PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Dealing with Mental Health, Anxiety and Depression
Old 10th June 2024 | 10:49
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Uplinker
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My thoughts are with the OP. This is going to be tough to read, but.........

If you are considering an airline career, I really worry that you might be too old now. You will be 48 or older after qualifying, with a frozen ATPL, no airline experience and almost no hours. Chief pilots are generally looking for younger pilots with at least 500 hours and 30+ years of working life ahead of them, or dead cert experienced pilots who have a proven record of being able to pass any recurrent Sim or new type rating. An easyJet Training Captain elsewhere on Pprune has stated that they would treat with suspicion any pilot who was not a Captain by the age of 50, so any person at the age of 48 with no big jet hours or anything would no doubt be similarly viewed ?

If everything went perfectly, and you passed all your exams and tests first time, and had no delays to your flying programme and were lucky to catch a recruiting frenzy, you might get an airline job. But I think it is unlikely. I have 20 years and just under 12,000 hours TT of flying including A330 long-haul, but several long-haul airlines flying that type have recently said no to me - even though I could just slot straight into their flying programme doing the same thing I have done for years. They are being ageist. I have all the relevant experience and type ratings and Class 1 medical.

I obviously don't know what your goal is, but flying is really not all glamourous. It can be at the top, and at the level I attained; big shiny long-haul jets to (sometimes) exotic destinations, but to get there, I started flying the night mail in ancient cargo turbo-props, and slowly worked my way up. Those early years were not easy, with difficult aircraft, difficult rosters, and difficult Captains. My first marriage did not survive my being away so much, in pursuit of my new career.

I changed career back in 1997, 11 years younger than you are now, and I made it, but back then, airlines would pay for your type ratings, and the airline world was a different place, before rostering and fatigue became an issue. (The Unions and company councils have mostly been nobbled, by the way, so there is no help from them).

If you are determined to do this - good luck - but I personally think it is a very precarious path. And especially if you have anxiety issues; it probably isn't for you. Quite apart from the continuous hoop-jumping and intensive recurrent 2 day SIM tests every 6 months that pilots have to pass just to attain and retain all the paperwork, licenses etc, flying a big jet can be quite intense. There will be very demanding days in the cockpit; Not only flying a turbulent cross-wind approach, but all the faff on the ramp before you even get airborne - Passenger delays, Slot delays, Baggage delays, Handling agents having lots of staff going sick on significant football match days etc. Crew hours, Having to take minimum fuel, Carrying MEL defects, Fatigue, etc etc.

For the same money, you could perhaps get into motorsport or buy a nice yacht and go sailing around the Med.
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