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Originally Posted by Majulah
Hello everybody
I´m currently toying a lot with the idea of moving to SG again, wanting to join SQ. I have several questions about the cadet pilot programme and TR / employment with SQ. I noticed there is quite a number of very informed guys in here, so if you could please help me out... 
thats what i have:
- JAA (European) ATPL (1500 hrs airline experience)
- can get a PR anytime (Singaporean wife)
- did flight training with high standard airline
- Multi Crew on Airbus
- i lived and worked in Spore before
- i do definitely not qualify for any current direct entry scheme into SQ
1) is the only way for me the cadet path?
2) if i take the cadet path, do i go to the lear training or straight to a TR? and how long would i be in training?
3) obviously i would go through all the selection steps. how many of them?
4) does the hiring outlook at SQ have an upward or downward tendency?
5) do you know anybody with a similar career history/career plan?
Thank you very much for any helpful comments / information. 
Greetings!  |
1) is the only way for me the cadet path?
Most likely.
2) if i take the cadet path, do i go to the lear training or straight to a TR? and how long would i be in training?
Could be either. Lear training is about 70 days in Maroochydore, near Brisbane. Fleet conversion is anything up to 12 months to being checked out as First Officer. Research either the Singapore Flying College website or the SIA website.
3) obviously i would go through all the selection steps. how many of them?
Research this thread.
4) does the hiring outlook at SQ have an upward or downward tendency?
Each intake of cadet pilots every 6 weeks now, is about 25, more than compared to the same time last year. How long this will last, who knows?
5) do you know anybody with a similar career history/career plan?
Yes. The slight differences was that he was a Captain on MAS but flying Twin Otters (no jet time). Joined as a cadet, jumped through ALL the hoops, got credit for hours where possible, and became Captain faster than normal because of his previous job experience.
Some comments:
If I understand you correctly, according to the questions you have listed, whatever the answers are, they have no effect on your decision to join, correct?
Joining SQ (like any other airline) is not like buying a knock-down bed from Ikea where you just screw all the bits together and then you WILL get a bed, one way or the other. There are many "failure points" in the cadet / DEFO selection process, and since yours is unusual, all the more so do you need to just get out there and do it. Therefore asking who has done this before, and trying to clone THEIR process, is no sure bet to say the least.
The trick therefore is how to do it with the least risk and disruption (if possible without quitting your present job) so that if the process fails, you have not yet started something painful or difficult to undo but merely have just lost a bit of time investment. For sure, saying "but I read on PPRuNe that so-and-so succeeded, so why not I?" will do nothing to help you even if there are 100 similar cases to yours which have succeeded. If your application fails you can't bring up those cases and insist that they choose you.
The sequence to this application process is therefore vital, to say the least.
Get your PR first.
The people in Flight Ops HR admin have no imagination and will not give you advice. If you don't meet the specs, you fail, pure and simple. They will not be bothered to tell you how to fix your problem. They will not look into the future and say to you, if you do this, then we might hire you, because they are just too afraid that they will become cornered by their own advice.
It is possible to get
PR whilst overseas; search the Singapore immigration website for the procedure on this. It is not costly either. At least this will let you continue with your life in parallel while you start the process going.
Remember that cadetship hinges on the
PR requirement - no
PR, no cadetship. (If you qualify as DEFO, then there is no
PR requirement.) So that is the first thing you need to settle - the
PR issue. This way you can avoid the stigma of being a "reject" if you apply for DEFO (without yet being a
PR) and fail. If you have
PR and you apply for cadetship, and if they decide to fast track you to DEFO, you have lost nothing and gained everything. Of course, mere PRship is not a guarantee of selection, merely eligibility.
And finally - as a cadet, you have no control over where you go. Could be mainline, cargo (SinCargo) or regional (SilkAir). Mentally you must accept that. Of course you can reject their offer,
IF they tell you where you are going at the offer stage. But even if they do, the contract has a clause that lets them change their mind. So know that.
Good luck.
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