Originally Posted by
AluminBird
On that last comment, can anyone elaborate?
I have been self employed for over decade and will probably be FO for a good while. I have a huge amount of patience and understanding of all characters. But, are there enough captains who will disrespect me and wear me down that it's worth mentioning? Or are they generally great, humble people who are professional all the time?
Thanks everyone so far. It's offering a good insight for us who are sacrificing a huge amount (and late on) to make what is essentially a lifestyle choice.
Editing to say that, the "lifestyle choice" is that I'm trying to fulfill a certain dream and it's the worse lifestyle that I'm getting prepared for. Also, hoping that the airline companies don't abuse that all day long!
Cheers
To address a couple of your points.
To an airline, most airlines, you are an expensive necessity. From that point, there will be some employers who will abuse you and some who will make some effort not to, but you are still just a number. The trick is to work for one of the least bad ones and disappear off the radar. As an example, I have entered our head office twice in 20 years, happy days. Learn what informal systems are in place to make life easier, know what is a legal roster and what isn't, consider joining a union. Being a distance employee means that it is up to you to keep up with changes which affect you inside the airline.
As regards the Left/Right command gradient, 95% of the time, unless you act like an arrogant a@@se, the majority of Captains will/should let you run the sector as you want, so long as it is within SOP. Hang your hat on the SOP operate within it and your capabilities and Captains will soon learn to trust your judgement. Don't be afraid to ask for assistance rather than ploughing on until the Captain has to intervene. Always remember that the Capt. signs for the aircraft and carries all the responsibility if there is an incident, even if you are the cause. It can be a stressful seat to sit it, especially in the current era of low experience FO's going directly onto large jets. You will inevitably meet the odd difficult colleague, the SOP is there for this situation, you can do an entire flight only making standard calls and a formal briefing. Not pleasant, but safe, and tomorrow is another day!