Career change

[-:Undertaker:-]

Has anyone here ever embarked on a career change and how did you find it?

I've been teaching now for 8 years, and finally achieved the official British qualification last year which was a long-term aim of mine. Anyway, as much as I love being in the classroom still, I noticed recently I felt a bit flat since achieving it and a lack of motivation - and I was searching my feelings and I think the lack of aim/goal now is really getting to me. Now it's like, what else/next?

So I couldn't think of a job where I could still travel/live abroad/be on the move, and where there is scope for career progression. There's career progression in teaching, but that often takes you away from the classroom itself and towards admin and red tape which in my eyes defeats the point of the job.

Anyway, was recently on holiday with my friend from school and his mate, both of whom are British Airways pilots. I have to say, I love the lifestyle and it seems a really interesting job to do. So that got me thinking, why couldn't I do something like that? We got pretty much the same grades (in fact, I think mine were higher). So at the moment I'm asking questions and researching into it, but it is a possible goal for me to go for in the next couple of years. Who knows? But it has got me excited and seems like a goal I would love to fulfil.

What about you? Any jobs changes into different industries that you've enjoyed or regretted?

[-:Undertaker:-]

Just booked a trial flight - 30 minutes instruction, 1 hour flight time - at La Juliana Aerodrome just outside of Seville. It says you can plan a route with the instructor where you want to go - hopefully I will be able to go over Jerez where I currently live/work and also over Rota nearby which is on the coast and is where I lived/worked from 2018-2021. I've picked the flexi-date booking as I want to fly in clear weather to be able to see as recently its been quite rainy and cloudy which is unusual for Andalusia.

Assuming I like/enjoy it, the next step then would be booking a Class 1 Medical at Liverpool or Manchester airports when I am home for Easter, as that way I will get a confirmation health-wise that I would be eligible to fly. Imagine planning all this and then failing a health check in two years time just before the course begins because of some unforeseen health issue(!). After that, do an online assessment to get into the prospective pool of trainee pilots at the school.

...and then assuming I get the all-clear on that, I then look for jobs in the Gulf (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait etc where the money is, tax-free) and teach for one or two more years, save like crazy and then hopefully go to flight school in mid 2027 or mid 2028.

That's the vague plan at the moment anyways, lets see how it all goes.

[Triz]

Yeah, I did a pretty big switch and honestly I don’t regret it.

I went from being a cinema manager to an HGV driver. Totally different world. I enjoyed the change a lot.. mainly because it gave me way more freedom. The pay jump was huge, literally about 3 times what I was on before, which opened up a lot more things for me such as a mortgage and better holidays etc...

After about 3 years, I actually chose to take a £10k pay cut so I could move onto a 4x4 shift pattern. Which means I only work around 5.3 months of the year. I’ve been doing 4x4 for about 5 years now (HGV Driving for 8 years) and it’s been amazing for work life balance, though as they say, you are never fully satisfied with how much you earn vs how much time off you get, you'll always want more money with less work.

I think that "whats next" feeling is really common once you hit a big goal.. having something new to aim for makes a massive difference. If the pilot route has got you excited and ticking over mentally, that alone is probably a good sign. Worst thing is staying put just because it’s familiar. My brother did flying lessons and did his first solo last year, he's of no aviation background either. The only thing I'll say is that be prepared to spend a lot of money to get your PPL. It takes time and probably like £600 a month for a fair few months and that's if you pick it up quickly. Then from there you can get a job where you can earn money doing it, as you need X amount of hours flying per year to even keep your PPL valid. Can't remember the exact figure, but I'm sure you can google it.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Yeah, I did a pretty big switch and honestly I don’t regret it.

I went from being a cinema manager to an HGV driver. Totally different world. I enjoyed the change a lot.. mainly because it gave me way more freedom. The pay jump was huge, literally about 3 times what I was on before, which opened up a lot more things for me such as a mortgage and better holidays etc...

After about 3 years, I actually chose to take a £10k pay cut so I could move onto a 4x4 shift pattern. Which means I only work around 5.3 months of the year. I’ve been doing 4x4 for about 5 years now (HGV Driving for 8 years) and it’s been amazing for work life balance, though as they say, you are never fully satisfied with how much you earn vs how much time off you get, you'll always want more money with less work.

I rmemeber you now saying you did HGV driving, see I think we're probably alike then with that in that we want to be constantly on the move and not stuck in one place. Your work/life balance is fantastic too, I mean with teaching you do get a good work/life balance with the long holidays but the fact is you're still stuck during term time in the one place and the older I get, the less I want to settle down in one place and I get restless so quickly. The idea of being constantly on the move like you are, and doing the actual job like you are, that's right up my street.

I think that "whats next" feeling is really common once you hit a big goal.. having something new to aim for makes a massive difference. If the pilot route has got you excited and ticking over mentally, that alone is probably a good sign. Worst thing is staying put just because it’s familiar. My brother did flying lessons and did his first solo last year, he's of no aviation background either. The only thing I'll say is that be prepared to spend a lot of money to get your PPL. It takes time and probably like £600 a month for a fair few months and that's if you pick it up quickly. Then from there you can get a job where you can earn money doing it, as you need X amount of hours flying per year to even keep your PPL valid. Can't remember the exact figure, but I'm sure you can google it.

So I'm looking at doing the integrated route where it is all done over 18 months, I think your brother is doing what my friend did over the years and he did it module by module - takes longer but it is cheaper (I think he spent £70,000 overall) as a lot of smaller flight companies will offer to pay for the module provided you work X amount of years for them. The course I have in mind is going to cost around £110,000 hence why I will have to go to the Gulf teaching for a year or two (depending on how much family would loan me) to afford it - it's tax free over there with accom included and flights, so I would save really easily. The flight course is full board though, so accom and food etc is all included, and you've got onsite facilities like a swimming pool, tennis courts, bar etc. I'm 33 now so I can't spend the same amount of time doing it that my friend did haha.

Here's the information they sent me:

Our full board integrated course, the Airline First Officer Programme (AFOP), is designed to obtain a commercial pilot licence compliant with EASA/UK CAA. This is the highest certification a commercial pilot may obtain and it allows our graduates to join an airline upon completion of the training. To get so, FTEJerez has agreements with many of the main European and British airlines, which already have recruited FTEJerez students for decades. These includes Iberia, Aer Lingus, Air Astana, British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Volotea and Vueling, among many others. I invite you to follow us on social media, @ftejerez, so that you are informed and follow all our news and the Cadet Programmes that we will be announcing with our airlines partners.

The AFOP course, is a residential course, which means that all training and full board accommodation is included in the package. Students reside during the entire course in a single room, en suite, located on our Aviation Campus in Jerez de la Frontera, southern Spain. With over 300 days of sunshine per year, close by international airports, EASA airspace and over 70,000 square meters of campus grounds, including recreational and sporting facilities, social club, gym, pool and ample gardens, the FTECampus is an unrivalled location in which to complete your professional pilot training. Furthermore, the mandatory 5.5 hours of MEP IR flying required to meet UK CAA authority requirements will be carried out at our base in Oxford. Please note that we are offering the dual licence option. Students under this modality would be required to complete two sittings of ground school exams, for both EASA and UK CAA and arrive with two Class 1 medicals (some medical centres in the UK are offering the option of obtaining both medicals with only one test) The additional fee to get the dual license is 7,500£ (flights and accommodation in the UK are not included)

To be suitable to begin the course, you must pass our selection assessments. These are online and free of charge and are carried out monthly. You may send your application to us using the link: www.ftejerez.com/apply. In addition, at www.ftejerez.com/pretest you will find an exercise guide with information on how to practice the most relevant subjects.

[-:Undertaker:-]

I went out to the local Irish bar tonight and had 3 pints.... just happened to be full of Jerez flight school trainee pilots, anyway got talking to this southern Irish lad from Dublin and was asking questions about the course. All seemed good. He gave me his WhatsApp anyway for any extra questions, all looking good atm. It was interesting to hear about the older guy on his course, said he's 43 and training - goes to show it is never too late for a change.

Quite excited to get this demo flight done as soon as possible now, just waiting for this unusual and horrendous weather to disappear.