What a type rating actually is
Your CPL/IR lets you fly aircraft classes; a type rating qualifies you on a specific large aircraft — A320, B737, E190. The course runs 6–10 weeks: ground school, fixed-base sims, full-flight sims, a skill test, then base training (real circuits in the actual jet) and supervised line flying. Market cost if you pay yourself: roughly €18,000–€35,000 depending on type and provider.
The three funding models
Airline-funded: the carrier pays, you commit to a bond — typically €20,000–€30,000 reducing over 3–5 years of service. Leave early, repay the balance. This is the standard at most legacy carriers and increasingly at low-cost airlines. Self-sponsored: you pay for the rating, sometimes tied to a conditional job offer. Common at some LCCs and in Asia. Pay-to-fly: you pay not just for the rating but for your own line flying hours. Treat this as a red flag — you are funding the airline's operation, and reputable employers don't ask for it.
Should you ever self-fund?
Only with a written, conditional job offer from a real airline, and only if the rating is on a type with a deep market (A320/B737 — thousands of operators) rather than a niche one. An unattached type rating without hours on type ("rated, not current, no line experience") adds surprisingly little to your CV — many recruiters value 500 hours of instructing more. Run the maths: if the airline funds ratings for its cadets anyway, paying yourself just moves you to the back of a different queue.
Spotting predatory schemes
Warning signs: upfront payment to an agency rather than the airline or an approved ATO; "guaranteed" interviews; line training packages on cargo operators you've never heard of; contracts that bond you and make you pay. Ask any provider for the names of pilots from the last course and where they fly now. A legitimate programme answers in one email.