Sonny & Capt Snooze I think paying for ones own endorsement sucks but that is increasingly becoming the norm. I also think paying for a uni degree via HECS sucks also. I preferred the previous system where it was a community responsibility to make education available for our children.
Did anyone see the doco on the ABC on Monday night about the lawyers working in a legal aid agency. The boss made an interesting point. When studying law at uni was "free" graduates sometimes felt a moral responsibility to do pro bono work, in other words to put something back in to the system that trained them for "free". The situation now means it is everyman for him or herself to land the highest paying corporate law job.
Now back to flying. Put your own thoughts about paying for an endorsement to one side and apply the logic. You paid for your CPL and CIR and possibly FIR so why not an endorsement? Why draw a distinction? A RAAF pilot might well say " Pay for a licence, are you mad?" It all comes down to your perspective. I cannot see taking the moral high ground and refusing to pay as an option many young pilots earning $25,000 pa (if they are lucky) would consider preferable to biting the bullet pay the money and move up to a better job.
Yes it is despicable. So is the US system of healthcare where the ambulance will not pick you up without private insurance etc. BUT IT IS REALITY. Faced with a choice most pilots would take it. How is it different to the bonded SIA pilots? Their bond increases everytime they get a new endorsement I believe. Go figure.