Rampant naivety may not be too bad a description! There weren't anything like 700 jobs on offer. The few real jobs that were discussed were either for young, integrated or experienced high hour pilots with ratings. Given that there were nearly 400 BALPA members in the room and that the majority of unempoyed/in-training pilots almost certainly didn't attend there's an awful lot of competition out there for very few jobs. If you've borrowed £60K and you're "lucky" enough to land a F/O TP job you'll be paying the loan back for the rest of your life. Don't wish to be too pessimistic but if you're looking for your first job you better hope you're integrated, under 30 with first time passes in your IR (and preferably exams too). I know there are always exceptions and you could, of course, buy a type rating but how much debt can one man stand. I think some of the schools are irresponsible in taking money from people who have little real chance of getting a job (perhaps including me
). We're all doooomed!
