ATPL Pilot training

3 replies

PromotedPartner · 06/04/2022 21:06

DS (17) is currently doing first year A-levels in Maths, Physics and Computing. He's quite introverted but is becoming more confident in himself, not least due to his job at the local chippy.

He's interested in becoming a commercial airline pilot and loves the idea of worldwide travel. We've been doing our research, going to open days at CAE Gatwick and FTA Shoreham. He'd like to "add on" a aviation degree as this will give him access to student loans/ grant and another qualification to fall back on.

We're looking at £95,000 just in course fees plus accommodation and living expenses. Thankfully, we have the benefit of grandparents who'd probably gift him an early inheritance and, no doubt, he'd be able to get a bank loan secured against the family home. Nevertheless, it's a huge investment which makes me quite nervous!

I could absolutely see him in this career but I'm worried about how things will pan out longer term.

I spoke to a recently retired BA pilot today who was very negative about a career in aviation..."He'll be in debt for the first decade of his working life"... "He'll miss his children growing up"... "He'll live in hotels"... "He'll burn out by 30"...

DS would probably start with easyJet or similar on a short haul roster. Lots of flights at all hours of the day and night. Fine when you're 20-something with no family commitments. But how does that look at 35? You're finally debt free, getting promoted to captain, start earning really decent money... but your home life is wrecked..!

Does anybody have recent experience of aviation training or working in the industry? Is it still the aspirational career it once was?

OP posts:

Diian · 07/04/2022 08:57

My DS also considered pilot training until the pandemic hit!

This is an excellent Blog about the ups and downs of training and the industry. George is now working part-time (part-year) as a pilot for Easyjet as voted for by the workforce to prevent mass redundancies and works in IT the other part of the year. He was happy to answer DS's questions.

www.pilotgeorge.co.uk/about-me/

Original poster

PromotedPartner · 08/04/2022 07:26

[quote Diian]My DS also considered pilot training until the pandemic hit!

www.pilotgeorge.co.uk/about-me/[/quote]
Thank you! That's really useful.

OP posts:

BrownEyed · 08/04/2022 18:01

I fly for a hobby. My flying club is littered with people building up their hours in various ways as they can't afford other routes. There are so many attracted to the idea of being a pilot that it pushes down the pay rates and airlines don't have to pay to train themselves. I know one who gave up the lifestyle and now drives a tube train for four times the money he was getting at a budget airline. A lot of the budget airlines have a limited (if not just one) type of aircraft as it makes it easy to to have all their pilots on the same type but it makes it more challenging when they want to go to a better paying airline that has a different type.

I have a nice well paying job that pays for an expensive hobby, any of my airline pilot friends now find it a chore and don't enjoy their flying. Freight seems more attractive to some of them. Some can't afford to do it anymore and the pandemic made them realise the world had a lot more to offer.

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