PPRuNe Forums - Dilemma about going back to flight college

Hi All,

As the title suggests I'm experiencing major analysis paralysis trying to figure out the best way for me to go back to flying after a couple of years off. I miss it dearly. Any advice or personal experiences relating to getting back into flying (I am aware the journey is already well documented) is greatly, greatly appreciated.

[TLDR at bottom]

A bit of background:
I moved to Sydney in 2021 (age 20 at the time) to start flying at Basair as part of their CPL+MECIR course. I completed RPL and most of PPL (2-3 flights remaining), but was working late nights every weekend as a bartender to pay rent etc, so I ended up having to take a break from studying as my mental and physical health was really suffering from the lifestyle. I worked and enjoyed myself for ~18 months whilst settling into Sydney and making friends, and I have no regrets about that as I feel I’m finally ready to take it on again.
I now work a pretty cruisy FIFO, mainly desk-bound, job which I got with a qualification I already had. I aim to use this as a leg up to get myself back on track with flying. As easy as the role is, it’s definitely not something I want to get sucked into doing for more than a couple of years, however the lifestyle is perfect for me as I can save money, eat well and work out daily without the distractions and temptations Sydney offers, especially as an ex-hospo worker with plenty of friends still in the industry.

I work a 2 weeks on, 1 week off schedule, and I’m lucky enough to have a family member’s apartment in Sydney to stay in when I’m not working. My parents do help me out but aren’t in a position to foot the bill for my studies, or my living costs.

I was planning to join the SFC Tamworth Academy in their January 2025 intake, but have now been advised I won’t be able to join without redoing my RPL/PPL components (starting at day dot). My HELP loan is already at ~39k, so I’d have to save -at minimum- both the 25k accommodation/food cost, as well as an extra 30k to cover the RPL,PPL components. I don’t hate the idea of redoing those as it’ll give me an additional 40-50 hours and I won’t have to do revision flights before PPL, but saving the extra 30k will incur a considerable delay.

From what I’ve gathered, my options are:

Tamworth Academy — Save up for 12-18 months and start in the Jul 25/Jan 26 intake. This would obviously set me up with a mountain of debt, but the lifestyle living on-campus and having meals provided would be very easy to transition into after working on-site FIFO for 2-3 years - This would probably be the least stressful method for me personally.
Part-time study CPL — As mentioned, my job is cruisy and most days I could average 6-10 hours of study (management encourages using downtime productively as there is so much of it) for the entire 14-day swing (I would burn out before my work duties cut my studying time short). I don’t know how viable studying CPL part-time is, but I could do all the theory subjects over a period of time, while continuing to save money, then take a few months off of work to smash all the CPL flying out at once. Any thoughts on knowledge retention, etc with part-time studying over a long period?
International options — Perhaps if I’m saving all this money to pay outright anyways, the US market would be a better plan? If anyone has any resources/knowledge/rough numbers on studying overseas, please do reply!
Doing CPL at a flight college in Bankstown, then going back to work to save for MEA/IR/FIR - This seems particularly cumbersome, but it’s an option.

TLDR : Don’t know which avenue to take getting back into flying - CPL onwards. I already have 40k in HELP debt, and I don’t really want to balloon that to the big $179k but will if I need to in order to pursue this. I work FIFO on a 2-1 schedule, so I can save money to do an integrated course next year, or I could start doing part-time study now, but not sure about the timelines associated with it. Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks again,
GB