Originally Posted by
Skymaster15L
considering that a lot of recruitment for airlines (as I have been lead to believe) is through integrated schemes by academies that supply their graduates to a specific carrier(s).
This is partly true, but not 100% true. You are already falling for the advertising gimmicks of the big three UK integrated schools, Oxford, FTE, and CTC.
As far as being a foreign convertee, you will be treated the same as a modular student or a non-sponsored integrated guy. Don't worry so much about that.
Generally speaking, I have heard Oxford claims of 95% hiring rate, but their numbers are not necessarily placements. Guys who found a flight instructor job on their own, or got a job towing gliders go on their "95%" hiring rate. Some even suspect that getting a job at the gas station counts as "finding a job" according to Oxford.
As far as CTC schemes go, there are multiple. Everything from sponsored integrated to guys who have done their modular course elsewhere and apply. If you are modular/foreign convertee like yourself, if you get accepted into the CTC scheme, then you will pay for their MCC course and type rating yourself, and then go into a holdpool. When CTC doesn't have enough integrated students to supply the airlines, you come out of the hold pool and start at an airline. You could be in a hold pool for up to 2 years or more. It is quite crap if you ask me.
But these connected-integrated-hiring schemes are really endemic to the UK, although they are spreading through Europe. Most of the whining you hear on PPrune is from lads in the UK. Here in Spain, I am currently unaware of any integrated schemes where guys get hired directly to an airline through the school's connection (FTE doesn't count as they are really a UK school). Here, it is all about who you know, or what the Spanish call "enchufe".
Finding an FI job vs FO job:
Of the people I know who got a job, all had instructor experience except for two and they found a job via CTC and are still waiting to start the type rating (won't be until December, and then who knows how long they will be in the hold pool). Everyone I know who has done an FI rating so far has found an FI job. Enjoyment, same as in the US really. Pay, I have seen pay as high as 27€ per hour in France, 20GBP an hour in the UK, and 18€ an hour in Spain. I know that there are places in Spain that pay less. I can't speak for the rest of Europe. I know people who were offered jobs before they even finished their FI rating. Not all schools can train for a flight instructor rating. They must have an actual Flight Instructor Course Instructor. Lots of flying clubs don't have a FIC, so they get their instructors from other schools. But just like in the US, you need to go where the demand is, or do your flight instructor rating where you want to work, make a good impression, and they really value a high level of English (which it seems you have).
Will that extra experience and extra hours (although still on piston planes) be something that you feel will give you a better edge when you apply independently to an airline?
Yes. Lots of kids in Europe have shiny jet syndrome. They don't see the point in flying a single engine piston for low pay when they could fly a jet at 250hours. It is quite a narrow-minded way of viewing things. I know plenty of guys who did the instructor thing first and it was looked favorably at the airlines. One Air Berlin captain I knwo told me that he actually was able to upgrade to Captain much faster than his colleagues due to his 10 years of flight instructing experience.
As far as costs:
UK
2500 - Bristol Ground School
£952 - CAA written exam fees (14 x £68)
£785 - flight test fee CPLME (expect add'l fee for SE rating)
£785 - flight test fee ME-IR
£238 - initial license issue (add another fee if adding SE)
£341 - initial class 1 medical
The flight training was 290GBP per hour in an Arrow, took me 10 hours, plus rental for flight test.
In Spain, the MEIR conversion I think was €7000, all fees included including examiner fee. It was the cheapest place I could find. The school in the UK where I did the CPL was about the same price, but when you figure in the exchange rate and the UK flight test fee, plus airplane rental for the exam (which was included in Spain), it was about a 2000€ difference.
"fractionalizing" your training in different countries will still be valid after EASA, but the difference is that the examiner will be required to get a briefing from the UK CAA (if you have a UK license but adding ratings outside the UK).