Originally Posted by
ruralaviator
As the 20 year old
Incredibly sage words from Elzilcho above.
It is incredibly difficult to plan your entire life out in advance, and this career is a real buggar with most airlines rewarding time spent in company along with being very quick to give people the boot or stop recruiting in downturns.
At your age, I had a very different idea of what I wanted out of life to what I do now. The same might be said for yourself, I’ve flown in Europe with a couple of lads who got a jet command at 26/27 and now face the prospect of little to no change or progression for the majority of their working life. They find it incredibly difficult to leave because to go elsewhere would be cutting their salary in half. Obviously in Air NZ there’s fleet variety, but as EZ said, NZ is not the be-all-end-all and you might gain some life satisfaction by giving it a crack overseas. If you have a passport that lets you work in the EU, there are some great contracts, fantastic places to live and plenty of opportunities for travel. It’s not utopia, and the work is tough sometimes, but it’s all about what you want from life.
My advice is always to try and hone in what you enjoy about flying and what you want from life. The links is arguably the most fun airline flying you can have, shooting visuals into uncontrolled ADs etc, but you exchange fun for a low salary and some really long days. If you’ve got roots in a region where there’s a base (Napier, Nelson, Chch etc) it might work perfectly for you. If travelling and seeing the world is at the forefront of your mind then perhaps a jet job in Europe would work better, decent pay, cheaper cost of living and the variety of Europe on your doorstep.
Its hard not to want to forward plan, as a species it’s what us pilots like doing. However, at 20 you can’t be thinking “well it’s 24 years to command at NZ jet so I better join the links by May 3rd 2034 or I’m screwed”. So much of this job (and getting the job you want) is about luck and timing. The industry changes year on year, the entry requirements change and the attrition rate at the top (what your whole career depends on) changes too.
Its a toughy mate, but the good news is the job is largely great no matter what you choose. Best of luck 👍🏼