EASA or UK CAA ATPL

[JAJOBR]

Hi all,
I am at a bit of a crossroads as to where I should go with my training. I am a British and EU national but only speak English. I would prefer to live and work in Europe however I understand that most European companies require you to speak language of where their company is based. this begs the question for the sake of employability for that all important first job should I stick with UK CAA?
any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.

[TJL19]

I can only say I'm in the same boat as you (Irish citizen, so EU citizen with working rights in the UK) and I have decided to go for EASA. I think what you should do is scout what airlines are hiring now and weigh up which ones you're likely going to want to apply for. Yeah many airlines require the native language of whatever country they're based in but there are others that don't. I think really you need to do your own research on this. Also factor in what flight school you'd like to go.

[JAJOBR]

Hi thanks for the reply,
I was looking at a flight school in Austria and I have been there and really enjoyed it, my only option in terms of becoming an airline pilot currently would be Ryanair with an EASA licence, I was mainly wondering about other jobs such as charter flying and instructing in Europe I'm wondering wether that would be a possibility given my lack of language skills. I do plan to learn a language but I don't know how long it would take me to get the proper certification for that language.
Thank you for the advice though I think ill stick to EASA

[TJL19]

Originally Posted by JAJOBR

Hi thanks for the reply,
I was looking at a flight school in Austria and I have been there and really enjoyed it, my only option in terms of becoming an airline pilot currently would be Ryanair with an EASA licence, I was mainly wondering about other jobs such as charter flying and instructing in Europe I'm wondering wether that would be a possibility given my lack of language skills. I do plan to learn a language but I don't know how long it would take me to get the proper certification for that language.
Thank you for the advice though I think ill stick to EASA

Well you can definitely instruct in Europe too if you get an Flight Instructor rating after finishing your fATPL course. But I'd also say Ryanair isn't your only choice, there's Wizz off the top of my head but also if you check out some pilot jobs boards (like Pilot Jobs Network) you can see which ones look for EASA licenses and which ones look for CAA license. I've done this several times and I am always seeing airlines that recruit in EASA license holders that don't require any language besides English. I saw a few others on another thread you started mention you should get both, which seems realistic as the exams are nearly the same. I think there are a few places in mainland Europe where you can sit CAA ATPL exams too so would be worth checking that out.

From airlines that expect you to know the language, I've seen it range from B2 level to C1, which probably isn't achievable while also doing an integrated fATPL course.

[rudestuff]

Originally Posted by JAJOBR

Hi all,
I am at a bit of a crossroads as to where I should go with my training. I am a British and EU national but only speak English. I would prefer to live and work in Europe however I understand that most European companies require you to speak language of where their company is based. this begs the question for the sake of employability for that all important first job should I stick with UK CAA?
any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.

This has to be the most common question at the moment which is strange as it has such an obvious answer: Do both (or failing that do the one for which you have the right to live and work). There are plenty of places which offer dual training so your extra expenses aren't too bad:
1 Initial Medical
2 ATPL Theory exams
3 CPL/IR flight tests
​​If you want to save some cash, stop after the theory exams (you get 36 months, remember). If you find you need the 'other' licence then you're only 2 flight tests away from getting it.

[JAJOBR]

Hi rude stuff thank you for your advice,
so all I would have to do is sit both sets of theoretical exams and then if I wanted the other licence just sit the CPL and IR tests. I would like to complete my training in Austria and get my EASA licence first. once complete if I couldn't find a job in Europe would I be able to come back to the UK and just sit the test or would I have to complete a new course under the regulation of the UK?
sorry if this has been answered elsewhere.
thank you