The Reality of Seeking a First GA Charter Job
Okay I don't want to seem like a Debbie Downer for anyone wanting to pursue aviation as a career but, you need to know just how tough getting that FIRST GA job is. Here's my 2 cents for what it's worth but, I'm in the "trenches" having done my second "wet" up North in the middle of nowhere with aboriginals breaking into my neighbours house once a week (it seems)... still waiting for that elusive ""golden ticket" into the industry via GA.
I haven't been successful finding a GA job so I guess I have failed this mission and want to share my story.
I've completed all my training (CPL, ME IR, ATPL "theory credit", FIR G3, 430 hrs TT). Self funded no silver spoons, no VET fee help. Working jobs, saving and swiping my credit card against every single hour logged in my logbook. I spent time in Namibia looking for bush flying work and no luck there so returned to Oz, trekked to Alice. Got a rental. Tried not to get stabbed at night and did the rounds at all the operators. Was there for a few months - met some pilots and did the whole networking thing. Decided it was time to leave Alice after waking up to someone having set fire to a mattress in my front lawn. If anyone has lived in Alice, you know that scoring a flying job here means putting your life on the line (literally!). Never go out at night! Ventured up to Katherine and stayed there for 2-3 months in a temporary rental. Explored the area, met the few operators that are based there. Again, the crime wave is rampant in Katherine (following the only highway up from Alice). The crime in Katherine is not as bad as Alice but it's still bad. Soldiered up to Darwin and stayed in a hostel for almost 2 months while sticking my head into the operators. Met a few pilots at Shenanigans and it's great (very social)- but for every 1 entry level C210 job that pops up here every now and a blue moon, there's 50-60 pilots waiting to jump on it. Moved out of said hostel and into a caravan park while rinsing and repeating the same behaviour month after month (door knocking, shaking hands, "being friendly", etc) without coming across as a desperate loser. I shot across to Broome (stayed in a hostel for 2 weeks) and then returned to Darwin.
After 12 months of "bouncing around" and settling in to different places for a few months at a time, I decided to get the coveted FIR G3 to try and crack the instructor market. Boy oh boy, it's just as tough! I've come to learn (after finishing) that nobody wants a G3 unless you've had a "gentleman's agreement" with a HOO or CP that they are likely to employ you after you finish the course. I messed up and felt like I wasted almost $25,000 in savings which I earned while working as a labourer. I recently did the IPC which again, waste of money but need to keep all these expensive licence add-ons up-to-date!!
It's also very disheartening when the occasional 23 year old waltzes past you with sub 200 hours and gets a job on the 210 because they are the son of the x who knows xyz. I must say that looking for a GA job is much harder than any flight test or theory exam I've ever done. Nobody really talks about how gruelling it is. Sitting and waiting around for the phone to ring. Sleeping in hostels and caravan parks, or driving through flood waters in the wet season up here to try and catch a CP, or realising that you are just one of dozens of freshly minted CPL'ers on the exact same train as you. Needless to say, almost all the kids floating around up here are on over $100,000 dollars in student loan debt and most of them (90% I'd say), won't find a job in this industry. Just because I see first hand the lack of jobs vs the demand. In a way, I'm lucky because I've used my savings but it's still almost $100,000 spent (over 4 years of self study and saving as a labourer). When I drop into an operator up here once a month or so, I ask them 'how many emails do you get a week for jobs' and their response is something like 100-200!! In person, a half dozen resumes get dropped off at some of these operators every day or so. Obviously you should NEVER email because nobody is going to read it and if they do, it will just get ignored. But picking a town, settling down and waiting is still a huge gamble and the longest stint I have done waiting around is 12 months on a single lease. I've studied my ATPLs while waiting but, I feel like the whole exercise has been a complete waste of time and money.
I looked at the GA ready course purely for "networking" sake and I feel like it's a $5000 networking opportunity. I may consider this but still, most people in the course don't get a job after it.
I wish flying schools were more transparent about this reality. I think more people would re-consider this career path and perhaps buy a house instead, or get into real estate where there is very little barrier to entry and the money you could earn is much more fruitful.
Thanks for reading and I want to remain completely anonymous as I don't want anybody to "black list" me permanently for sharing the "dark' side of trying to land a first GA job.
Again this is my 2 cents for what it's worth.