When to apply to flight school EU/UK
 

Hi, this is my first post on PPRuNe and I'm glad to be a part of this finally,

Im a first year uni student in the UK and I want to go into training when I graduate, ideally summer (not to picky about exactly when just as long as its soon after I graduate). My question now is, when I should start applying to flight schools. I know there are medical exams and assessments etc which take time, so I shouldn't leave it too late. But how soon should it be? I know FTE for example has loads of intake dates, but I heard somewhere there are holdups on their accommodation. Moreover, do flight schools allow you to be accepted then have delayed entry? Hope thats all clear :)

You've already made the decision to defer your flight training by 3 years, so I would get the degree finished before you think about anything else.

Apply now (or 6 months ago). I think Skyborne and Leading Edge allow a start date 12-18 months in the future after passing assesment. Their next few intakes are likely already full so you need to get jn ahead of time. Your medical will take time so look into the process now. At the very least reach out to your GP and get your full records sent over (can take up to a month to arrive). Currently looking at over a month for an appointment for an initial class 1 medical too.

What makes you say 6 months ago? I still have 2 years after I finish this year left on my degree, so from what you said it sounds like I should apply sometime in the start of year 2?

Start in April May end of year2. Get your medical records and book your class 1 maybe end May and spend that summer preparing and taking tests. If successful you can then defer your start as soon as you graduate.

Each school will likely have a different lead time. Have a word with your preferred flight schools and find out. Keep in touch with them as well, as this may be subject to change.

I don't know what he means there but personally I'd apply 12 months before graduation due to waiting lists etc.
Get your medical done in the near future so you know you can actually do it.

The advice was, I think, to just go into training.

You want to be an airline pilot? Then go and be an airline pilot. You’re delaying your career, first job, command, career earnings all by two years and racking up another 30K of debt in the meantime which as a pilot you will pay off.

The two years you delay your start by are the two years you’d be spending at the top of whatever pay scale you choose to end up on. Add in the student debt and interest and you may well be paying £500K for the privilege of finishing a degree that you will never even need to take out of the envelope it’s delivered in.

Thats not to say uni can’t be the best three years of your life, and I’m not convinced I’d agree with the advice entirely, but this is the translation as to what they were getting at.

I've read so many posts recently where people say "It's my life long dream to be a pilot - so I've gone to university instead!"

To the OP, do not lose sight of the fact that you are the customer as many schools seem to have created an atmosphere where somehow you must be extremely grateful to be considered to be ‘their product’.

I disagree with the negative sentiments towards a degree, it may not be strictly speaking “necessary” but economics are what they are and your potential earnings outside of aviation would be higher.
Also airline management positions require a degree.

They really aren’t. Look at the average salaries for ‘normal’ jobs for university graduates, not the top 1%, and compare them to an easyJet captain. I’d be surprised if more than 2/3% of the total graduate pool out earn airline pilots over a career. If they do they’ll be working 10x harder.

Neither do management jobs require degrees. Maybe to get on an airline’s graduate scheme, but not once you’re in and flying for them.

Having a degree is nice if you want a degree or if your career requires one. I just feel that the cost (in time and money) if you don't need one far exceeds it's value. You double your training costs and shorten your career so you're essentially paying half a million quid for a lot of dr!nking and sh@gging and something nice to hang in your toilet.

A lot of people make the argument that it's good to have a career to 'fall back' on. Agreed. But dont prioritise your plan B. If you already have the time and money to get a degree - why not just get one if and when you actually need one?

I did two degrees before flying. I was sponsored for the first and then received a research grant for the second, but I still left with student loans. So I lost six years of flying by spending that time at university, and built up debt which had to be repaid. I have never required either of those academic qualifications for the purposes of earning money. I have also paid for several other flying licences, which I have never needed during my career either. I intend to retire ten years early, so overall, I am now giving up a total of sixteen years of earning big money. Somebody shoot me because I am clearly insane.

There is more to life than career earnings, and there is more to learning and academic qualifications and the experience of university than them just being stepping stones towards a career.

Thank you yeah, the help from Bird and Beaker is what I was getting at really but from what you were saying, I understand that completely but given the volatility of the industry and possibility for a health issue I am definitely going to finish my degree. Good to have as a back up and starting right after graduation, I don't feel will set me back much.

Thank you for your help though!