Nightmares Of a Jobless Low Timer Pilot...

[digitalsoul]

This is our life....our daily routine, our daily bread that the aviation is feeding us...
You can travel the world...dream of going to Africa... fly the 206 or the Caravan... unless it's your own...I worry for you... You have gone to Maun and Tanzania too...seen it all...knocked at the doors...sent email, CVs... got no replies or the usual,"we are currently not looking for pilots" and you are probably waiting for that phone call they promised you when you sent your CV or got an interview....which makes you jump to your cell phone every time unfamiliar number is calling you....only to find that it's your girlfriend calling you with her new boyfriend's number to tell you that it's over between you and her.... coz you have never been there for her...and that you lie, keep telling her you are soon getting a flying job...Yes..I mean the flying job...

If you have not yet broken up with her, your nightmare is worst... because she keeps asking you about when will you work...she does not know what's on the ground in aviation, she has this big fancy image of her boyfriend painted in her mind, sitting in the flight deck of a 747 flying to Hong Kong, London, New York....coming back to her with diamond reckless, hot perfumes... Why not, are you not the so call captain???? In bed she call you Captain, and you just wish she knew how it feels when she says that word, but you swallow and let it pass through the other ear....the more she says captain, the weaker you becomes....till you loose your firm Captain erection.... then the Captainous Wailing can stop...thats when you are reminded again...suddenly she ask you, "are you on final?" then you start wishing you never taught her those stuff.... well...you just landed, nice touch down on main wheels to another world of depression....

Your parents are even now tired of you...that every penny they give to you, they must make sure they first remind you that their bank account is dwindling...so you better account for it... they are not pilots...but very proud of you...who is not happy of a pilot son? But you sit at home, send CV around...they think you are probably just enjoying being with them and they think you have wasted their money they spent to haul you a brand new CPL...well isn't it your fault? Didn't you paint it in their mind that as soon as you finish school, you will get a job with the local airline...didn't you...well then...swallow it....take it...let it sink but don't get the rope...and head off to a Bamboo tree to weigh yourself....

Just at 18,19,20,21...you have completed school...you are a commercial pilot! Wow...!!! That's great...you are so young to be a pilot... now which airline do you work for?? They keep asking you that question...chanting for you and looking at you like Obama of pilots... you are a medalist.... but how do you feel... what about this guys who keep seeing you around with nothing in particular that you do, and not even going to school...are you not young...are most of your high school friends not in school? So why are you not at school...I bet you are a school drop out!!!
So what do you say the next time those fine ladies at the club ask you what you do.... a pilot...or an IT student? If a pilot...which airline....? You must be so rich..how much is your salary....? Ok, so maybe you are a lucky one flying for food.... ready to buy another round of a Martini....go...go...my pilot...go...

Do you still feel good about wearing your pilot uniform, putting on those 3 bars...well are you not a commercial pilot?
Do you still jump very quick to tell ladies that you are a pilot like when you were at school?
Do you still despise flying a glider for your first job? How about just being Steward in one of the local airline....thats if you get a chance to work there too...but from the look of it, our CPL lay a curse on us the moment we get it...
I bet you were better off being an economist since now you can explain "Credit Crunch" like you invented it...because now even a company that was long time broke put their blame on it....probably you are one of those guys who chanted Obama Obama when he won the election....because he is gonna change the world...make us get a flying job.... Things are real my friend....

How about this 500 hours that you don't have, but when you go for a job there are jobs, only if you have 500 hours and above...only to hear next week that they have hired a 200 hours pilot? well...no hard feelings...maybe you just looked ugly to the boss of a charter company....or you just din't speak well.... so no hard feelings... so accept it...it's not your day...our day will come, and i bet you will say it here on pprune.....

[Bosotter]

:D:D:D:D:D:D

But alas! When you have 500 hrs they want 1000hrs and when you have 1000hrs they want 200hrs on turbine and when you have 200hrs on turbine... you get my drift!:ugh:
It doesn't stop and it never will, if they don't WANT to hire you they won't!
All we can do is to keep on knocking...

[Solid Rust Twotter]

All we can do is to keep on knocking...

Brushing up on the spelling and grammar won't hurt either...

[abhi88]

How about this 500 hours that you don't have, but when you go for a job there are jobs, only if you have 500 hours and above...only to hear next week that they have hired a 200 hours pilot?


:sad::{... So true!

[Bosotter]

Brushing up on the spelling and grammar won't hurt either...

Please help me with my spelling and grammar, seeing as The Queen's language is not my first language. I'm not making excuses, I'm just saying.

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Not aimed at you specifically. Just a hint to accompany your recommendation.

[Bosotter]

Oh! I see! :O

[three eighty]

The only thing worse than all of the above is when you give up trying.
Keep on knocking...

[chongololo]

Sad but true.

[SAT_BOSS]

Ouma was quite a wealthy old queen but a very wise old Lady. In 1979 when I matriculated with my Colgate Smile, Side Whiskers and a Ray Ban plastered over my face I wanted to be a Pilot.

Well Ouma was stingy as hell so she said “join the Air Force”. I did and my Math was to low, my science was not up to standard and I honestly suspect that my Broederbond Membership was way to low on the totem pole for serious consideration anyway. Now remember that in those days a PPL cost about R1, 200.00 after the Government “subsidy”.

So I stayed in the SAAF did part of my PPL at the SAAF flying club (BTW do they still have IOP) and Colonel Pidsley started me off. After my erratic start I then did some flying with Colin Campbell in Pietermaritzburg, a true officer and a gentleman. I must have had about 80 very hard self paid for hours. No job, basically “some SAAF work (non flying experiences) and lived off my family.

When I turned about 24 Ouma got truly fed up with this, got in her Impala with her chauffer to drive her to see “Mr. Campbell” whom she described as a good Scott with very sound monetary values.

I never knew what they talked about so Ouma sat me down and asked me:

i) If I pay for your CPL will you be flying for SAA?

Answer NO

ii) If I pay for your CPL will you be flying for the SAAF?

Answer NO

Then she said well she will “make me a deal” first I go and do a trade like Oom Hannes “on the mine” and after I have my “Red Card” & I have a passed written CPL in my hand then she will subsidize my subsequent 120 hours by 50% because if God intended man to fly …… story ….

I actually did that, got my CPL on the long haul and my very first job was flying 206’s. One day I saw my girl friend paying her gardener and realized he was earning more than me flying.

Cut a long story short, I still worked in a job I hated, made money, ended off with a good enough flying job, did the gig for a few years and “retired” with an ATP and 1900’s being the largest.

Today I work for myself, own my own aircraft fly because I love to when I want to on my own terms and conditions which means I don’t mess with weather, I don’t overload and I enjoy my 100 hours a year for myself.

That my young man is probably what more guys should do, fly for the love of it and forget the four bars if you don’t get lucky breaks early on in life. The SAAF nowadays is a no go and Airways is also a shambles.

Funny thing I always think that girls respond better to a guy that has a job (any job) and can pay his way in life than living a poet’s ideal.

Happy & safe flying ….

[flyhardmo]

Digitalsoul
your post Sounds about right for myself and most people I know who started about 10 yrs ago however without the erection problems. Friends of mine that graduated 3 yrs ago walked right into a job which goes back to right place, right time. Times are tough. Get an in between job as an instructor or a dispatcher until things get better.

[Csanad007]

it's just the way I'm feeling, but never wanting to give up.
Will it take 5 more years from now to get into a comm job? Maybe? And I don't even wanna fly boeings and buses. And I'm old. And I have a degree, and I have a job. And a family. And I'm happy. Well happy but it seems that not totally happy as I'm doing the second best thing. But it is not flying that I'm doing. And started too late. And I'm feeling like everything works against me. This economical downturn too. Puny Hungarian politicians who haven't done anything for the last 20 years...

But hey, I'm not crying, I'm learning, searching and researching and am prepared to be there when things start to roll again.

It is all about the ride... And there's a C210, C206, Cherokee or whatever waiting for me in Africa. So just keep on live and never ever give up.

Sorry for my not too perfect English and I'll forgive you for your not too perfect Hungarian :}

[Propellerpilot]

It seems to take quite a bit more than a blue booklet or frozen green booklet with some papers inside....

Listen to what people in this forum have already told you. If you do not get a result, then you are not playing your cards right (or your cards at the moment really suck) and then it is time to get a different mindset because smashing your head against a wall continously hurts pretty bad and makes you look like an idiot infront of your girlfriend. You do not want to do that, so stop it. Completly. Period. Get a life, do something else and fly as a hobby.

What I am saying above is harsch but it is purely psychological. I hope you can understand this. I managed to understand this because I also had a dream once that just developed into to a continous pain in the gut. Although I tried so much to achieve, it just did not really materialize the way I imagined and I never had a real breakthrough. So I went and did all sorts of different things that taught me a lot about life and society, working with people, doing different job interviews and then getting jobs that I did not always like etc. Not the best time of my life but it gave me life experience. Also did a few aviation related jobs - Opscontroller, Ramp Agent... However I still tried to make my pastimes great - I took up flying just for fun. By that time I was really good at job interviews, I could convince anyone that I was a good asset and I do not feel much pressure when going for a job interview because I knew that I would be taken 100% of the time, if they were looking for someone with my qualifications. Compared to corporate assessments getting a job as a low time pilot is easy as pie. Some people are natural at this - other people like me simply had to learn it. So aviation is my second carreer choice after the first just did not happen and that is now many years ago. I don't even miss my first unsuccessful carreer now and it is fun to practise it as a pastime hobby. There are quite a few collegues that have made the same experience - the oldest started in aviation recently aged 57 with his first aviation job.

So continously posting your woes in this forum is really just wasting your time further and nobody can really help you - because you yourself are the problem. That is just the way it is. The first thing you have to tackle is your mindset and that might require a change of scene for a while and getting rid of that negative pressure that is torturing you.

Did not intend writing a whole story here, but maybe it is what you need to hear and think about. It is not a sin or a bad thing to look at other options, it does not imply that you are a failure.

Keep the nightmares or make a change. The choice is yours.

[Der absolute Hammer]

Now is a very good time to change careers from trying to be a pilot. You could view a stalled flying career as a long term financial commitment with high risk and so decide to concentrate on lower short term returns with a guarentee of income - such as becoming a road worker in the new Europe or Africa of government projects to stimulate the economy.
Also- harsh as it is to say this, the employment wheel of aviation was ever so and we all knew that, or should have researched that, when we entered the world of professional pilotage.

[Csanad007]

Have to agree (man I always agree with Hammer :ugh: ).
Just do whatever else is needed to survive until things change.
Probably nobody is interested in crying and prayers... We all have our problems but keep going on! So just keep up buddy.