Does that 12-week course actually cost $40K? I didn’t know that.
Nevertheless, 12 months in the bush never hurt any pilot, in fact they would probably look back on it as the best 12 months of their life.
My God, in my day if someone had said go fly bush for 12 months and there’ll probably be a turbo-prop gig waiting for you at the end I would have pinched myself to see if I was dreaming...
Anyway if that was my son I would be fully encouraging him to do just that. If it does turn out to be only 12 months, he’ll mature 5 years in those 12 months and be a far better pilot for it. If he hasn’t the stomach for that then he’s probably in the wrong industry.
Some of the “Command Decisions” I had to make in the bush were much harder than anything I’ve had to deal with in over 3 decades of jet flying since.
There is a lot of negativity on this website... I still think my job is the best job in the world (and I’m nearing retirement), and I just did a 12 hour 4-sector day in a narrowbody jet. I loved my time in the bush, but it also makes me appreciate the job I have now.
So I would suggest that your son needs to either Harden The F Up and work on becoming what employers want, or get out while he’s still young.
Or is it possible that he’s not complaining, and you are just complaining on his behalf?