EU,Getting a visa to fly in NA is almost impossible for a Pakistani without any connection in the states,My country has only one airline airline hiring and they require 1,000+ hours on A320 for F/o so that's out of the option,other airlines are on their way to bankruptcy,
i really want to pursue this career but if i do my nationality will not get me a job almost anywhere except a few places,I'm thinking of either going to ATP for 0-1500hrs course for FAA ATPL or L3 for iATPL or MPL for EASA ATPL but I'm not sure wether i should do it or ditch my lifelong dream..