Originally Posted by
VikingSteve
I know it's illegal to discriminate on age, but if you have two pilots with the same skills and one can provide an extra decade or two of service then will the older chap have much of a chance?
The cynic in me suggests that the older pilot is actually more attractive because he'll have less time to move up the payscale and will thus cost less... and can be replaced with another low earner sooner!
Realistically, this is the point where your attitude and personality become the determining factor, as theoretically, anyone with the appropriate licences/medicals has the "same skills". I was 43 when I got hired into the RHS of a regional turboprop... I know a number of 20-30somethings who didn't make it.
Originally Posted by
VikingSteve
I know there is no guarantee of ever getting to the left chair of an airline (or even the right!) but will being in my early 40's make it harder than at any other time of my life?
The answer is yes... but that's probably more to do with your physical and mental wellbeing, than any sort of age discrimination you might face... It is just a fact of life that the body and brain are on a downward spiral from your early 20s. It makes learning harder, it makes dealing with the long hours/overnights/timezones/physiological demands harder... hell, some days it just makes getting out of bed to make a cup of tea harder!
It's not impossible, I'm living proof... but as I always told people "I'm too dumb and too stubborn to give up"... I've had to sacrifice an awful lot to get where I am, but my username reflects how I feel about life at this point in time. Even when I have to get up at "o'Dark thirty" for my "Stupid dream job"
