No professional aviation career for me (and here's why)...
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No professional aviation career for me (and here's why)...
I've been reading these boards for 10 years, posting only once before. I've shared my thoughts in case they help others (particularly those unsuccessful with recent BA FPP applications).
I graduated from Uni in July 2001 and had secured a place on BA sponsored pilot scheme for later that year. 9/11 put pay to that, but in the intervening years I gained a PhD and climbed the career ladder first in R&D, and latterly as a fraud investigator. When I heard about BA's new FPP I registered my interest and waited for the applications to open.
However after careful consideration I decided not to apply.
It wasn't the £80k+ loan - although I certainly didn't relish the thought, I understand why it's needed. It also wasn't the lack of a "cast-iron guaranteed" job at the end. This is the risk with any professional training (and is probably the closest you'll get to a guaranteed job).
No, the reasons I will be staying with my current career are:
1) The pay. I understand newly qualified FOs should expect circa £35k. Forget the "official" national average wage; I suspect most people living in the SE, who are over 25, in employment, and meeting the FPP criteria would need to take a significant pay cut. I was earning over £35k in my first job out of uni over 6 years ago! Now that I have a mortgage/wife/child I simply cannot afford a 50%-60% drop in salary.
2) Steady erosion of T&Cs. Speak to any pilot who's been flying commercially for 15-20 years. Ask them how the T&Cs have changed. Look at the trend - where's it likely to be in 10 / 20 / 30 years? In my opinion, the demise of the sponsored schemes has accelerated this problem. Look at Pay-To-Fly; the only thing I see reversing this trend is an unfortunate incident where lack of experience is blamed.
3) Job Security. I accept there are few "secure" careers these days, however airlines do seem to be more cyclical than other industries. What will happen to the oil price in 10 / 20 years? Will this effect the continued increase in volume of passengers that airlines are predicting? How will the continued trend towards automation impact on pilots? I think we'll always need a human in the chain, but will you need 2/3/4 of them on-board? Look at what happened to flight engineers.
4) The "seniority" model. Do I want to be tied to an employer for 10 / 20 / 30 years? A lot can change in 30 years. I suspect the high "cost" in moving employer would give me some unhappy periods over that timeframe.
Ultimately I've come to the conclusion that this isn't the career for me. I would rather be in a career with a reasonable barrier to entry (IMO the FTO's have removed albeit the financial barrier) and in an industry that is growing. So long as people are willing to re-mortgage their house to pay for their own (or their son/daughter's) training I fear there will always be more applicants than jobs. I do not see this trend ending, and it will only further erode pay and conditions.
I may regret my decision one day, but at the moment it feels like the correct decision for me.
I graduated from Uni in July 2001 and had secured a place on BA sponsored pilot scheme for later that year. 9/11 put pay to that, but in the intervening years I gained a PhD and climbed the career ladder first in R&D, and latterly as a fraud investigator. When I heard about BA's new FPP I registered my interest and waited for the applications to open.
However after careful consideration I decided not to apply.
It wasn't the £80k+ loan - although I certainly didn't relish the thought, I understand why it's needed. It also wasn't the lack of a "cast-iron guaranteed" job at the end. This is the risk with any professional training (and is probably the closest you'll get to a guaranteed job).
No, the reasons I will be staying with my current career are:
1) The pay. I understand newly qualified FOs should expect circa £35k. Forget the "official" national average wage; I suspect most people living in the SE, who are over 25, in employment, and meeting the FPP criteria would need to take a significant pay cut. I was earning over £35k in my first job out of uni over 6 years ago! Now that I have a mortgage/wife/child I simply cannot afford a 50%-60% drop in salary.
2) Steady erosion of T&Cs. Speak to any pilot who's been flying commercially for 15-20 years. Ask them how the T&Cs have changed. Look at the trend - where's it likely to be in 10 / 20 / 30 years? In my opinion, the demise of the sponsored schemes has accelerated this problem. Look at Pay-To-Fly; the only thing I see reversing this trend is an unfortunate incident where lack of experience is blamed.
3) Job Security. I accept there are few "secure" careers these days, however airlines do seem to be more cyclical than other industries. What will happen to the oil price in 10 / 20 years? Will this effect the continued increase in volume of passengers that airlines are predicting? How will the continued trend towards automation impact on pilots? I think we'll always need a human in the chain, but will you need 2/3/4 of them on-board? Look at what happened to flight engineers.
4) The "seniority" model. Do I want to be tied to an employer for 10 / 20 / 30 years? A lot can change in 30 years. I suspect the high "cost" in moving employer would give me some unhappy periods over that timeframe.
Ultimately I've come to the conclusion that this isn't the career for me. I would rather be in a career with a reasonable barrier to entry (IMO the FTO's have removed albeit the financial barrier) and in an industry that is growing. So long as people are willing to re-mortgage their house to pay for their own (or their son/daughter's) training I fear there will always be more applicants than jobs. I do not see this trend ending, and it will only further erode pay and conditions.
I may regret my decision one day, but at the moment it feels like the correct decision for me.
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Thank you for your thoughts and for expressing them with logic and, I suspect, a tinge of regret.
However before this thread become hijacked by some of the head-banging brigade of sciolists I am closing it whilst it has integrity.
HWB
However before this thread become hijacked by some of the head-banging brigade of sciolists I am closing it whilst it has integrity.
HWB
