Originally Posted by
AIMINGHIGH123
It’s true we shouldn’t be paying for a TR but it’s the industry now. I have learnt that I’m down turns such as these you still get more opportunities.
It is the industry of the "paid career" which isn't the industry reference. I'm not here to "judge", it's simply a conclusion after so many years knowing and meeting people who have chosen different paths in the last two decades.
Ryanair uses you and you use Ryanair as well. You basically pay for a quick career. Quick command, quick LTC, quick TRI, quick TRE. So you will meet 30 year old Ryanair TRI/TRE's who've stuck up with Ryanair's "treatment" but also got a quick career out of it. Once a TRI, always a TRI. On the other hand, the experience is the experience you get: low cost flying in Europe on a 737. But the resume says TRI.
The ones who don't pay, there are other possibilities with a lot longer waiting times. You will be at least 40 before you get a shot at being a 737-style TRI. But in general you probably have an opportunity to experience "other" things, unfortunately these things aren't really "valid" in the world of aviation. SFI isn't as valuable as TRI. Cruise relief captain on intercontinental widebody network isn't as valuable as full left seat.
So when the **** hits the fan, you are either a senior 30 year old widebody first officer looking for a job, or a fresh 30 year old TRI.
I'm not a Ryanair guy by-the-way. I'm just a dude who notices that once inside a company, the 7 year Ryanair-in-Europe career equals or surpasses my 15 year narrow/widebody non-funded-type-ratings career. Not good or bad, just a conclusion. The Ryanair guys/girls I know are a good bunch of people who did what we all tried to do: making a living by doing what we love the most.
So despite all the negativity around the paid type-rating, I would say the return-on-investment is pretty good... (if you have the money.... and the abilities of course)