I remember the howls of outrage when a certain Irish airline introduced the ‘£50 to read your CV’ scam - sorry - scheme. Of course, no-one would stoop to handing over cash to have their CV read. Then within a month the posts started appearing here: “I’ve applied and they haven’t answered – anyone else heard from them?” Or, even better: “I’ve applied and haven’t heard anything – bloody rip-off.”
Small wonder – if people are prepared to roll over that easily – that certain ‘enterprising’ employers will take you for all you’re worth. Anyone who can’t see that it’s the thin end of a very nasty wedge is naive in the extreme. If anyone needs convincing, witness paying for uniforms, medicals, drinks, company travel, no sick pay, no pension, etc etc. What next – paying for the extra fuel if you go-around?
A rhetorical question – where is your line in the sand? At what point do you think “this really isn’t worth it?” Or in simple financial terms, when does the expenditure in ‘buying the ticket’ exceed the eventual rewards?
I know it’s a difficult issue, and I know this discussion can’t solve all the problems of the industry (although if it gets people thinking, it’s already served a useful purpose). I would dearly love to fly commercially, but I’m absolutely clear in my mind – if future ‘employment’ involves paying for everything from bottles of water to type ratings, and tugging my forelock to management that wouldn’t look out of place in a Victorian mill, it really isn’t worth it.