Failing an exam is never just about the mark.

In the ATPL theory journey, EASA for example (because I am an EASA ATPL instructor and that’s what I see everyday) a failed exam can have consequences that go far beyond having to sit the subject again. Whether you are an ab-initio pilot student working towards your first airline job, or an experienced professional pilot completing an EASA license conversion, the real cost of failure is often underestimated.

For an aspiring airline pilot, time is money. A failed ATPL exam usually means more than paying for another examination attempt. The exam dates are chosen by the authority, so that it can mean a lot of consequences. Such as: additional training costs, another month of accommodation (let’s say, between 500 and 1000 euros per month, roughly, if you live in Madrid, Paris or Barcelona!), additional living expenses (another 500 euros?) and, most importantly, a delay in completing your pilot training. Assuming that you are targeting a major airline, a delay of just one month in your induction as a first officer can represent as much as 4-5000 euros in salary that is not earned.

In total, roughly, 5-6000 euros per month delayed, plus extra training.

And that delay can have a much bigger “emotional” or “psychological” consequence. If your classmates finish their EASA ATPL theory exams, continue their flight training and start applying to airlines while you are still preparing for a resit, you are not simply losing a few weeks.

Repeated failures can affect confidence, increase exam pressure and make studying progressively more difficult. What started as one difficult subject can become a cycle of stress, frustration and inefficient studying.

EASA has a clear failure policy (not more than 3 failures per subject – you have to pass it at the 4th attempt -, and a maximum of 6 sittings). The approaching deadline is a worsening parameter that increases the stress and pressure one can feel above his/her shoulders.

Let’s now consider a non-EASA, professional experienced pilot, converting to his/her license to EASA. The typical situation, a profile of people I have met very often in my clients at Coach A Pilot, is an airline captain, 20 to 30 years of experience, 10-20000 flight hours, who wants to converts his license to EASA for various reasons such as: willing to live in Europe, joining family, or enjoying the end of his/her career until retirement (pilots retire at 65 in Europe vs 60 in China for example).

Let’s imagine an airline captain based in China, with his/her family living in Spain. In this situation, failing EASA theory exams mean:

*Being stuck abroad while you’re getting old and you cannot enjoy a peaceful family life with your kids who have become teenagers in the meantime.
*Approaching 60, the risk of having to retire while you could continue to make money for 5 years until you reach 65 in Europe. Considering the salary of an experienced airline captain, this can represent a massive amount of money.
*Repetitive EASA ATPL theory failures may invalidate your EASA conversion and you’ll have to start from scratch again. Stress, loss of confidence, and the ATPL theory becomes a mountain to climb.

You may already have years of professional experience, thousands of flight hours and an established career. But if you want to work for an airline in Europe, your EASA licence conversion is the key that allows you to access that market. And getting EASA ATPL theory passed when you have not opened a theory book in 20 years, can be… challenging!

A failed EASA ATPL theory examination can therefore have a very different financial and emotional impact depending on who is addressing it. However this impact is always negative.

You may have already invested significantly in the conversion process: training, examination fees, travel, accommodation and time away from work. But the biggest cost may be the opportunity itself, and the risk of losing it.

This is ultimately why investing in the right preparation should not be measured against the price of a coaching programme alone.

For an ab initio student, the cost of an additional examination attempt, another month of living expenses and a delayed entry into an airline career can quickly exceed the cost of professional coaching.

For a professional pilot, the financial value of successfully completing an EASA license conversion and accessing the European job market can be considerably greater still.

Against these potential costs, the investment in personalized ATPL coaching program, strategic preparation and professional guidance represents a relatively small investment.

The objective is not to eliminate every possibility of failure. Failure happens.

The objective is to make sure that, when you sit your EASA ATPL examination, you have done everything reasonably possible to give yourself the best chance of success.

If you are preparing for your EASA ATPL exams or converting your license to EASA, get in touch with me to discuss your situation and find out which coaching programme is right for you.

Knowledge matters. Strategy changes everything.

ATPL is a strategy game

Michael

Whatsapp me if you’re in this kind of situation!