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Didn't choose AS physics...

Hey! I'm not even sure where to post this.. But, I'm 16 years old and currently in year 12 doing my AS Levels. In GCSE, I only managed to get C's in Physics and Maths, and that itself was a struggle, but my career aim is to become a pilot... I know to become a pilot, usually Maths and Physics is required, but i obviously couldn't take these subjects as i didnt do so well in them. Instead, i decided to choose Geography Business English Lit and Sociology. I know these aren't so relevant to piloting but i think its best to choose subjects i know i can do well in! So, now i've started looking at uni's, and Brunel Leeds etc all need Maths and Physics for the degrees such as 'Air Transport and Commercial Pilot Training'. Ive found some degrees such as 'Air transport Management' or 'Aviation Management' at Huddersfield, Loughborough and Coventry, and ive also found degrees with a bit of pilot training at New Bucks and Hertfordshire which do not require a grade in Maths and Physics... I do prefer Loughborough and stuff, but they don't offer the actual piloting training... So would a degree in aviation management really be useful to becoming a pilot? Or shall i just stick to New Bucks and Hertfordshire. Thank you!! I hope someone can head me in the right direction:smile:





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Hi, for a brief period of time last year, I too was interested in becoming a pilot. Don't take my word for it, but from the research that I did back then, I don't think you actually need a degree to become a pilot. Although there are some degrees out there that may help and give you knowledge on aviation, they won't guarantee you a job as a pilot because a degree is not required. The most important thing (which I read) is getting plenty of flight training, and they are very particular about the number of hours you need to have spent flying prior to getting your pilot's license. To get your pilots license, you need to have spent a specific number of hours flying, passed a number of written exams based on flying, and also passed a medical aptitude test thingy (I can't remember the correct name of it, but it tests your mental and physical health and most importantly, your eyesight). Therefore, no A-level physics or maths is involved in this process. Getting flight training is very expensive though, which is what put me off wanting to be a pilot.
I'm not trying to put you off, but basically, it doesn't matter if you are not doing A-level maths or physics.
If I were you, I would look up any local aviation places that offer flight training and may be able to help you get your pilot's license. If you cannot currently afford the costs of flight training, then you could perhaps do a degree in one of the aviation related courses that you mentioned and whatever job that leads you to, you could use the money you earn from that job to pay for flight training. Becoming a pilot will be a long and hard process, but i'm sure you can do it! :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by jessyjellytot14
Hi, for a brief period of time last year, I too was interested in becoming a pilot. Don't take my word for it, but from the research that I did back then, I don't think you actually need a degree to become a pilot. Although there are some degrees out there that may help and give you knowledge on aviation, they won't guarantee you a job as a pilot because a degree is not required. The most important thing (which I read) is getting plenty of flight training, and they are very particular about the number of hours you need to have spent flying prior to getting your pilot's license. To get your pilots license, you need to have spent a specific number of hours flying, passed a number of written exams based on flying, and also passed a medical aptitude test thingy (I can't remember the correct name of it, but it tests your mental and physical health and most importantly, your eyesight). Therefore, no A-level physics or maths is involved in this process. Getting flight training is very expensive though, which is what put me off wanting to be a pilot.
I'm not trying to put you off, but basically, it doesn't matter if you are not doing A-level maths or physics.
If I were you, I would look up any local aviation places that offer flight training and may be able to help you get your pilot's license. If you cannot currently afford the costs of flight training, then you could perhaps do a degree in one of the aviation related courses that you mentioned and whatever job that leads you to, you could use the money you earn from that job to pay for flight training. Becoming a pilot will be a long and hard process, but i'm sure you can do it! :smile:


Hey! Thank you for replying! Wow thank you so much for all the information, it seems really useful to know and i'm sure it will help me out a lot with deciding about my course if i go to uni! Yeah i agree to be honest.. The price is actually really off putting. I hope it just works out! Ive started some flying lessons at Biggin Hill airport which will go towards my Private Pilots Licence which will be very helpful i hope! If i wanted to do a degree though (which i kinda do), not only for the good qualification, but also because of the whole uni experience, do you think it would be worth it? Or would there really be no point.. I would really like to go but i mean if it will be a pointless exercise, i probably wouldn't go.. And considering the fact that i may not even need a degree to become a pilot, do you think it would be okay to do the 'Air Transport Management' degree, seeing as it doesnt really link to becoming a pilot? Because if i don't actually need a degree to become a pilot, that means there isn't a certain specialised degree needed for pilots... So if i do Air Transport Management, i wouldn't really be at a disadvantage right? I hope that makes sense😂:smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by benj1999
Hey! Thank you for replying! Wow thank you so much for all the information, it seems really useful to know and i'm sure it will help me out a lot with deciding about my course if i go to uni! Yeah i agree to be honest.. The price is actually really off putting. I hope it just works out! Ive started some flying lessons at Biggin Hill airport which will go towards my Private Pilots Licence which will be very helpful i hope! If i wanted to do a degree though (which i kinda do), not only for the good qualification, but also because of the whole uni experience, do you think it would be worth it? Or would there really be no point.. I would really like to go but i mean if it will be a pointless exercise, i probably wouldn't go.. And considering the fact that i may not even need a degree to become a pilot, do you think it would be okay to do the 'Air Transport Management' degree, seeing as it doesnt really link to becoming a pilot? Because if i don't actually need a degree to become a pilot, that means there isn't a certain specialised degree needed for pilots... So if i do Air Transport Management, i wouldn't really be at a disadvantage right? I hope that makes sense😂:smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile


Yeah I get what you're saying. Doing the 'Air Transport Management' degree definitely wouldn't put you at a disadvantage, and if you really want to have a uni experience then you may enjoy it. However, would you enjoy it enough to be willing to pay £9000 a year? In my opinion, this amount of money is ridiculous for any type of degree, yet the government are trying to make this price even higher grrrr! If I were you, I would try and pick a degree that will be as beneficial as possible for becoming a pilot, so the money won't totally go to waste. One thing you might want to look into is going to a Uni/college related to aviation. I'll leave a link below of one that I found. It could be helpful because on the course, you'll learn all the theoretical knowledge you'll need to know in order to get your Private Pilots License :smile:

http://www.theaviationacademy.co.uk/foundation-degree-in-aviation-management-and-operations-pilot-studies.html
I will be honest with you but if you want to become an airline pilot doing it through university certainly isn't bad but airlines prefer you going through an approved flight school. A great flight school is CTC Aviation which offers a Wings ATPL integrated programme. What you will benefit from here is you don't need a levels at all. Just 5 GCSE's at C Grade or above. You've got the Maths and Physics which is fine. The big disadvantage with doing it though university is the lack of airline partnerships. CTC are partners with BA, easyJet, Monarch, Virgin Atlantic and other UK airlines. even Emirates have praised them. I would highly suggest having a looking at them and looking at this event below. You can also do a degree there as well on the side which is done with Middlesex uni as a fall back plan if anything happens in your pilot career. There is one big disadvantage of going through a flight school and that is it is bloody expensive! £90K to do it with CTC but other flight schools like Staplefords offer the same thing for £50K but less airline partnerships. The hardest thing when starting as a pilot is finding a job and having being taught by CTC the best school in the country and also will provide lots of partnerships with airlines. So its worth paying the extra to know that there could be a job for you the minute you walk out and you get to do all the flying out in New Zealand which is awesome and your in a class of 30 people so it would be just like uni but better. Now one thing I will say is if you want to be a pilot your grades really wont help you that much. Everyone will have grades and you will need to talk about in an interview what makes you better than someone else. So try and do something aviation related to show your interest if you haven't done so already and also have plenty of examples of working in a team whatever that may be. I'm not putting you off from uni but you do need to be aware of other ways of doing it as well. I hope this helps :smile:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pilot-careers-live-lhr-april-16-tickets-19885995548?ref=enivte001&invite=OTE5MjE0Ny9TYW1taW5vMTNASG90bWFpbC5jb20vMA%3D%3D&utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=invitemodernv2&ref=enivte001&utm_term=attend

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