starting in the industry

[pilotads]

hey i'm just finishing cpl and atpl in aus and looking for jobs your all probably sick of hearing this but every employer is looking for high time pilots and there is no longer a place for pilots to start there career. i'll do anything for some hours i'll fly for free, i don't have enough money to get 500 command hours in a twin. where will i find a place where they hire low time pilots is really what i'm asking. by the end of the year i'll have my twin be76, twin VFR night rating, IFR, CPL, ATPL theory and about 200 hours TT any info on where to start please.

[AIRWAY]

G'day mate,

i'll do anything for some hours i'll fly for free,

Now im sure you're desperate for that first job like many many many many other pilots out there around the world, but this is not the way to go about it :* and im sure other prooners will tell you the same.

No wonder the industry is :mad: first were people approaching airlines saying "oh i pay for the type rating you give me a job" (its almost compulsory now to have a TR), and now" i'll fly for free"... No wonder wages are crap nowadays.

:rolleyes:

[pilotads]

i agree completely but for the less well off up coming pilots there is almost no other way. Becuase of the high insurance rates on employers pilots must have a high number of hours to be employed. the only loophole in this is if the employer does not pay the pilots and so your not employed by the company.

How did you get your first couple of hundred hours? and do you have any suggestions on how to go about finding employment?

[el dorado]

With things being as they are you have to look for what you can realistically pull off. This may mean strapping your bag on your back and getting out into the world where the small air taxi operators who take low-time pilots are, i.e. in a part of the world where small a/c are used extensively such as the Caribbean, parts of Africa, island environments in general.

Of course there will be competition for jobs there too but less than in the very tight European market where you have to have a few thousand hours or a lot of luck.

There are jobs for low-timers out there but they won't fall in your lap.

And don't fly for free unless your employer is your wife. If you're going to get :mad: you should at least enjoy it.

[redsnail]

pilotads,
Don't fly for free. just don't.
Time to start doing your research. Find out the areas around Oz that do scenics or farm work. They usually take on low houred pilots. I got my start in Kununurra. Others have got starts in Halls Creek, Broome, Karumba and the like.
In other words, you've got to find where the work is, and go there.

Typically you'll need about 1000 hours before you'll be let loose on the twins. Go bush and get the single time.

[Chuffer Chadley]

Quite right

Don't fly for free. And don't pay for your own s@dding TR, either!

Both ideas as poor as each other.

Cheerio
CC

[scroggs]

If you are prepared to fly for free now, what is the justification for any employer paying you in the future? If you can't understand why this is a very bad idea for all concerned, including you, you need to reconsider your choice of career.

Scroggs

[High Wing Drifter]

I have to ask, but would any reputable employer worth any salt on your CV take someone on for free? If I were interviewing you, I would find it hard to take any of your experience seriously. I would want to know that somebody actually believed that it was worthwhile paying you the going rate.

Maybe I'm the naive one though :\

[el dorado]

It does seem to be necessary to remind people that offering yourself to people to do what they will with you for free is a very steep and slippery slope to nowhere fast (whilst maintaining the highest standards at all times of course).

Ok, we all understand what pilotads is saying, we've all had these thoughts about how to get a foot in the door and show the employer how great and efficient we are in the hope that he/she/it will then decide to pay us a great salary for good work and soon upgrade us to the G5 etc.... but that's just not how it goes.

You've got an expensive licence for which you should get a reasonable salary commensurate with your experience. The first job is the hardest. Don't give up but don't sell yourself down the river for f...all because you reach a stage where you'll do anything for a flying job. I had a job for a couple of years which I jacked because I just couldn't put up with the inability of the management and because they screwed me for money. Yes, I GAVE UP A FLYING JOB! Heavens forbid. But I'll find another one that suits me better and where I get paid properly.

[el dorado]

scroggs, have sent you a PM

Let me know if it gets there.

Thanks