cpl/ir qualified.no job.what move next for 40 year old

[kevcookie]

What should I do ,assuming that I have a sum of money in reserve and time , to ensure that I am best prepared in terms of marketability when companies start recruiting again.
Do I slip abroad and buy either multi pic piston or first officer turbine time ?.
If so, any reputable/recommended companies . ?
I only know of only Eaglejet who advertise in Flight International. Any one know anymore.
Or perhaps hold off until one sees a tinge of recovery and opt for a type-rating.

Views from all welcomed ( especially expeienced pilots )

regards

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

I don't think its a good idea to buy time on very expensive aircraft.

Self funded type ratings are generally not a good investment in the EU.

Instead I would use funds to relocate to somewhere where there is work with small operators be that Inverness or Exeter. Also spend money keeping yourself current on instrument flying. If you have lots of cash then a session in a cheap full size sim every now and again will give you an advantage when sim rides for jobs come your way in the future.

You could spend money gaining extra quals that airlines might like pilots to have as a secondary role within the organisation.

Good luck,

WWW

[Kerropi]

Hello,

I have a friend who has recently obtained her Dutch CPL/IR (Without Multi Engine Rating), before the 11 sept. She was asking me what to do next.., but since the attacks we all know that the job market for airline pilot is really bad (it was bad then but now its worse).
She was planning to do some multi engine hour building programme in Germany (500 hrs. on metroliner for $25,000)
Should I advice her to wait a while when times gets better, or let her do the programme and hope after a year when she has those hours that the job market has improved a lot.

I really don't know what to advice her???

Thanks!!! :D :) ;) :p

[BigRab]

As someone who has self financed my aviation career and despite now probably being better placed than many as a mid ranking Captain in the charter sector , I would definitely not peruse this career if I had my time over again.
Many of you will have been encouraged by the rapid advancement of others over the past few years. Many others have been victims of company failures in the past; and that will continue to be the case in the future, with even large companies like Virgin and BA not being guaranteed survival.
I suspect that this time round it will take much longer than after the Gulf War to recover.
In good times company profits are very low (as a percentage of turnover), there is little reserve built up to weather the downturns. During the good times little of the profit is shared amounts the employees, but during the downturn you are the first to suffer.
When you are starting out many will take any job. Ten or twenty years down the line when your company goes broke (possibly through no fault of it’s own) you are out on the street. You will probably have a family to provide for and remote prospects of replacing your job. Even if you can find another it is likely to be at the bottom as a junior F/O due to our seniority system, which restricts freedom of movement and keeps down terms and conditions; unlike most other jobs where one moves for advancement.
It does not seem so glamorous then (not that it is anyway).
My advice for any Wanabees is to not waste your money. Flying is best left to those who can afford it as a paid hobby or for those who are completely sponsored.
It will take years to recover this time, and the job is going to be a lot less fun.
Many of you will not like to hear this but I can assure you that many of my colleagues feel similarly, There never has been a pilot shortage and there never will be. It is a myth created for the benefit of flying training organisations and airline employers so they can take your money and keep your terms and conditions down. Beware


:confused:

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Oh I don't know, as I came skimming between the two Severn Bridges last night in the moonlight at 250kts, it felt kind of glamorous.

Certainly more so than the decent graduate desk job I had for 2 years...


WWW

[kevcookie]

I think its too late for me now. Already taken redundancy and sold my flat.
My philosophy is simple " never look back with regret " . Having been seriously ill in my younger days life can be very short indeed.