Pilot with basic school grades (GCSE level)
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Pilot with basic school grades (GCSE level)
Hi guys and gals,
I am new to this page and this is my first post so i am looking for a little advice...
So my story..
I left school at 16 years old on completion of my standard grade exams (GCSEs) and joined the British Army as a boy soldier. I am currently still serving in the Army Air Corps (now 21 years old) and in my final 12 months of service. I am studying for my PPL and hopefully have it completed by the end of this year.
My question is - In what order did or are you guys completing the rest of the courses that make up a fATPL and will having military and life experience will put up a good fight against someone that has completed A levels or a degree when it comes to getting a job?
My Plan is PPL - Hour build/ATPL theory/Night rating - ME/IR - CPL - MCC/JOC - Interviews... and i am planning on doing this the modular route too!
Any advice and tips would be very grateful!
I am new to this page and this is my first post so i am looking for a little advice...
So my story..
I left school at 16 years old on completion of my standard grade exams (GCSEs) and joined the British Army as a boy soldier. I am currently still serving in the Army Air Corps (now 21 years old) and in my final 12 months of service. I am studying for my PPL and hopefully have it completed by the end of this year.
My question is - In what order did or are you guys completing the rest of the courses that make up a fATPL and will having military and life experience will put up a good fight against someone that has completed A levels or a degree when it comes to getting a job?
My Plan is PPL - Hour build/ATPL theory/Night rating - ME/IR - CPL - MCC/JOC - Interviews... and i am planning on doing this the modular route too!
Any advice and tips would be very grateful!
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Hi Robo, welcome to Pprune.
I did modular training in the same order you mention. I’m also a career-changer, and while my degree made no difference in finding a first job, I’m sure the life-experience helped. (For example, many interview questions these days are experience based; i.e. “Tell me about a time when . . .“. It stands to reason that an older candidate with a bit of life experience will have more to talk about than someone who went straight from school / college / uni to flying training). Your military experience will certainly do you no harm.
It’s nearly 10 years since I was looking for a first job, so I may be out of date, but I don’t recall any airlines that accepted modular candidates requiring either a degree or ‘A’ levels, however, I stand to be corrected. Cadet schemes are a different ball game, but even then I’m sure that academic requirements are used as a filter to bring down the number of applicants as much as anything else.
IMHO, timing is far, far more important than qualifications when it comes to getting a job. I was extremely lucky and passed my IR just days before Flybe opened recruitment, and that was just a few months before the financial crash. A year later there were no jobs and airlines were going bust . . .
The good news for you is that (a) you’re still young and have loads of time on your side, and (b) with modular training you can adjust the pace of training to suit the job market. It’s not an exact science, but qualifying when the industry is in a healthy state will make your task so much easier. And don’t ever believe flying schools that tell you the best time to train is during a downturn – they are just after your cash.
One other thing – your location. I’m assuming you speak weegie,
but even if you’re from one of the drier parts of Scotland you’ll likely have an advantage with Loganair. They like locals as you’d be less likely to leave for a shiny jet job down south at the first opportunity.
Best of luck!
I did modular training in the same order you mention. I’m also a career-changer, and while my degree made no difference in finding a first job, I’m sure the life-experience helped. (For example, many interview questions these days are experience based; i.e. “Tell me about a time when . . .“. It stands to reason that an older candidate with a bit of life experience will have more to talk about than someone who went straight from school / college / uni to flying training). Your military experience will certainly do you no harm.
It’s nearly 10 years since I was looking for a first job, so I may be out of date, but I don’t recall any airlines that accepted modular candidates requiring either a degree or ‘A’ levels, however, I stand to be corrected. Cadet schemes are a different ball game, but even then I’m sure that academic requirements are used as a filter to bring down the number of applicants as much as anything else.
IMHO, timing is far, far more important than qualifications when it comes to getting a job. I was extremely lucky and passed my IR just days before Flybe opened recruitment, and that was just a few months before the financial crash. A year later there were no jobs and airlines were going bust . . .
The good news for you is that (a) you’re still young and have loads of time on your side, and (b) with modular training you can adjust the pace of training to suit the job market. It’s not an exact science, but qualifying when the industry is in a healthy state will make your task so much easier. And don’t ever believe flying schools that tell you the best time to train is during a downturn – they are just after your cash.
One other thing – your location. I’m assuming you speak weegie,
but even if you’re from one of the drier parts of Scotland you’ll likely have an advantage with Loganair. They like locals as you’d be less likely to leave for a shiny jet job down south at the first opportunity.Best of luck!
One thing is for sure, if you don't get the licence you definitely won't get a job. It's always a risk, for everyone. You might get really lucky and go straight onto a 73, or you might get an ATR or an Islander. Or you might end up instructing for a few years, but eventually your opportunity will come around.
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Thank you very much for the replies and sorry i didn't reply sooner - my day job has been somewhat eventful this week.
What I have gathered from the replies is that not completing A levels or a degree wont really affect me in the job hunt and having military experience may well stand me in good ground because of my experiences. I am delighted that the route and plan i have tailored for my training is a correct way to achieve my licences as G SXTY can vouch for!
G SXTY - Yep, Born and breed in Glasgow and have made a few friends through flying clubs that i keep in regular contact with that fly for Loganair so hopefully like Rudestuff said - having contacts within the airlines could actually benefit me!
All I want is to pursue my hobby that i am really passionate about and turn it into a career!
Thanks again for the quick replies and happy flying!
What I have gathered from the replies is that not completing A levels or a degree wont really affect me in the job hunt and having military experience may well stand me in good ground because of my experiences. I am delighted that the route and plan i have tailored for my training is a correct way to achieve my licences as G SXTY can vouch for!
G SXTY - Yep, Born and breed in Glasgow and have made a few friends through flying clubs that i keep in regular contact with that fly for Loganair so hopefully like Rudestuff said - having contacts within the airlines could actually benefit me!
All I want is to pursue my hobby that i am really passionate about and turn it into a career!
Thanks again for the quick replies and happy flying!
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Robo, your opening post shows a certain level of maturity lacking in many other similar posts. You stand a better chance of making it through the process than many others. In preparation for the future, may I make a few suggestions? The first is get your maths and english back up to GCSE standard, not that your posts show you are lacking. Its just that having these two at a reasonable level will help you through the exams. The next will be to swot up on weather. Having an understanding of how it works will really help. Then the fun bit will start.
When it comes to looking for a job, your background will help. You should have plenty of experiences to chat about in an interview and the rest will come to your personality, after all your licence is the same as every other applicant's.
I hope it works out for you.
CSE Grade 1 Art and a few pathetic O levels.
When it comes to looking for a job, your background will help. You should have plenty of experiences to chat about in an interview and the rest will come to your personality, after all your licence is the same as every other applicant's.
I hope it works out for you.
CSE Grade 1 Art and a few pathetic O levels.
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Great advice, Piltdown man, thank you!
Reference brushing up on GCSE level maths and english - I am currently doing courses in maths and english from the resettlement package i have been granted through the British Army mainly just to get me back into the learning and classroom environment again as it has been around 5 years since i was last in a classroom!
Thanks again, much appreciated!
Reference brushing up on GCSE level maths and english - I am currently doing courses in maths and english from the resettlement package i have been granted through the British Army mainly just to get me back into the learning and classroom environment again as it has been around 5 years since i was last in a classroom!
Thanks again, much appreciated!
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My nephew is exactly the same age as you and is now a FO on a 737. He left school with 11 GCSEs - mixture of B and C grades - but because he had no As, he wasn't offered a place at sixth form. His school didn't rate him at all. He got a place at a local college, chose the wrong A levels for his strengths (maths and physics but did English based subjects) and came out with three C grades. He admitted he really didn't push himself academically because he hated school but was still desperate to be a pilot.
He applied and was accepted by one of the big three flight schools. He knuckled down, perfected his revision techniques, because the subjects interested him, he passed ground school easily, took to flying like a duck to water, passed his ME/IR CPL MCC/JOC etc first time and was offered a job by a major airline within a month of graduating.
He would be the first to admit he wasn't academic but had what it took for the aviation bit.
Ironically, the educational establishment that rejected him for their sixth form, and saw little future for him, now keep emailing him to come back as an Old Boy and give career advice to the current pupils!
This is the boy who never believed he would amount to anything!
If it's your dream, go for it. You're young, you're at the perfect age to learn and take on new ideas. If you really want it, you will get it.
Good luck.
He applied and was accepted by one of the big three flight schools. He knuckled down, perfected his revision techniques, because the subjects interested him, he passed ground school easily, took to flying like a duck to water, passed his ME/IR CPL MCC/JOC etc first time and was offered a job by a major airline within a month of graduating.
He would be the first to admit he wasn't academic but had what it took for the aviation bit.
Ironically, the educational establishment that rejected him for their sixth form, and saw little future for him, now keep emailing him to come back as an Old Boy and give career advice to the current pupils!
This is the boy who never believed he would amount to anything!
If it's your dream, go for it. You're young, you're at the perfect age to learn and take on new ideas. If you really want it, you will get it.
Good luck.
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I left school with almost no GCSEs above C (Ds and Es for everything), eventully went back for an extra year to get my maths and English. Then my school kicked me out.
Managed to get into a sixth form college as my school wouldn't accept me for A-Levels. Took a year out to work, then headed to Uni. Managed to stick it out there for 5 years and walked out with a BSc Hons and an MSc. Started flight training 18 months later following a modular route, and even spent a couple of years as a teacher and Uni lecturer. 9 years down the line got into a large Jet operator.
All you need is the patience of a saint and determination. You'll get there eventually.
Good luck.
Managed to get into a sixth form college as my school wouldn't accept me for A-Levels. Took a year out to work, then headed to Uni. Managed to stick it out there for 5 years and walked out with a BSc Hons and an MSc. Started flight training 18 months later following a modular route, and even spent a couple of years as a teacher and Uni lecturer. 9 years down the line got into a large Jet operator.
All you need is the patience of a saint and determination. You'll get there eventually.
Good luck.
