Originally Posted by
bloodandiron
Haha yeah mate I'm sort of in the same boat here - did all three tickets on VET with a CPL in hand 3 years ago, been all around the top end and never found a job, but loved the experience anyway.
So if the bank considers VET debt in a mortgage application, what do they want to see before they'll give you a mortgage? A higher income than if you didn't have the debt?
I feel like a lot of flight schools are in love with themselves. Ya know the old "we teach it this way and we think it is the best way / better than the school down the road". Funny thing is the schools with that attitude either have no practical experience flying or did their stint in rough and tough GA like 30 years ago. I have cold called and resume dropped a number of schools and whilst some are stand up blokes who will even tell you where else to resume drop, others are super tight and don't seem to care about you.
I don't know about you mate but I'd rather be flying than working in a god damn call centre. I know the feeling though, of not knowing what to do after having been around the whole country looking for a job.
I've come across a bit of work as of last week which will involve some flying, and I found work late last year for about 30 hrs of paid flying. Both these gigs have come from people I know, not from resume dropping, emailing or cold-calling. So with the big entry level operators in the top end, like you said, I'm pretty sure after I drop in a resume somewhere and have a chat with the big dog, another two dozen more charismatic, well connected, skilled people come in after me. Anyway might be good if your next move is to just network a bit more? There are fellas (farmers, tradies, doctors) with planes all round the country that need flying, not just in the top end. If you properly get into the circles around Melbourne ya never know who might have a mate who needs a guy to do some flying.
The worst thing is knowing fellas who have gotten jobs straight out of flight school / a couple months after moving up north. It kind of makes it seem even more impossible and out of reach. I mean, good on em, some of them are working in sh*t conditions, like being shafted with their pay, being based out remote for years, or being psychologically manipulated (yes you know who I'm talking about).
Another thing that helped me not stress so much about not having a flying job after so long of looking / so long post CPL, was broadening my world beyond flying. I started doing my licences in high school and a huge part of my identity was flying. Recently I've broadened out and started doing all kinds of other things and getting involved with other groups. Flying is nowhere near as huge to me now and there are jobs on the ground I'd probably take over jobs in the air.
Also if you have an FPC that is due that's a great opportunity to get a job. Some flight schools seem to hate hiring G3s they don't know...
Glad I'm not the only one, which I suspected I wasn't but congrats on those little "breaks" you got. I've also applied for "operations" and Store Hand jobs at a few operators up north and Alice Springs. I will take anything at this stage.
I definitely don't enjoy the Call Centre life! But I don't really have a choice until something gives in the flying industry.
You are right though, it seems to be a "networking game" and the guy/gal that can network the best will "win" that coveted C210 position :-) When I was in the Top End, I did notice quite a few guys are getting jobs with a GA Ready Course? It's a big sigh as it's another $5,000 (or close to) for C210 time (they claim is 5 to 10 hours) but you are essentially paying for your own ICUS. My next step is to re-charge my savings and do this GA Ready thing. Did you come across this?