Money Making Schemes

Nagesh answers:

Yeah that’s a real deterrent isn’t it?As though a £2 fee will stop the terrorists.To me its just another money making scheme.Surprised they don’t charge for using the toilets to screw us out of even more money.

Nagesh answers:

You say you have done a course on Self Assessment – where was this from? If you have not already contacted your local Inland Recenue/HM Revenue & Customs office do so to register, as there are penalties for not disclosing your new business when you start it.

HMRC also offer a Business Support Team who run free courses in all aspects of self employment, from basic record keeping to running PAYE schemes. You can also make an appointment to visit an Enquiry Centre and talk to advisors who have a wealth of leaflets and advice for people starting up in self employment. There’s a telephone helpline for the newly self employed who can give similar advice. Also check out HMRC’s website, there’s loads of information on there.

And lastly – keep notes all monies spent out and earned – whether it be in a fancy computerised spreadsheet or a manual diary, write down what money you have spent and on what. When you come to fill in your tax return at the end of your first trading year, you will need to show your expenses incurred during the year, and if you have earned over £15,000 you will need to break them down into various categories eg motor and travel expenses, general admin, rent and rates etc. On the self employed pages of the HMRC website,

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/

there is a link to downloading the SA103 – Self Employed pages for this years tax return – have a look at the different headings you should be using to break down your expenses.

Nagesh answers:

Have both parent dogs tested for hereditary and breed-prone conditions. OFA hip and elbow testing, CERF testing to ascertain eye health, testing for heart conditions such as MVD, testing for incidence of patellar luxation and hip dysplasia if your dog is of a breed in which it is known to exist. Depending on the breed you have there are usually plenty of other breed-specific health conditions which should be tested for before breeding. If you’re thinking about breeding you should already be in posession of a great deal of knowledge about your breed and be involved with breed club/s, and be aware of particular problems for which the breed clubs believe testing is vital. The Kennel Club (British) gives this overview of health testing: http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/477

All dogs in the bloodlines of both sire and dam should be champion-lined, show-champions who have been similarly health tested, for a good number of generations. Good, reputable breeders are so strict about being ethical and sound in their breeding practices purely to prevent poor-quality animals with health problems being produced in the first place.
Generally speaking, if you didn’t buy your dogs as show and breeding quality animals, they almost certainly won’t be either. Only superb examples of the breed who meet breed standard in every way should be bred, and show and working titles exist to ascertain which dogs are excellent specimens and which should be spayed and neutered pets.

The only good reason to breed is for betterment of the breed, to produce more champion puppies equal to or better in quality than the dogs you currently have. There’s never any excuse for breeding to make money, create more pet dogs or just because you fancy a litter of cute puppies – thousands of dogs who’d make wonderful family pets are euthanised every year at shelters because of backyard breeders and puppy millers who cared only for their bank balances or weren’t responsible enough to understand the burden that comes with breeding.
If you’re seriously interested in breeding in the distant future, affiliate yourself with a breeding mentoring scheme run by the breed club of your dogs’ breeds.

Nagesh answers:

Actually, there’s an awful lot of the UK as well, with pretty strong regional variations – though nothing like the variations between the different states in the US. And let’s not compare the relative characteristics of our ‘leaders’ … There’s a world shortage.

On the specific questions you ask: the National Health Service delivers free health care, irrespective of ability to pay. OK, it has its problems – every health service does – but the general opinion is that for emergency medicine it’s excellent; the quality of general practice is good; waiting lists for procedures have been brought down dramatically; but for non-emergency medicine and the less-preferred outposts like psychiatry and care of the elderly, the system isn’t so good – also there are privacy issues, because in an NHS hospital you’ll almost certainly find yourself in a small ward with other people (though very rarely mixed-sex – that tends to be confined to intensive care, high dependency, etc.). Many people who can afford it will opt for joining a private medical insurance scheme as well, which ensures that you get treatment when you want it, private rooms, and a better standard of ‘hotel’ care. But, frankly, anywhere in Europe beats the USA hands down for medical care unless you’re very rich; we don’t have people living in fear of losing their homes because they’re struck down by disease, or feeling unable to go to their general practitioner.

As far as college is concerned, though, there’s been a change in the past few years, and now most students have to pay. Various means are available – student loans, (a very few) grants – but it costs money to send your children to tertiary education.

Now let me add a few other thoughts? The UK isn’t anything like as violent a society – we don’t have anything like the same murder rate, people can’t carry guns, and althought there are some trouble spots in the inner cities with teenage gangs, and some problems with teenage drinking, by and large you’ve got to go out of your way to find it. The same goes for drug problems – we have them, but largely confined to certain parts of the inner cities where there’s a high level of teenage unemployment, some racial tension, etc., but I don’t think it’s as bad as the US.

Also, we quit having the death penalty a long time ago – we didn’t like killing innocent people – and it doesn’t seem to have done us any harm. We don’t get worked up about abortion, either.

You won’t find the same commitment to religion and to church-going here; I don’t know what you’ll make of that. We certainly don’t have the extremist religious cults that you have in the States; but you may have difficulty finding the kind of ‘community church’ that isn’t extreme and provides a regular place for socialising and friendship that exist in the USA. To some extent that depends on your religion/denomination; Catholics are much more mutually supportive and sociable, and of course Judaism does the same; but I think it’s safe to say that church doesn’t play as strong a part in the community here as it does over there.

It’s tough to compare the relative costs of living in the two places. Food – and especially eating out – are more expensive here, and I’m always horrified at the cost of hotel accomodation. Housing – depends very much where you live. Clothes: I always loved shopping for clothes in the USA because generally the cheaper clothes were better than you could get here, but that’s changed lately with the incoming of some good cheap brands, and there’s always dear old Marks and Spencers – totally reliable value for money quality food and clothing.

Politics isn’t so extremist here: we still have ‘fairness in broadcasting’ laws, a much wider variety of national newspapers, and we don’t have anything like the strong pressure groups and lobbyists that pull the strings inside the Beltway.

I’ve tried to find a way of writing about what it’s like to work here, but frankly that depends so much on what you do for a crust. There isn’t the same gaping difference between the pay of the CEO and the pay of the blue-collar worker here as there is over there, but it’s still unpleasantly unnecessary. In my own trade – I’m a sort of management consultant – I found that I needed more ‘bells and whistles’ to get attention in the US, but that’s too narrow a comparator. A great many people would say that it’s still easier to build a business from nothing in the USA, and that the entrepreneur and the innovator will find success more achievable on your side the pond.

Oh – and I guess one further point is that wherever you settle in Europe, the rest of Europe isn’t very far away, so you’re within reach of a great deal more historical and cultural diversity. On the other hand, we don’t have the Grand Canyon …

I hope that helps. If you wanted to find out more, then the local British Council is often a good source of basic information, and many British newspapers publish a weekly overseas edition (as

Nagesh answers:

Please note: before you embark upon any flying training that you must pass the CAA Class 1 medical. This is a small investment and must be carried out by the CAA.

Since the UK became a member of the JAR (Joint Aviation Requirements) standardised European system, there are three types of pilot’s licence: Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL); Commercial Pilot’s Licence (CPL) and Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL).

PPL – will allow you to fly all single engine piston aircraft.

CPL – needed if you want to earn money from flying. You will need to either add this to your PPL and can study on a part-time basis (known as a modular course) or, you can start your training from scratch, but on a full time basis (an integrated course). A CPL can be obtained with as little as 150 hours flying experience.

ATPL – required for pilots to fly in command of any two crew aeroplane undertaking a public transport flight.

If you are unable to obtain sponsorship, you need to start by getting a PPL. When you are looking for a suitable flying school first look into those in your area. How long have they been established? What reputation do they have? How many instructors do they have? Also ask about the types (and number) of aircraft, the number of students currently being taught as well as the courses that will be covered and the cost of each type of training.

There are in excess of 300 flying schools/clubs in the UK. The CAA regularly updates its list of approved flying schools and colleges, which includes some overseas training organisations. Flying schools in your area can also be found in the Yellow Pages.

Learning to fly and obtaining a commercial licence is expensive but the cost can sometimes be reduced by sponsorships/awards. The competition for such schemes is often very fierce but it is certainly worth trying! This is where school grades can make a difference.

At Virgin Atlantic, we have (so far!) had one venture into the realms of part-sponsorship. We advertised for cadets in 1998, their integrated course started in 1999 and they joined us at the beginning of 2000. Our current commercial commitments indicate that it is unlikely to happen in the near future. However, don’t give up as, although we are not running any schemes, other airlines may be! The best place to look for details is in Flight International magazine.

To be eligible, most schemes ask for candidates to be aged between 18 and 26 and for them to have at least 2 A levels and 5 GCSEs. The eligibility criteria may vary between airlines.

If you are at, or are hoping to go to university, check to see if there is a University Air Squadron. This can provide you with up to 30 hours PPL flying a year. Students need to be aged between 17 and 23. Selection is on a competitive basis.

A career as an Airline Pilot

To be employed by any airline as a pilot you’ll need to have a minimum qualification of CPL/IR and frozen ATPL. To be employed by Virgin Atlantic as a long haul pilot, candidates need to have at least 2,500 – 3000 hours flying experience.

You will come either from a military aviation background or from other commercial airlines. Those from the latter will need at least 1500 hours commercial jet experience (preferably on a minimum of a BAe 146 or above).

A career in the Forces

Many people make the decision to join the RAF following ground/flight experience training through the Air Training Corps or Combined Cadet Force. Some scholarships, training schemes and cadet placements are offered by the Services. Please contact them for further information.

Still interested?

Check out the following websites for further information:

www.caa.co.uk

www.royalnavy.mod.uk

www.raf.mod.uk

If you would like to contact the pilot recruitment department, please email pilot.recruitment@fly.virgin.com