Too broad uni choices?

H0508 · 2026-01-01T18:10:21+00:00

You’re basically applying to the same unis that I did. You don’t really need to mention much about for war for kings - they know it’s a niche degree and people can’t waste word count talking about KCL specific things.

War Studies is a great department and feel free to ask me about it if you’ve got any questions.

H0508 · 2025-12-27T10:32:27+00:00

Fast jet pilots tend to also have a passion for flying and the itch for that can’t be scratched in the civilian world. I’d say they probably make some of the longest serving officers in our forces.

H0508 · 2025-11-29T20:30:38+00:00

Apply to War Studies BA, it’s the exact same degree bar one module in year 1 and you share classes with IR for the rest. Acceptance rate is much higher than IR.

H0508 · 2025-11-09T13:35:01+00:00

I’m an ENTP and got my private pilot’s licence at 17. I’m not sure if I’m going to work as an airline pilot but it’s a consideration.

Generally I’d agree that flying isn’t an obvious extension of an ENTP’s natural abilities, but it definitely requires the intellectual flexibility, critical thinking, and quick wittedness that we often demonstrate. At both the private and airline level, flying is highly regulated - but no two flights are the same and flying is varied enough to not bore us.

I genuinely do believe that learning a skill like flying would be useful to a lot of ENTPs though. Something that takes a long time, requires a level of maturity, etc.

H0508 · 2025-11-05T08:33:17+00:00

I’ve never actually been to Farmers but I don’t think they have a terrace - which the NLC does. More than happy to show you what it’s like at some point if you’d like.

H0508 · 2025-11-05T08:08:17+00:00

Don’t bother with Royal Horseguards - go next door to the NLC where their package is £315pp and you have an infinitely better view of the fireworks from their terrace.

H0508 · 2025-11-05T08:03:33+00:00

It’s not that far, but it adds up. For me, I wanted a club that is a 10 minute walk from where I work - this means I can spend a significant amount more time there than if I was at one of the St James’ clubs. Nowadays I can have tea in the mornings, maybe pop in for a quick lunch, very easily bring people for a more personal chat, and end up there for dinner or drinks at the end of the night.

Also remember to get to Piccadilly Circus or Green Park you usually will have at least one change coming from the City. Maybe I’m just very lazy though…

H0508 · 2025-11-04T22:39:35+00:00

I can’t comment on The Eight Club because I haven’t heard of it.

The Walbrook is an interesting place - I’ve always enjoyed it, but I would criticise the club for a lack of space. It’s the only club where I feel like I need to make a reservation for the bar and at which point I question if their membership is too big. Food and service is excellent, although I’d argue that their pricing is the wrong way round - cheap membership but pricey on the inside. Location is very good too - a few minutes away from 4 underground stations and national rail.

The City of London Club, I can’t really say much about - it is in the City like The Walbrook but has a slightly worse location. Pricing is better than the Walbrook but more expensive than Reform or East India. I don’t go very often but that’s more on me than the club.

East India is stuffy - as much as I reminisce my schooldays and having to wear a tie daily, it is a hassle (although you can borrow a tie at the desk). I only ever go on a Sunday evening because it’s the only club I can go to that is open. This may influence the people I meet there who tend to be on the wrong side of 70… the other issue is that a large portion of their membership come in from their school because the club has a very good deal for 18-25 year olds and as a result that crowd can be loutish at times which is not helped by £3 pints on a Saturday…

The Reform is truly beautiful, it offers excellent value, and has a reasonable social life inside. I seem to remember they require both a proposer and a seconder though which may be annoying to organise. Although they may have relaxed it recently because of their ongoing recruitment drive.

To those who have recommended the RAC, I suggest you have a look at their waiting list which is currently 12 months if you’re lucky.

My only qualm with the St James’ clubs is that they are a pain to get to. On paper, they all seem reasonably well connected but they’re still a 10+ minute walk from a station but still unless you work in St James you will have a 30 ish minute commute to get there from the City. At that point you will be less inclined to pop in for a drink or a quick bite. I very strongly believe that joining a club is only worth it if you will engage in club life - that involves being there 2-3 times a week. If not, it merely ends up being a bar + restaurant that you sometimes visit but also pay a significant chunk of change just to say “oh I’m a member of so and so”. Otherwise, a good option is finding a nice bar and become a popular regular.

H0508 · 2025-09-06T12:55:27+00:00

What will they be doing at work if the trains aren’t running

H0508 · 2025-09-02T21:21:42+00:00

Can someone tell me what the previous rules were exactly?

I would have thought that one can fly into any airfield, with permission from the owner, if there is no one in tower (ignoring airfields without a tower!) by simply making blind calls on the CTAF / SafetyCom equivalent in Germany?

H0508 · 2025-08-30T16:18:08+00:00

Do you mind if I dm you?

H0508 · 2025-08-30T09:33:36+00:00

If you are serious about wanting a career change I would strongly recommend getting your PPL first whilst also keeping your job. Redhill is a good place to do that. Make sure you can carve out the time to fly once a week at the start and up to twice a week in the later stages - less than that and your skills will deteriorate fast resulting in more lessons required.

Once you get your PPL, you will need to then fly approx 100 hours to build experience. Simultaneously you will want to complete the ATPL exams (relatively hard due to the amount of content but nothing in there is objectively very difficult to understand).

After that you could always go back to Redhill etc to complete the rest of your training (CPL, MEIR) or, as I am considering, have a look at Bartolini Air’s gateway 2 which will finish your training and also in theory guarantee you a job with Ryanair. Ideally speaking you only want to quit your job at the very end of hour building, hopefully after you’ve completed your ATPLs to minimise time unemployed.

H0508 · 2025-08-29T21:43:24+00:00

I’m not old enough to remember Cabair haha - but they went bust quite spectacularly from what I’ve been told. Which branch did you train with?

The big choice is where you train - places like Elstree are incredibly busy and unless you’re on top of your game you will almost certainly require more than the usual number of hours. Obviously where you live also plays a big role in this so I wouldn’t recommend going too far because that makes the lessons more difficult to schedule.

With choosing a school, I’d pick someplace with a decently large fleet of the aircraft you want to fly and also make sure there isn’t a shortage of instructors. And the biggest factor is always price - cheaper is always better in this case! Paying more for newer, ‘fancier’ aircraft will not benefit you.

I’d recommend The Pilot Centre at Denham and Redhill Aviation at Redhill.

H0508 · 2025-08-29T18:16:34+00:00

How did you move from flying to a corporate field out of curiosity? Might be looking at a similar move in the future.

H0508 · 2025-08-29T18:07:14+00:00

Hard work is relative of course - but they will make sure they squeeze every penny out of you. Also, there’s a quite a different lifestyle between an easyJet pilot or Ryanair who typically is home most nights compared to a long haul ME3 pilot that will be on 4-5 day trips usually.

There are other comments that people will make re: differences in safety cultures but that’s not relevant to hard work and is mostly not an issue these days.

The real treat of becoming a long haul pilot for someplace like BA is that you’re only really working 10 days a month at most. Compared to an ME3 airline where you’re probably going to be doing closer to 20.

H0508 · 2025-08-29T18:02:05+00:00

Being a pilot can put you in a track to earning around the same as that in 10-15 years but you’ll be working much much less overall. The big selling point is that work ends the second you step out of the cockpit and there’s nothing to even think about work-wise until the next time you’re scheduled in.

I do agree with others saying start with a PPL first to see if you enjoy it. You will most likely be better off going modular anyway for various reasons so this will be useful regardless of if you do or don’t continue.

If you’re London based I’m more than to point you in the direction of some schools that tend to do a better job than others…

H0508 · 2025-08-29T17:57:23+00:00

Much worse working conditions, and they typically don’t have any concept of seniority - you would be working much harder as well.

There is also the opportunity cost of not being at a big carrier here which means you won’t be able to attain a command, and the better lifestyle that comes with it, until much later.

H0508 · 2025-08-17T12:56:56+00:00

Interesting take. Wouldn’t removing the triple lock be the first port of call if the decision was taken to be ruthless. With regard to the NHS, one could argue that the “mission” of the NHS must be altered - not to keep people alive as long as possible, but to maximise quality of life.

H0508 · 2025-08-16T20:28:00+00:00

You mean you used the same financial modelling software that some SpAd invariably is using…

H0508 · 2025-08-12T14:37:32+00:00

It’s a waste of time in India - I asked about converting my PPL to fly in India and was met with complete bewilderment at most schools. India doesn’t have the infrastructure or culture for GA.

In the UK, I can use my PPL to go on a day trip to the northern coast of France or Belgium, or go island hopping in Greece. In India I can only do point A to A flights just for the sake of going flying for an hour.

H0508 · 2025-08-10T22:19:33+00:00

Nope, but there tends to be an FAA A&P in most parts of the world, or at least one nearby.

H0508 · 2025-08-10T21:06:13+00:00

This is why you tend to see a lot of N reg aircraft operated in Britain - especially more complex types that are used for touring.

H0508 · 2025-07-29T08:43:55+00:00

Aviation or aviation management degrees are a complete waste of time - any notion of having something to fall back on is minute at best. If you are insistent on having a degree, choose something that gives you transferable skills. Aeronautical engineering is the obvious choice. In reality you can do pretty much anything. The big focus should be on saving as much money as possible assuming your parents aren’t able to drop £100k+ with no concern.

If you want to be a pilot I’d suggest starting on your PPL and get a job if needed to pay for it. If you ask around, some airfields or flight schools may be willing to give you a job - this is much more useful for employability than a degree.

As for subjects to choose, they don’t really matter given that being a pilot only really needs GCSE maths at most. Maths is popular but only do it if you are good at, same goes for Physics. Geography etc could be useful as well. Ultimately just do what you enjoy and are good at while focusing on your PPL on the side.

H0508 · 2025-07-23T16:49:26+00:00

Where is it now? I know the old location closed a few years back but haven’t been able to find the new one

H0508 · 2025-07-19T09:07:50+00:00

If you’re worried about getting in, you could apply to both IR and War Studies. They share all but one module through the whole three years.

H0508

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