Originally Posted by
the1917
Hi jordon1703
I actually think you’re in a very fortunate position. Your situation sounds similar to mine in 2017/18 but I was ‘unlucky’ enough to have completed my ATPL’s, MEIR, CPL, APS MCC, TR, line training and a summer on the line for TCX before it disappeared. The net result for me was a huge financial reduction to my personal balance sheet for very little enjoyment or satisfaction.
This may come across as overly negative but a realistic view is often lacking in flight training circles. Granted everybody is different but from my own experience I would say that you’re currently at the most enjoyable stage of the ‘career’. After this point the game becomes very expensive and comes with significant sacrifices for your time, money and sanity.
The job of a low hour FO may be great for some, but I speak from experience when I say it is close to being a nightmare for others - myself included. A typical day in the office would start ridiculously early, after poor quality sleep, in a strange bed / hotel room which is paid from a low salary.
Due to the logistics of the job it is very difficult to be nutritious so processed food is the norm. Check-in is done in the most sterile of environments at the crew room. The captain arrives and spends the first 10 minutes using body language / verbals which create a clear hierarchy for further interaction that day (notable exceptions here, some people have excellent emotional intelligence).
Quickly down to the stand, walking at least half a metre behind said captain, to then spend the next 12 hours locked in a wardrobe with the bloke who’s always right about everything 100% of the time, even when he’s wrong. More processed food, dehydration and boredom follow. The captain will fart at regular intervals as he’s the boss, but you dare not.
You will spend the bulk of the day listening to war stories which typically involve superior crosswind landing skills, on his part, and you will learn the failings of all other FO’s at your base. As you approach ToD you try to brief the skipper who doesn’t really care what you say, as the descent, approach and landing will be done his way anyway. Unless you balls it up, at which point it is made clear that you did it your way.
The views are sometimes nice (a positive) but the general pressure of the job balances these pleasureable nano-seconds. At the end of the day you can turn your phone back on to find that your friends / family have been out for walks, to the pub and played cricket in the sun, as it’s Saturday. Thankfully your time with his highness has now finished so you download your roster to find out which exciting destination awaits you next. Unfortunately you’ve been called off standby to repeat today’s events tomorrow with your mate from today. Never mind a cold beer and a walk in the park will do the trick - but you need a clear head and early night so decide a microwave meal and bed would be wiser.
You will no doubt sense my cynicism at this stage! I’d like to say that a lot of this has been exaggerated to make the points, but no. The feeling during flight training was always ‘it will be OK when the next stage is done’. This doesn’t stop in the role, as every FO is ‘doing their time’ for command etc.
I would like to be fair in this assessment, as I do not love aviation like many do, nor was I blessed with particularly good hand flying skills or confidence in my own physical coordination in the cockpit. Another pilot will invariably see things through very different eyes.
Your current position of strength is a good thing imo. If the industry contracts I feel very sorry for many people, including low hour pilots who have grafted and sacrificed so much to be there. Whilst many more experienced pilots believe that low hour guys are incompetent imposters, I believe that you people often have the bottle and resilience to cope with a changing world of work. If you do nothing more than complete your ATPL’s you have been one of the lucky ones. A PPL, night rating and a long academic course are all great experiences and these will be diluted if you sink more time and money into ‘achieving’ the dream.
Maybe the market for new entrants will freeze for the short term, or for the long term, who knows. This would do you a massive favour.