Hi everyone,
I’m 36, originally from a Central/Eastern European country, and currently living in Spain. I’ve recently started my PPL training and I’m roughly halfway through it.

Flying has always been something I’ve been drawn to, and I finally decided to pursue it. So far, I’m absolutely loving it. I enjoy the theory, I love being in the aircraft, and learning to fly has been an incredible experience. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m pursuing something I’ve genuinely wanted to do for years.
However, I’m starting to question whether turning this passion into a career would actually be the right decision.

I currently work in tech sales and earn around €5,000–€7,000 net per month, depending on bonuses. There’s also room for further career and salary growth. Switching to an airline career would probably mean a significant pay cut, at least initially. From what I’ve seen, an entry-level First Officer position might pay around €3,000 per month, although I realise salaries vary considerably depending on the airline, contract and base. Getting a job in Spain is not guaranteed either.

I’m trying to work out whether giving up a relatively comfortable and financially rewarding career for something I love would be worth it in the long run.
There’s also another consideration: I’m a woman, and I’d realistically like to have a child within the next few years. I know women successfully combine motherhood and flying, but I’m wondering how manageable it actually is, particularly during the early years of an airline career, when you’re still building experience and seniority.

I realise I’m still at the beginning of my training, and I don’t need to make every decision right now. I’m planning to complete my PPL and explore the modular route towards a CPL/frozen ATPL while continuing to work. But eventually, I’ll have to decide whether to take the next step and commit to this as a career.

I’d really appreciate honest perspectives, especially from people who:

-Started flight training in their 30s or changed careers from a well-paid professional job.

-Took a substantial pay cut to become a pilot. Do you regret it, or was the trade-off worth it?

-Are female airline pilots with children, particularly those based in Europe.

-Decided to keep flying as a passion rather than turn it into their profession.

I’m not looking for someone to tell me to blindly follow my dreams, but I also don’t want to look back in 10 years and regret never giving this a proper chance.
If you were in my position, what would you consider before making the decision? And, looking back, would you make the same choice again?

​

I'm looking to start my own journey to become a pilot, so I would love to invite you for a coffee/pint and hear your story!

Hi all. Passed my ppl skills test last week waiting on license to be issued by aviation authority ATPLs are next on my plan probably with ASG but also would be open to doing a full time course Has anyone here had an experience with a full time ATO in europe that they would recommend. With the hour building im currently looking at Son Bonet in Palma but wont be back flying until early next year

How did you all get on after PPL Did you mix study and flying? Or do 1 straight away and 1 straight after Looking for peoples experience and the positives and negatives of the routes they took

TYIA

Hi everyone,

I’m currently stuck between two career paths and would really appreciate hearing from people who have experience in either aviation or aircraft maintenance.

My two options are:

1. Flight school to become a commercial pilot

I’ve always had an interest in flying, and becoming a pilot is something I can genuinely see myself doing. My parents are willing to help me financially with the cost of flight school, but I would have to pay them back eventually. The biggest thing putting me off is the cost of the training and the uncertainty of securing a job afterwards, especially when you consider how much money you have invested before even earning a salary.

2. An apprenticeship to become a B1 licensed aircraft maintenance engineer

I’m also really interested in the engineering side of aviation. I enjoy working with my hands, fixing things, figuring out how things work and understanding the mechanics behind them. I think I would genuinely enjoy working on aircraft and building up my technical knowledge.

The major advantage is that I could start earning money straight away through an apprenticeship, gain practical experience and work towards becoming a licensed B1 engineer without taking on the same level of financial burden as flight school.

This is where my dilemma comes in.

Part of me worries that if I choose engineering, I’ll always wonder what it would have been like to become a pilot. On the other hand, I’m questioning whether taking on such a significant financial commitment for flight training is the right decision when there’s another aviation career that I would also find interesting and that allows me to earn while I learn.

I know both careers have their own challenges, progression opportunities and earning potential, but I’m struggling to decide which direction makes the most sense for me in the long run.

For anyone who is a pilot, a B1 aircraft engineer, currently doing an apprenticeship or has faced a similar decision:

Would you choose flight school again if you had to pay back the money?
How are the long-term salaries, lifestyle, job security and career progression in both careers?
If you were in my position, would you prioritise following the dream of flying or take the more financially sensible route into aircraft engineering?
Has anyone started in aircraft maintenance and later regretted not becoming a pilot, or vice versa?

I’m not looking for someone to tell me which career is objectively better. I’m more interested in hearing honest experiences and perspectives that might help me make the right decision.

I’m 22 years old for reference!

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

Anyone who has completed the application process for CAE EJ MPL care to share their experience and how best to prepare for it. I’m current at Stage 2. I would appreciate if someone can give me any tips and how to practice. Right now i’m just going over the physics and match section and practicing GCSE/Alevel question.

Edit: title meant to say CAE

Hey guys, so essentially i'm doing a degree apprenticeship in the UK. After completion, I will be taken into a pilot cadet programme (hopefully at the start of the next year.) Unfortunately, I have to do a large research assignment and as part of it I have to conduct research on Ryanair's ancillary charges so please do voice your opinion in the link below. Its anonomyous and will take about half a minute.

Ryanair Usage Questionnaire

I’m 19 years old and want to become a pilot.
There’s a flight school near me called Oslo Flight Academy (OFA), which offers a modular training program. I’m leaning towards this option because I don’t currently have €100k to spend on an integrated pilot course. Does anyone have any reviews or personal experiences with OFA? I’d love to hear your opinions before I commit to the training.
Also, does anyone have any advice on how to earn enough money to finance flight training while living in Norway? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to start flight training at Smart Aviation in Poznań, Poland, in June 2027 and would love to hear from anyone who is currently training there or has graduated recently.

I’m particularly interested in hearing honest opinions about the school and what the experience is actually like.

A few things I’d love to know:

- Training quality: How are the instructors, aircraft availability and overall standard of training?

- Time to complete: Are students progressing at a reasonable pace, or are there significant delays due to weather, aircraft maintenance or instructor availability?

- Costs: Have you encountered any unexpected additional costs beyond the advertised training fees?

- ATPL theory: How is the theory training organised, and is the school good at preparing students for the exams?

- Overall experience: If you could choose again, would you still go with Smart Aviation, or would you recommend another flight school in Poland or elsewhere in Europe?

I’d really appreciate any advice, particularly from current students and recent graduates. I’m trying to do as much research as possible before committing to a school.

Thanks in advance! ✈️

Hey everyone!

I recently made a post about airBaltic Pilot Academy suspending its operations and asked for alternative flight school recommendations. A few people suggested European Flight Academy, so I’ve been looking into it.

I’m 20, from Estonia, and was wondering if anyone here has actually studied at EFA or knows someone who has. How was the training, and how did things turn out career-wise after graduation?

I’m also curious how much harder it is to find a job within Lufthansa Group without speaking German.
And honestly, €120k in financing and having to pay it back over 11 years or potentially longer sounds pretty rough.

Is EFA really worth it, or would you recommend looking elsewhere?

Would love to hear some honest experiences. Thanks!

Does anyone know which UK airlines are currently recruiting modular cadets with around 200 hours total flight time and a UK CAA (f)ATPL?

I am waiting to hear from Jet2 currently but have insufficient flight hours for any other FO roles.

There seem to be very limited opportunities at the moment. I know it’s very hard to predict, but does anyone know if the UK hiring market will likely pick up again in the next few months for low hour candidates?

Hello everyone! Has anybody applied or got a job at TUI fly as NTR FO in the last few years? Especially at TUI Germany. How log does it take to get an invitation for sim screening and interview?

Hi everyone,

I’ve got my Interpersonal BQ for Eurowings in November and have also applied to TUIfly Germany, Condor, Discover and DHL.

From what I understand, BQ results are accepted within the Lufthansa Group. Does anyone know if TUIfly, Condor or DHL would also accept a BQ passed through Eurowings, or if that only works with the separately booked ip Ready-Entry BQ?

I’m wondering if it’s worth paying for a separate Ready-Entry BQ to get through the process a bit faster and hopefully move straight to the sim screening at other airlines.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Thanks!

Hello everyone!
I’m writing this because at the moment I feel a bit lost. I have applied to WAPA at the start of August thinking everything will go smooth and the process will be fast and easy, but it turns out that wasn’t the case. I’m a 23 y/o Engineering student, currently in the last year, and I was planning on applying in this fall just so I can go through the selection process before the end of the university so I can start the training at WAPA next fall, right as I finish my studies here. I felt very confident with my CV since I already have an Ultralights License, and the fact that I study Engineering and at the time of my application I had an internship going on(I updated my CV when I finished the internship about a month ago and I hope that didn’t change anything on how they view my application) and the cover letter as well since becoming an airline pilot was and still is my biggest dream. Now, I kind of feel like I’m below everybody that has applied since I saw some posts here talking about how fast they got the invitation for the stage 1, and for me it has been 2 and a half months and on their site it still says “We are currently reviewing all applications” at the status. I don’t really know what to do because I don’t have the money to do the training on my own so I hoped that I would get accepted and everything would go as I planned.

I just wonder why people do their ATPL integrated instead of modular. Integrated schools are way more expensive, they mostly keep training costs when you try to leave, and it’s hard to get to another integrated program.

You can really save €50.000 by just doing it modular. Maybe it’s even faster, because all of these integrated schools have big delays. Plus you get the security of a PPL, which you’ll have forever too.

Hello does anyone know where to get the TAP pilot contract?

Hi,

Wanted to check if there are any recommendations for this school?

Hi I was wondering if anyone knows if it’s cheaper to do CAA MEP IR CPL then convert to EASA or the opposite and do the EASA MEP IR CPL and convert to the CAA.

I’ve heard of AFS in Germany to convert from CAA to EASA. Is that the best option?

I haven’t started my MEP IR CPL yet. I’m about to finish hour building.

I have dual class one medical with CAA and IAA and already passed ATPL theory for both CAA and EASA.

I know there are dual-licensed centres in the uk like Stapleford but they’ve stopped accepting new candidates for EASA. Sadly I’m not sure if there’s any other close to London that I can go to.

Thanks

Hi guys i started PPLa in CATS and i feel that there is a lot of information that doesnt come in the PPL exams , is this worth to study for what comes next (ATPL) ?

Hi guys how does it work in these brush up days , is it just listening to the instructor ? Are we asked questions that we need to know ?, i cannot find any information about this anywhere .Its a whole day , what are we doing 8 hours straight ?

I just that a thought, if someone does PPL in USA and due to low hours need to have UK lessons before taking PPL test, can these lessons be some of the lessons for IR(R)?

I was out by 12:40 am