The days of being offered a job because you have a type rating and a pulse are over.
The industry is in turmoil but I have no doubt it will settle down. The problem with the helicopter industry is that we seem unable to forecast with any certainty what the industry will be like next year. With that in mind, do you really expect an employer, who does not know you, to invest 50k to see if you're a good fit??
Good luck with that!!
Well the companies can continue in the system they have, whereby they only employ a 'ready to go, type rated, known quantity' and good luck to them. Pilots are becoming wise to the bigger companies nowadays. They know there is no loyalty to a company anymore. You only have to look at most of the offshore NS companies and the way they treated people over the last 6-7 years. I always said I would never ever pay for another type rating to get a job again. Yes thats my prerogative and if it means I get a job in the local supermarket instead of flying then so be it. My days of funding my flying are over. It won't surprise me to see young pilots paying to fly in the near future. (just like the ryanair model). Good luck to them but see where it gets them when they're complaining about sh*t wages down the line. Hey maybe i'm wrong and it'll all be jobs and type ratings for all in the next few years. Somehow i doubt it having been in this game for 20+ years.