Following on from Eddy's post and given that there a few QF ground schools in full swing I thought it would worthwhile posting what to expect.
Pre First Day - At some stage before you start you need to go in for a uniform fitting. Take someone with you! You have to measure your jackets and pants and its a bugger to do it yourself. You also need to have another medical and criminal history check (CHC). The biggest priority is the CHC - it takes a few weeks so get it back to QF pronto.
Visa - Try and get your US visa organised as quickly as possible. There's quite a delay in getting these so make your appointment quickly and make sure you don't miss your appointment.
First day - apart from being nerve wrecking - is fairly straight forward. Documentation Day! Bring your official documents (passport, birth certificates etc), fill out forms and meet your trainers and fellow class mates. The trainers are lovely, made you feel very welcome, talked about the company and expectations during training etc. This is probably the easiest day in the entire course!!
EP's - At some stage you have to do EP's. You either do these first or after your service training. It depends on how your particular course is structured. EP's are full on, but not unachievable. Forget about partying and eating out every night - if you want to pass you need to study! The theory is quite difficult for some whereas the practical is more difficult for others. But work hard and be good to your mother and you should pass without any problems at all. All airlines want you to pass, so if you put in the effort most employers will go out of their way to help you through this stage - Qantas is no exception. The EP instructors were absolutely fantastic (and patient!).
Service Training - If you can pass EP's (and you can!) then you can pass Service Training. Its fun, you get to try out different meals (strangely after hours in a sim trainer you don't mind eating aircraft food)), you get to serve each other and your instructor. You learn about health, safety, customer service, procedures etc. Lots of fun. I really enjoyed this part. You'll also have a supernumery flight to check your progress and it gives you a chance to observe, participate and learn online.
Exams - Study, study, study - especially for EP's. They're not difficult, you just need to study.
Uniforms - When they arrive, check everything and watch everyone get all silly and excited. Lots of fun!
Have fun- QF and the trainers make it reasonably fun (well about as much fun as you can have while your learning a new job!). You get to experience a lot in a short period of time so try to enjoy it. So what if you muck a few things up! Everyone is very understanding so don't stress. So far it seems like an ace company and a good job so don't let the stress of the training put you off. If you feel like your struggling, talk to your trainer - they do everything they can to help you out and you won't be punished or ostracised.
Don't be put off - By negative or nasty comments. Unfortunately, like any employment situation your going to get people who are temporarily or permanently p!ssed off. Thats totally cool, but don't let it ruin your experience - take their comments, assess their validity and do what you will with them. Everyone is entitled to their opinion so don't get all glum about the fact that its not all rosy all the time. I'm loving it so far and there's no reason why you shouldn't either.
Say allo - If you see me out online!
