Advice for parents

You’re a PARENT of someone with a dream❓✈️


My mum gave sterling advice- do what you want and if you need money, get a job.

My mum, a single parent & in no position to pay was able to support me in other ways. Working 3 jobs back to back gave little time to eat properly so I appreciated having dinner ready with 2 hours between jobs.

I have found that either parents either have enough money to pay & want to know the best flying school. Or, don’t have all of the money and say it’s unrealistic (based on 15 years experience speaking to parents at schools & as a speaker at conferences.)

If you’re fortunate enough to be able to pay for all of the flight training (modular/ integrated), my advice is to not push this ASAP. You should let your child explore and get a job in aviation (anything), self-fund a few hours, & volunteer. Create an attitude that they will never be young and able to embrace opportunities in this way again. With a parent who can pay, once they qualify as an FO, there isn’t a route back to being a young, eager dispatch agent, & see how the crew interact with staff or appreciate a pilot simply being polite. They can’t go back to trying Cabin Crew, value how hard CC work or appreciate that someone has to build what comes as a finished crew meal. If your child will miss out on such opportunities, it’s wise to encourage them to make the most of it all whilst young, learn the pitfalls & unwritten rules of employment (ie communicating with seniors / expressing discomfort) before commencing a job with significantly more responsibility & consequences.

If only able to part fund, it’s wise to hold the cash until the end, as the costs increase the further you get. The instrument and ME ratings are the most expensive. It’s tough to get a PPL, but takes more self drive to keep hour building, & even more to complete the ATPL ground exams. With the ATPLs the clock is ticking. The time limit is 3 yrs & it’s a challenge to complete it all on time self funding on a budget. Here is a great time to give help. It’s also tremendous drive and determination to achieve it all self funded!

Those unable to support a child financially will see it’s a tough road but not impossible. You can support with words and celebrate every milestone - paying for the first lesson, going solo and cross countries are all huge milestones!

757-200 Jum Seat as Cabin Crew

Re: Uni, look at it from the perspective of ‘do they have the best qualifications they are capable of?’ If no, then ask why and if they have the drive to study. If it’s because of a trauma/ family death, then its wise to have degree of high academic achievement. However, do a course with a chartered/ accredited degree in which you can find employment - like engineering. Everything else is an expensive qualification & a lot of debt.

Flying qualifications as a degree I also believe are more expensive and would always recommend lots of research against a typical hours, locally based modular route, which I wish I had done instead of my degree.