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Interested in becoming a Pilot..

  • 21-11-2020 8:48pm
    #1
    Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭


    Hi folks

    Was listening to newstalk today, and the presenter of the business show (cant recall the hosts name) was up with SimTech in the airport.

    I have a job that I enjoy, but the end is nigh for it. I reckon I'll be on the dole queue in about 3 years with no real transferable skills.

    So I was interested in this. Seems you just pay for the courses and away you go? (Presumably have tests etc. Along the way obviously).

    Being a pilot seems like a job that youd get a decent income from, is clean and tidy, wouldnt have a broken back by the time you're 50 and youd presumably always be in some level of demand..?

    Just wondering what ye folks think? Anyone able to burst my bubble on this or is it worth considering?

    For clarity, I'm not a plane spotter or an aviation enthusiast. I'd be honestly just looking at it as a job, with a hopefully somewhat decent income.

    Anyone able to shed some light on the process or if there are any eligibility criteria I may not be aware of? I know literally nothing about it, except the quick mooch I had on the SimTech site.

    Cheers folks.

    Thank you.


Comments

  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,063 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    The cost of training to a level to make you an appealing hire is Rather A Lot.

    There is no guarantee of a decent income, particularly in early years.

    There is no guarantee of their always being demand - look at right now.



    If you do want to go for it, get the medical at the first instance - there is no point paying for training and discovering you won't get a licence.

    edit: actually, doing an hours introductory lesson before the medical might not be the worst idea, in case it turns out you're completely freaked out by the experience - unlikely but it happens. Cheaper than the medical!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,008 ✭✭✭1123heavy


    Hi folks

    Was listening to newstalk today, and the presenter of the business show (cant recall the hosts name) was up with SimTech in the airport.

    I have a job that I enjoy, but the end is nigh for it. I reckon I'll be on the dole queue in about 3 years with no real transferable skills.

    So I was interested in this. Seems you just pay for the courses and away you go? (Presumably have tests etc. Along the way obviously).

    Being a pilot seems like a job that youd get a decent income from, is clean and tidy, wouldnt have a broken back by the time you're 50 and youd presumably always be in some level of demand..?

    Just wondering what ye folks think? Anyone able to burst my bubble on this or is it worth considering?

    For clarity, I'm not a plane spotter or an aviation enthusiast. I'd be honestly just looking at it as a job, with a hopefully somewhat decent income.

    Anyone able to shed some light on the process or if there are any eligibility criteria I may not be aware of? I know literally nothing about it, except the quick mooch I had on the SimTech site.

    Cheers folks.

    Thank you.

    You will not earn a decent income unfortunately. If you are lucky enough to get the EI cadetship then fair you'd start on around 45k. If not then your options traditionally are Ryanair, stobart or one of the various other EU low hour operators. These do not pay well (stobart did in fairness but now with Emerald expect pay to nosedive for those guys). The pay situation is very bleak and will be for quite sometime off the back of this pandemic as management force through long wanted changes whilst the pilots are held over a barrel, fearful of having no job at all.

    What motivates us? Our passion for flying, as cliche as that sounds. I could not imagine myself doing any other job (nor would i be very good at it), it is this inner motivation for the flying that drives us on through all the crap thrown at us. You say you do not have that which causes me to think you should look elsewhere. There will be times (numerous times) where mentally you will be driving on fumes, those fumes for most of us are provided for by that inner drive and passion for the profession. If that is not there then you will have nothing to drive you on and you will become a very bitter person, bitter towards everyone from the airline to your own colleagues, you will resent life. Ask me how I know? (hint: I sit beside them often enough).


  • Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    1123heavy wrote: »
    You will not earn a decent income unfortunately. If you are lucky enough to get the EI cadetship then fair you'd start on around 45k. If not then your options traditionally are Ryanair, stobart or one of the various other EU low hour operators. These do not pay well (stobart did in fairness but now with Emerald expect pay to nosedive for those guys). The pay situation is very bleak and will be for quite sometime off the back of this pandemic as management force through long wanted changes whilst the pilots are held over a barrel, fearful of having no job at all.

    What motivates us? Our passion for flying, as cliche as that sounds. I could not imagine myself doing any other job (nor would i be very good at it), it is this inner motivation for the flying that drives us on through all the crap thrown at us. You say you do not have that which causes me to think you should look elsewhere. There will be times (numerous times) where mentally you will be driving on fumes, those fumes for most of us are provided for by that inner drive and passion for the profession. If that is not there then you will have nothing to drive you on and you will become a very bitter person, bitter towards everyone from the airline to your own colleagues, you will resent life. Ask me how I know? (hint: I sit beside them often enough).


    But how is it actually bad? I mean, no matter who you ask, if you ask anyone would they recommend their job, they always moan and complain. But most people have it handy enough (except the lads turning the 'stop/go' sign at roadworks.. I wouldn't envy those).

    Being a pilot, as an outsider looking in, seems like you'd get a reasonably decent timetable/roster of what flights you'll be doing. I'm guessing, as the flight schedules likely don't change much year on year, that you probably know a few weeks in advance what your roster is?

    You get to the plane, get it off the ground and take it handy for a few hours til you've to land it again? (I'm not saying you don't have stuff to be doing, but I'm guessing that once you're in the air, the level of attention required would be much like driving a car, in that you can have a few cups of tea, potter in to the bathroom, talk sh/te with whoever is with you, shop on amazon, etc.


    Land it, turn it around, repeat for the journey home, clock out and off home?

    That pilot that flew the full plane (deliberately) into the side of a mountain a few years ago, makes me think it's a job that won't be fully automated anytime soon, as people will always want the reassurance of two pilots up front, and it seems like a job where you're not out in the cold and wet, shivering and making peanuts for it?

    I mean, in my current job, i get work landed on me that has to be done the next day. And they could be full 12 hour days of driving (I'm not a delivery driver, but I may aswell be, such is the level of driving i do). So, although that's irritating, it's not my passion for the job that gets me through it without telling the employers to "fcuk off", it's the prospect of the money landing in my bank account for doing the work.

    But again, i realise I'm interested in this, and have no personal experience of it, so i am obviously not clued into the various downsides and issues.

    What is it about the job that you don't actually like?

    Also, assuming you do the training and pay for your courses, how do you get a job? Is it like 'joe soap' jobs where you wait for a vacancy, and then 100 people apply for the 1 available position? Or are pilots generally sought after at the moment? (I've never heard of an unemployed pilot).


    (I'm not trying to be dismissive of any of your thoughts or opinions, but I am just genuinely interested in this and I find people that use Boards are generally of the common sense variety and can fill you in on things that are worth knowing, give the proper warning signs, things to look for, etc. and the aviation forum, although I'm not an enthusiast, i do pop in from time to time randomly, everyone seems fairly open and friendly on here).


    EDIT: I make about 35k at the moment, which I can live quite comfortably on, and have savings etc. (I live a fairly dull, low cost life). So that's what I'm comparing to.


  • Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    L1011 wrote: »
    The cost of training to a level to make you an appealing hire is Rather A Lot.

    There is no guarantee of a decent income, particularly in early years.

    There is no guarantee of their always being demand - look at right now.



    If you do want to go for it, get the medical at the first instance - there is no point paying for training and discovering you won't get a licence.

    edit: actually, doing an hours introductory lesson before the medical might not be the worst idea, in case it turns out you're completely freaked out by the experience - unlikely but it happens. Cheaper than the medical!




    Would you recommend SimTech (or anyone else) for an hour introductory?


    I might well do it. The only thing I'd be slightly concerned about is, does weight matter? I'd be about 17-18st at the best of times. I'm fairly fit-ish and have no mobility issues or anything (just incase you're picturing a blimp, with little t-rex arms sticking out).


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,689 ✭✭✭lintdrummer


    I think you need a dose of reality to aid your decision.

    The idea that once you get to the cruise you put your feet up until landing is misguided. Pilots often do 4 sector days (in a non covid world). Those would be 4 fairly short sectors such as Paris and Manchester back to back. The cruise on an A320 to Manchester is so short that you often don't have time to do the tasks you'd normally do in the cruise, necessitating doing them on the ground before departure, thus making a tight busy turnaround even more demanding.
    Even on "longer" sectors you often only have an hour of cruise time during which you'll need to eat and perform all your in flight duties. Yes you will have time to talk shite with your colleague but you'd be surprised how quickly the time goes. Also there aren't many wifi equipped aircraft operating short haul out of Ireland so unless you're operating transatlantic you can forget the internet shopping.

    In my airline we get 4 weeks of roster published 2 weeks before the current roster expires. So you get maximum 6 weeks of visibility as to what you're doing. Having said that our work pattern is fixed so we know what our days off will be reliably at any stage in the future. But that's not the case in many airlines where your work pattern is fairly random.

    Work days are antisocial too, either starting very early (reporting pre 6am at the airport) or finishing very late (post midnight) or being away on overnights for a couple of days. This can wreak havoc with social life and family life.

    It's also quite a high pressure job. Time is critical of course so you'll be always thinking "what do I have to do next?". As is regularly said where I work "If you're fat dumb and happy, there's something you've forgotten to do, or something you could be doing". In other words you shouldn't find yourself at a loose end at any stage during the work day. Then you have to consider that you'll be assessed regularly. You'll be assessed in the sim twice a year. Once a year you're assessed on an actual flight. You'll be going through fairly rigorous training for the first few years to develop you into a candidate for the Captain's seat. A lot of the onus is on you to develop yourself and keep up the learning both at and outside of work.

    As for the initial training: if you go the full time route in an integrated course and go all the way to a type rating on a jet you'll be spending c. €150,000. The training is high pressure and first time passes in all theoretical and practical exams are important if you want a good chance of getting a job. Depending on the state of the industry when you finish training, getting a job may be very difficult.

    When you do get a job, the money can be good, but it can also be not great, especially if you've got big loan repayments, depending on who you get a job with. You can get an idea of salary scales here: https://www.pilotjobsnetwork.com/operatorlist.php?reg=Europe

    Like has been said above most of us are happy out in this career because we didn't get into it just for the money or how "handy" it would be. If that's all that's motivating you, you could end up fairly unhappy and you'd be better of looking at different options.

    With regards your weight, I don't know how tall you are but if you're a bit overweight it wouldn't be a deal breaker. However, you need to be able to get and maintain a Class 1 medical. The doctor I get my medical with gave me a bit of grief when I put on a stone between medicals. It's the fact that being overweight can lead to other problems such as diabetes and heart disease, some of which could be career finishing.
    So the advice to get a medical first and foremost is good advice. There's no point thinking about this at all if you can't get the medical and therefore a license.

    I wouldn't go to Simtech, or any sim for an introductory lesson. You'll be totally lost and it won't have any value. Go to Weston or your local airfield and go up in a light aircraft for an hour. That will tell you whether you really want to go down this road or not.

    Hope I haven't scared you off the idea but you need to know it's not all sunshine and rainbows.

    Best of luck what ever you end up doing.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,008 ✭✭✭1123heavy


    But how is it actually bad? I mean, no matter who you ask, if you ask anyone would they recommend their job, they always moan and complain. But most people have it handy enough (except the lads turning the 'stop/go' sign at roadworks.. I wouldn't envy those).

    Being a pilot, as an outsider looking in, seems like you'd get a reasonably decent timetable/roster of what flights you'll be doing. I'm guessing, as the flight schedules likely don't change much year on year, that you probably know a few weeks in advance what your roster is?

    You get to the plane, get it off the ground and take it handy for a few hours til you've to land it again? (I'm not saying you don't have stuff to be doing, but I'm guessing that once you're in the air, the level of attention required would be much like driving a car, in that you can have a few cups of tea, potter in to the bathroom, talk sh/te with whoever is with you, shop on amazon, etc.


    Land it, turn it around, repeat for the journey home, clock out and off home?

    That pilot that flew the full plane (deliberately) into the side of a mountain a few years ago, makes me think it's a job that won't be fully automated anytime soon, as people will always want the reassurance of two pilots up front, and it seems like a job where you're not out in the cold and wet, shivering and making peanuts for it?

    I mean, in my current job, i get work landed on me that has to be done the next day. And they could be full 12 hour days of driving (I'm not a delivery driver, but I may aswell be, such is the level of driving i do). So, although that's irritating, it's not my passion for the job that gets me through it without telling the employers to "fcuk off", it's the prospect of the money landing in my bank account for doing the work.

    But again, i realise I'm interested in this, and have no personal experience of it, so i am obviously not clued into the various downsides and issues.

    What is it about the job that you don't actually like?

    Also, assuming you do the training and pay for your courses, how do you get a job? Is it like 'joe soap' jobs where you wait for a vacancy, and then 100 people apply for the 1 available position? Or are pilots generally sought after at the moment? (I've never heard of an unemployed pilot).


    (I'm not trying to be dismissive of any of your thoughts or opinions, but I am just genuinely interested in this and I find people that use Boards are generally of the common sense variety and can fill you in on things that are worth knowing, give the proper warning signs, things to look for, etc. and the aviation forum, although I'm not an enthusiast, i do pop in from time to time randomly, everyone seems fairly open and friendly on here).


    EDIT: I make about 35k at the moment, which I can live quite comfortably on, and have savings etc. (I live a fairly dull, low cost life). So that's what I'm comparing to.

    Do you know any pilots in order for you to say you don't know any unemployed ones? Not trying to be funny or anything this just shows extreme naivety, I know enough to fill a phonebook and there are new ones getting added to it everyday of the week. Even pre Corona, attending any airline assessment was always a sobering experience. You met 10s of people who never found a job or were made redundant years back and couldn't get back on the ladder.

    The process is you finish your training and then apply to an airline accepting low hour pilots. Right now there is nobody accepting such pilots. Even during the good years these chances were very few and far between, it took a lot of effort. The applicant v job ratio is well above 100:1 too. Any job openings are swamped, this is the reality of the industry. Now put yourself in the situation where you've just spent 70k on your ATPL (assuming you did it on the cheap) and have nothing to show for it, will you be happy? You will end up on pprune with all the other unemployed pilots asking why there are no jobs or cursing the industry.

    Yes you do have the potential to earn decent money after a few years, but the risk v reward is totally not worth it as I am realsiing myself first hand. I wasn't long in the job myself and got laid off ... what the future holds is anyone's guess. This after spending over 70k on my training. Meanwhile some of my old university friends are earning over 60k with the big tech companies and I'm here like a lemon on my dole payment. "But this is only temporary" I hear you say, it isn't though. 2008/09 GFC, 9/11, Gulf War, oil crisis of the early 80s ... every single one of these brought aviation to its knees and resulted in mass unemployment. Aviation is famously cyclical, when the world sneezes aviation catches a flu. I flew with captains who have had what I am going through on repeat their whole careers (one made redundant 5 times!). The fat pay checks earned in between are not worth the outlay as the stress, uncertainty and lack of paychecks tip the scales.

    If you get something like the aer lingus cadetship and you're set for life, great go for it I say, but anything else and you are paying big bucks to join a rollercoaster of uncertainty you wouldn't even particularly enjoy on the good days by your own admission, with it being just a job. Without the passion for it I genuinely suggest you go elsewhere, there are far better jobs paying much more in recession proof industries (social media companies and healthcare to name 2)


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,481 ✭✭✭California Dreamer


    Few things on the money side.

    Training: NFC charge €80ish k from 0-fatpl over 18 months.

    Then you have to also support yourself for those 18 months

    After that you should plan for having no flying job for 1-2 year. Sure some new guys get straight into Ryanair or the likes. Pre Covid it can still takes ages to get any kind of flying job. You might want a shiny new 737 but could end up on a 30 year old bird flying mail on overnight flights or even worse. Oh and whatever job you do get you will be blessed!

    Speaking of Ryanair. Prepare to be moved base 4-5 times over 2 years. That’s rent, car, expenses etc. forget it thinking you are going to be based in your home country in your chosen city with no issues. In Ryanair you are a number and as a low hour SO you get zero respect. Shut up and do what your told.

    But again this is all pre Covid talk.

    Just take Airbus for example. How many A320 family pilots are currently out there looking for jobs? How many airlines have gone tits up in the last 2 years?

    At the end of the day, if your dream go for it BUT and I must stress BUT get your class 1 medical first before you commit to anything.


  • Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Have to say folks, the posts here are excellent and really informative. I'd say I'd enjoy the actual practical flying aspect of being a pilot. Forking out for training and not having a job to show for it is a concerning observation, though. If that's an accurate portrayal of the real-world situation then I think I'd start to look elsewhere.

    Ultimately I'd be just looking for a decent income from a job that doesn't leave you claiming disability on the dole by the time you're 50. I always thought that being a Pilot would be a good job, interesting and somewhat exciting (initially, anyway).

    I'll have to make a proper effort to look into it.

    1123heavy wrote: »
    Do you know any pilots in order for you to say you don't know any unemployed ones?


    No, I don't. It's just a saying. I wish I did know a few pilots. It's always easy to get into something and get a more realistic idea of the job/life when you personally know someone doing it. I grew up around security guards, painters and bin men. Got myself into photography and have been using that to pay the bills the last few years but only because I got lucky and got the foot in the door with a really good company that contract me and give me a fair bit of work, but it's not gonna last forever, and I thought it'd do no harm to research the Pilot idea a little before dismissing it or never even attempting it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,481 ✭✭✭California Dreamer


    Again pre covid:
    The short haul guys that I know are knackered ALL the time!


  • Registered Users Posts: 262 ✭✭PinOnTheRight


    Again pre covid:
    The short haul guys that I know are knackered ALL the time!

    Indeed, a lot of easyJet crew in the UK have now taken part-time options of 50/75% in response to COVID, and I do wonder how many will actually want to go full time again assuming demand returns in a few years and they haven't forgot what fatigue fells like.


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  • Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Folks can anyone recommend a facebook page or such, where there may be active Pilots that just post up stuff day-to-day. (I appreciate such pages would be all doom and gloom at the moment, but i reckon it'd be no harm to have Pilot-related stuff pop up in my news feed more often, to try get familiar with the terms and language used).

    I was gonna contact SimTech and give them a shout to see if they could epxlain to me, like i was a child, the process of going from sitting in a dole queue to getting into a plane (I believe 'cockpit' is an outdated term nowadays?). They have a couple of courses on their site, but no explanation as to what they actually are (which probably helps weed out the people like me, in fairness, haha).


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,008 ✭✭✭1123heavy


    Folks can anyone recommend a facebook page or such, where there may be active Pilots that just post up stuff day-to-day. (I appreciate such pages would be all doom and gloom at the moment, but i reckon it'd be no harm to have Pilot-related stuff pop up in my news feed more often, to try get familiar with the terms and language used).

    I was gonna contact SimTech and give them a shout to see if they could epxlain to me, like i was a child, the process of going from sitting in a dole queue to getting into a plane (I believe 'cockpit' is an outdated term nowadays?). They have a couple of courses on their site, but no explanation as to what they actually are (which probably helps weed out the people like me, in fairness, haha).

    You will not need simtech at this stage, they are for simulator airline assessment preparation sessions, airline type ratings or a Multi Crew Cooperation course which you do at the very end of your flight training (if you went modular and it wasn't included, it should be included with integrated training)

    You will need a flight school, in Ireland we have the NFC in Weston or Atlantic flight training in Cork, that's where you'd want to look first (or any school abroad, google flight schools and the list is endless). Be very careful though, there are cowboys at every turn, never spend a euro without first speaking to students at the school (open days don't count, try speak to someone off the record to get the real story).

    Also do use pprune, there is a lot of nonsense on there but for sure there is lots of highly useful stuff on there too, head straight to the flight training threads (to learn what the processes entail) and interviews/sponsorships section (to get an idea of how getting a job is), it is dead nowadays due to the industry state but search past threads for valuable info.


  • Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭mikel97


    Pre Covid it can still takes ages to get any kind of flying job. You might want a shiny new 737 but could end up on a 30 year old bird flying mail on overnight flights or even worse. Oh and whatever job you do get you will be blessed!

    With less than 1500 hours Not a chance ever of getting into Cargo, its only for the experienced guys who know what they're doing. Cant start there unfortunately.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,008 ✭✭✭1123heavy


    mikel97 wrote: »
    With less than 1500 hours Not a chance ever of getting into Cargo, its only for the experienced guys who know what they're doing. Cant start there unfortunately.

    If you're talking about the likes of Cargolux then I'd agree, but there are plenty of small cargo turboprop operators across Europe that have hired low hours.


  • Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭mikel97


    Nope


  • Registered Users Posts: 644 ✭✭✭faoiarvok


    I was gonna contact SimTech and give them a shout to see if they could epxlain to me, like i was a child, the process of going from sitting in a dole queue to getting into a plane (I believe 'cockpit' is an outdated term nowadays?). They have a couple of courses on their site, but no explanation as to what they actually are (which probably helps weed out the people like me, in fairness, haha).

    The courses on Simtech’s site (aside from the public “experience” type things) are for licenced pilots to add a rating (qualification) to their licence. If you wanted a job with an airline, you need to look into ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot Licence) courses.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,481 ✭✭✭California Dreamer


    mikel97 wrote: »
    With less than 1500 hours Not a chance ever of getting into Cargo, its only for the experienced guys who know what they're doing. Cant start there unfortunately.

    Sorry to disagree with you there but flying cargo on a Saab 340 or some other old turboprop is where a lot of guys will start out. Night time mail flights or something like that is quite common.

    OP, apart from PPrune you won't find pilots hanging out shooting the breeze like Priest Chat on Fr Ted! I would also take Pprune with a big pinch of salt. Lots of opinions but lots of desk flyers.


  • Registered Users Posts: 481 ✭✭mr.anonymous


    Pprune is good but people rarely go online to say nice things.

    Recommend YouTube channels by some pilots: Mentour Pilot, Plane Old Ben. Mostly entertainment but informative too.

    Also look at the IAA website. They have some information and links to regulatory requirements for licences.

    Be prudent and patient, don't part with money easily.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,003 ✭✭✭✭smurfjed


    where there may be active Pilots that just post up stuff day-to-day. (I appreciate such pages would be all doom and gloom at the moment

    If you want to hear about doom and gloom, then pilots are the perfect people to talk to.

    I guess that in a way you are lucky as you are looking at flying as a job to earn money rather than following a dream. So you can be rather pragmatic in trying to plan out a future based on your initial investments versus returns.

    For me, I really have to say that I’m living the dream and I love going to work, even if that means two 6 hour flights across Africa in the middle of the night.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,003 ✭✭✭✭smurfjed


    And there is never a dull moment when flying in Africa..

    ‘Presence of dogs around the runway 09L/27R, caution advised when taking off and landing’,

    What do they expect me to do ?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 20 Gmak2442


    I think there is a demand. And also high chances to get the job. But it might be dangerous. So not worth it for me at all. I don't like danger.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,481 ✭✭✭California Dreamer


    Gmak2442 wrote: »
    I think there is a demand. And also high chances to get the job.

    I would like to hear your opinions on this.


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,063 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    I strongly suspect that's a bot you're replying to.


  • Registered Users Posts: 196 ✭✭UID0


    smurfjed wrote: »
    And there is never a dull moment when flying in Africa..

    ‘Presence of dogs around the runway 09L/27R, caution advised when taking off and landing’,

    What do they expect me to do ?

    You can get worse than that in Alaska

    https://avherald.com/h?article=4df460bc&opt=0


  • Registered Users Posts: 108 ✭✭Astral Nav


    KKV,
    You might just be trolling. You might be just naive. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume the second.
    SimTech is for advanced courses, they have no aircraft and they don't give you free 'how to get a licence' chats. You pay for a course there after you've already dropped €70-100k.
    Fail a medical or one of hundreds of exams and tests and you are heading for the exit door.
    To learn to fly you start off in light aircraft, study for your PPL exams. Add in Irish weather and this process can take years. Forget modern sims, you learn instrument flying (google it) on basic aircraft.
    Job market. There is none. The aviation industry has collapsed bar freight. When recruitment does start again in 3-5 years it will all be for younger, highly trained and experienced individuals. Pay and working conditions will have plummeted.
    The job itself. I still love it but the reality is 10-12 hour days (pre Covid), you don't just take off and then stick on the iPod. You are responsible for the lives of potentially hundreds of people in a machine that probably cost a €100m or so and a slip up can cost. Flying an approach in some of our winter storms is one of the most demanding things I know and it must always be done safely. Bear in mind if you do get through all those massive costs, hurdles, recruitment and advanced training then you will be sitting there observing and monitoring an approach like that, the Captain will be flying and it'll will be years more before you get the chance. Oh and you get blamed for everything from airport gates to weather.
    KKV, I always try and help people who want to learn but really you need to read up on the basics and not just turn up with some half baked idea that you sit in a simulator for a while and press a few buttons and then you have a well paid job with no great demands for life. If it's for you then I wish you well but it doesn't sound promising.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,481 ✭✭✭California Dreamer


    Astral Nav wrote: »
    KKV,
    You might just be trolling. You might be just naive. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

    Very harsh response and frankly just what the OP needs. ðŸ‘


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