Current job situation

[ds121]

Hi, i have a few questions about job oppourunities as a pilot.

Ive heard that most pilots will never find a job as a pilot. and ive aslo heard that there is a shortage of pilots. What is the situation?

How easy is it to find a job as a pilot?
If i were to do the CAPT program at embry riddle or get my atp some other way, would it be easy to find a job as a airline pilot or as biz jet pilot?

Thanks in advance for answering my questions.

[ikea]

as with a lot of professions, getting your first job is often difficult. I would not like to think that pilots don't get jobs, as Im investing many thousands of pounds of my own money which ive worked and saved hard for.

For the latest news, I would suggest ppjn.com. Remember, no matter what course you are on, nothing is guarenteed. But you just have to keep trying :-)

[Mark Noble]

"Ive heard that most pilots will never find a job as a pilot"...

That's a bit of a contradiction in itself! You're either a pilot or you're not and sounds like a slight exaggeration.

It can't be that hard to find jobs in the EU, you've just got to keep trying until you get one.

[Farrell]

There are jobs to be had out there. some of them you have to pay for and some just come up if you're in the right place at the right time, and then there are some that you can get if you know someone.

The jobs are there. Some people on this forum will agree, and others won't.

[ds121]

thanks for the replies.

my next question is:
how do pilots get there ATPs?
Do they train at local schools for there ppl and cpl and then go to larger schools for the atp?

thanks

[coolcaptain]

If you're from Canada, as is said, you basically have two choices (yes, exceptions to every rule)..

Instruct. Get your instructor rating with a school on the premisis that they will hire you as an instructor and spend a couple of years below the poverty line in the circuit... or...

Go up north. Get a job in some butthole of the earth town up north, load fuel barrels, mail bags, fuel aircraft, clean them, answer phones, sweep floors, eat sh!t and smile... and then maybe if you are lucky they will throw you in the right seat of a clapped out 99 for a slaves wage.

Either way, if you stick it out, eventually it will happen for you.

[ds121]

thanks for the replies.

which schools in particular issue ATPs?
ie. delta connection academy
thanks

[ikea]

my advice would be to research what is best for you. Everyone has went about their trtaining in different ways. ITs what suits you that matters. WHat I would say, is be careful of 'namedoppping' but schools. Dont be taken in by any crap. Research meticulously. And most of all, don't expect to walk right in to the right hand seat of an airliner.

[scroggs]

ikea, first an Australian now a Canadian! Maybe it's not your lucky day, but please do check where the recipient of your advice comes from. The conditions in the aviation market that ds121 is seeking to enter are quite different from those in UK and Europe.

In Canada, though not quite as much as in the USA, the hangover after 9/11 was much deeper and longer lived than in Europe. There is only one major airline in the country, since Canadian and Canada 3000 disappeared. That airline, Air Canada, has recently been in bankruptcy protection and has had to retrench significantly, causing large redundancies. It recently announced orders for new 787s and 777s which it has had to cancel, as the finance was contingent on certain further cost savings from the labour force which had not been agreed.

Across the border, there are few major airlines not in bankruptcy protection, and the numbers of furloughed (laid off) pilots is still several thousand - even tens of thousands. That also has a knock-on effect in Canada, as those Canadians who'd made their lives in the south try to move back into employment at home.

In other words, the employment market in Canada is considerably worse than that in UK and, unless you understand that ikea, any advice you give is likely to be inappropriate.

Fortunately for ds121, there are Canadians or those with experience of the Canadian market, such as coolcaptain who can give appropriate advice. Let them get on with it.

Scroggs

[ikea]

scorggs: I stand by all of my comments. All of my comments can be applied no matter where a person is based:

Getting a first job is often difficult.

You should always research before committing to anything.

Nothing is guarenteed.

These are pretty generic things, an Im sure a lot of people would agree with that.