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Not to take anything away from him, but I think his other achievements are far more impressive. Learning to fly or play the piano generally "just" takes time and money. The really hard things are those where you can apply yourself fully and still fail.

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Learning to fly takes time and money, but how many people with money and the time to spare have you heard of being able to pilot a plane by themselves at the age of 22? It takes an incredible amount of hours before you can become a pilot. May be trivial, but I think it actually shows just how incredibly committed and talented he actually is.

Lets just hope he continues to use his intellectual gifts for good and not to better his pockets. He's off to a good start though.

No it doesn't take all that long, not at least for a PPL with no ratings.

In theory, a PPL can be earned with just 40 hours of flight time, although the actual average is closer to 60-70 hours. There's obviously a ground school component, which can be self-study, and depending on learning speed might require about another 100 hours. Factor in the time to write the written exams and pass a checkride, and it's not a horrendous time commitment. I've heard of people doing it in a month, albeit working on it nearly full time.

It's still an admiral accomplishment. There's a lot to learn while learning to fly!

I know a number of people under 22 that have their pilot license. While not a huge percentage, not rare either. And the initial time is not that long at all.

Additional anecdotal data: of the four or five pilots I know personally (ages 23 - 65), all had their pilot's license before turning 18. So, yeah, not all that uncommon.

Note: I'm not a pilot, these aren't coworkers, just natural friends.

Yes

His father may be a businessman (yes, I read the part where he says he's an electrical engineer), I'm not sure.

Based on what things cost in Ireland today and the salary one can make, it does not look good. And any salary considered 'high' pays 41% in taxes (where high is > $41k per year)

> And any salary considered 'high' pays 41% in taxes (where high is > $41k per year)

That's incorrect. You don't pay the high rate of income tax on all of your income, but only on income over a certain threshold depending on your circumstances. Actually we have pretty low income tax rates when compared to other EU countries:

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it1.html#section3

I know that (and this often confuses people), I didn't want to add all the explanation there.

But yes, you'll pay 41% on what goes over a certain limit (that is, above $41k annually or 32.8KEUR).

About your second statement, not really: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_rates_of_Europe

Comparing taxes is hard. There are various other 'hidden' taxes that Ireland doesn't have. e.g. no 'council tax' or property tax (though they are bringing one in, most likely just for people who own, not rent), there are no water charges (yet), etc. All of this can mean that someone can have more in their pocket at the end of the month in Ireland. It all depends.

Yes, also cost of living is important.

If you're paying less taxes and taking more home but things cost more then it may negate the advantage.

Ireland's cost of living has been in decline in recent years due to the recession triggered by the global credit crunch and a substantial local property market collapse. For example, this is from 2009:

"Biggest drop in cost of living since 1933" http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/biggest-drop-in-cost-of...

And between 2009 and now, our economy has been flat at best. I think it's important to look at all of these factors when examining a country's economy. The real problem Ireland has is unemployment: we went from ~4% to ~14% unemployment in just a few years. This has added to the decline in the cost of living however (less demand for goods and services).

The unemployment rate is sorta higher, but is hidden by a lot of unskilled labour emigrating abroad for work. Irish culture has a history of accepting emmigration to find work when things are bad.

Rent and property have also fallen in value, making it cheaper to rent.

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