An unbiased opinion please

[cpt_cmc]

Hi. I am a 24-year-old engineering graduate and it has always been my personal ambition to become a commercial airline pilot.
Due to the intensely competitive nature of this profession and the aftermath of sept 11th i realise that i have very little chance of being recruited and trained by a national airline (Ab-initio programme). I therefore believe that the only feasible route to my goal is by paying myself through flight school. Although this is an extremely expensive route and would mean having to borrow the costs, my greatest concern is whether or not i could get a job at the end of it.
I know a lot of flight schools all but guarantee a job after you complete the training, but then again, who wouldn’t considering you are about to pay them upwards of $50,000.
There are always rumours 'flying' about that suggest shortages of properly qualified pilots, and then there are other rumours that say the opposite.
Please could someone give an unbiased opinion. If i was to pay myself through flight training could i realistically expect a career with a reputable airline in the near future???

[traveler]

HHHhhmmmm ...... not an easy one to answer.
It depends on a lot of factors.

Some of which are your geographical dependency, your passport/visa status/options, your physical limitations, your motivation to take on almost anything, your financial options, your skill, your luck, the aviation hiring cycle, etc.

The hiring process in aviation is rather erratic.
Almost non-existent a few years and then really fast for a while.
Very difficult to predict how it will be when you're qualified.
Also how long it will take you to be qualified, since that also is a relative term and dependant on your competition.
Some guys step to the bigger airlines in 2 years, others after 10 or so.

For me the time between my first flight in a Cessna and being hired by a company with big airplanes took 5,5 years.
I had about 3250 flight hours at the time, half of which multi-engine turbo-prop.
Those qualifications and the hiring spike at the time got me to the interview.

So again, it is very hard to predict when those two factors will coincide for you.

But if you don't have too many people dependant on you and you are willing to move, to fly anywhere, it should definitely be able for you to make a living in this business. Just don't promise to pay back any loans really soon.
Best of luck to you.

(P.S. I am moving this to the " Wannabes & Vacancies " section ).

[75Sevener]

Yeah go for it, i started at 16, got cpl/ir at 18 and a half! cost me fair bit some of which i borrowed. Ive been lucky only been out of work 6 months in 14 years of flying.

Im not to far from where u are and opportunities are going to be abundant in 2/3 years time.

Its a risk as everything is in life but a very worthwhile one to take. Id recommend you get in touch with the Caa medical board in Gatwick or indeed the Iaa in Dublin and submit yourself for a Class One medical first before you go about getting a loan. Both are JAA medicals.

Best of Luck, Ill come back to this thread again.
Cheers

[cpt_cmc]

Thanks for the reply.

My main concern is not the thought of borrowing upwards of $50,000, but whether or not i will be able to get a job at the end of my training. I dont want to find myself in a position in 2-3 years time where im competing with 1000's of other pilots for a small number of jobs. I understand that pilot hiring has its peaks and troughs but after reading through many websites, books etc. the opinion i have gathered is that paying yourself through flight school is a HUGE GAMBLE!

If the gamble pays off then obviously its a dream come true, but if it doesnt you have accumulated debts upwards of $50,000. Are there any statistics that show the number of people who pay their way through flight school compared to the number of people recruited by airlines???

For these reasons i have been looking at schools such as Comair and PanAm Academy, i.e. schools associated with airlines, but then again, although these schools offer guaranteed interveiws they surely cannot hire every graduate!!!

Another option i have been researching is joining the Royal Navy. Maybe its time i found out if i really do have what it takes to fly those fast jets!!!

[mdtony]

Wait a minute -- you mean that in other countries, airlines will pay for your training? Here in the US, you can forget about that. You have to come to them with at least 1,000 hours and 250 multi hours for them to even talk to you!

Here in the states, after you pay for your ratings, you can always find a job teaching. FBOs are always looking for more instructors. And there are jobs flying traffic watch or things like that. You ain't gonna get rich doing it, though. I have budgeted for a salary of $20K the first year I start flying for a living, after spending around $20K to get all the ratings.

Hell, I'll probably make more money with my so called supplemental job, which would be working at a book store or something, than I will flying and teaching for the first few years.

My goal is to be flying a jet in a career position -- whether it's corporate, commercial, or fractional -- by the time I'm 40. I turn 34 in a few weeks, so that gives me six years. I sure as hell hope they are hiring pilots by then!