the next step
The next step
Ciao to everyone! I completed my pilot training by an italian fto and i assume i'll be taking the in - flight exam next month for the fATPL license with about 210 hours, whose 30 are flown on an FNTP II for the MCC training. Before posting here, i tried the "search" function of pprune and i kind of ended up more confused than one i started. So that's why i'll try to condense everything in one post so to make the whole decision making process a little easier. As in the title of the topic, i'm pretty much in doubt about the next step to take in order to make the best deal out of my time and money with the ultimate goal to be more "marketable" for the aviation business. I'm sure nobody has the perfect solution for everything and especially i guess nobody has the magic wand, but i'm sure that out of this virtual "piazza" will come out something good. I'm considering, as every wannabe, a few options to build some time and also to improve that kind of background that can spur up my career opportunities (if any, of course).
I came up with 5 basic options:
1) Flight Instructor Rating
2) Time building in the US or somewhere cheaper than Italy
3) First Officer program
4) Self - sponsored Type Rating on a commercial airplane
5) Find a job at the local coffee shop
The main foreword is that it is not possible to buy a job, there are just more chances if you have the kind of experience proportional to the position you are applying for. The main question is "quality of quantity". As far as option one, a CFI rating would definitely increase my TT at a reasonable price, but that would be always single engine VFR time and still piston engine, so basically a big improvement in the hours logged but little, or no improvement on the quality side of it. Time building programs, usually abroad otherwise unaffordable, have a main disadvantage that to "build" some little experience (i.e. 100 hours ME) the main issue is money, but still it depends on what you buy with that money. I started my researches and i came up with the name of flight school in florida (ari-ben aviator), which seems to be the cheapest place to buy some time. they offer 100 hours on a beechcraft BE76 for $ 6000. Now, the fact is that i believe the price is for 100 hours but 50 as a PIC and the other half as safety pilot, which has no importance whatsoever in the JAA system. Plus, they do advertise they have 8 BE76 fully equipped, but i have no first hand experience about the school and reading the posts about this school, it doesn't turn out to be a good investment.
the third option represents a compromise: usually these programs offer a big improvement on the fact it's usually "turbine time", but on the other hand they are expensive For usually 100 hours, which i'm not sure are going to do me any good, they usually ask about $ 12000, which is half of a type rating on the A 320. the other reason that could be an obstacle is that is no multi crew time because the airplanes used for these programs are to be considered as "single pilot" certified so, as mentioned before, of no use in the JAA system and especially if they do not provide a type rating.
The option of getting a type rating on a commercial airplane is the most hazardous one: the pros are that it definitely says you are qualified on something different than a C172 RG, you are definitely more "marketable", but i can't think of any other pros. On the other hand, a self-sponsored type rating says you had bunch of money to gamble and that if you had to buy your own type rating it is because no airline considered you as a good person to invest some money on. A different chapter is about self-sponsored type rating for ryanair or easyjet, which are two companies that after the selection process guarantee you a job, but this is another story i believe.
So to recap this long post, which i do apologize for, i'd like to ask you, as in a poll, which option you would pick (even option n°5) and why if you were in my shoes. Any comments, suggestions and thoughts are more than welcomed. Thanks in advance,
Alby