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Old 24th Apr 2020, 17:21
  #28 (permalink)  
CAT3C AUTOLAND
 
Join Date: Jun 1999
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drisssouid,

I must admit I haven't read all the responses to your thread, however I would like to make a few comments.

I have been a pilot since 1995 and have seen the gulf war, the attacks on the world trade centre, the financial crisis and now COVID 19. There is always a question of the best strategy, to tackle this mission of becoming a pilot.

One of the issues we all face when we decided to embark on the mission of flying for a living is the ups and downs of the industry. Sadly, some people fail to think this through properly when they decide to part with large sums of money and don't have any sort of contingency plan in place. Like in any industry, once you have graduated, whether it be from a modular course or an integrated course, the bottom line it is down to you to find your own employment.

You mentioned you are in a very bad position. Well to put a positive spin on that, I would say you are in a very good position, you have done the hard work and become a professional aviator, so your career is just beginning and that is an achievement in its own right. Now COVID is a situation we are ALL dealing with, myself included and it just happens to be apparent when you are seeking employment and of course no one could have predicted that. There are plenty of pilots that popped out the end of their courses and were faced with a major downturn, myself included in and out of the airlines.

I have had an airline career and also have a lot of experience as a light aircraft, a multi crew, MPL and Jet Orientation instructor. Personally, sharing skill with other pilots, instructing is a great way to improve yourself, develop and help others. Its important to realise and I think it has been mentioned you have to have the passion and want to instruct otherwise you will most likely resent it. I was a full time light aircraft instructor for 2 years and a year part time and loved it, it was one of the most enjoyable jobs I have had.

What ever you decide, its important you keep current, don't let all that hard work go to waste and end up in a situation where you get rusty or god forbid have to do your ATPL exams again.

From an economical point of view, yes, potentially its looks bleak right now, but everyones opinion on that is purely speculation, no one knows what will happen. Yes its unprecedented, however no matter how long it takes, it will get better.

I saw a lot of ups and downs in my quest to become a pilot, but got there in the end. I have said this before on PPRUNE, once you get there, flying for a living is a wonderful job if you have the passion for it.

All the best.
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