Welcome

Most pilot training content covers people starting training in their late teens or early 20s - but what if you're starting over in your mid-30's?

This site is a document of a real journey of changing careers later in life, leaving 15 years of software development behind, and working towards becoming a commercial airline pilot with a UK based airline.

I did get my PPL when I was young, so the focus now will be on the steps beyond, however I did document that at the time, so have included it here too (see PPL training).

I’ll be sharing regular updates, training milestones, costs, challenges, and everything I learn along the way.

I'm very pleased to say I've recently passed the selection process for easyJet's MPL scheme, and so will be starting at CAE in January 2027. So the posts from now on are primarily focused on that route.

If you want to know more about my story and why I've decided to make the jump now, head over to the about page.

Latest post

easyJet MPL stage 3 selection

07 Jul 2026
An easyJet A320 at Reus

Stage 3 is final part of the MPL selection process. On getting the email confirming I’d passed stage 2, I was given a link to book a date for this final stage.

When I went in I could see that EASA and UK CAA cadets were split into separate assessment days, with around two days per month for each type of license. All the slots for the UK applicants for the next two months were full with no more available. This was mentioned as a possibility in the e-mail, and just means that they were awaiting the next batch of dates to be confirmed by easyJet, but did obviously mean a bit of a delay again for me.

A couple of weeks later though, I got an e-mail from CAE saying they had released new dates onto the site, and so I signed in straight away and booked onto the first available date.

Once booked onto an assessment day, you are then also able to book onto an interview preparation webinar, run by CAE, which they strongly encourage you to attend.

The actual assessment day itself is made up of a group exercise and an interview, with the entire day being run by easyJet themselves.

I’m super excited to say, that I passed this stage too, meaning I now have a place on the MPL scheme and job offer assuming successful completion! So as with my post on stage 2, I’ll cover in this one, how I prepared for it, what happened on the day, and then what the next steps are now.

Read in full