Dimiair,
Sadly, you are right about the state of affairs in countries like Nicaragua. Of course, I count myself amongst the more fortunate, given that I have many friends who make do on only a few hundred dollars a month-- I sometimes don't know how they do it-- Nicaragua may be less expensive than Europe or some aspects of North America, but it isn't "cheap" either. In many countries of the region where there is a "low cost of living," there is practically no "living." One good friend has a Bachelor Degree, is a relatively high ranking officer (Inspector) of the National Police here, and earns less than $300 per month. He considers himself fortunate that he didn't get a job at the local maquilladora, where people lined up and competition was fierce for the $95 per month jobs, and studies on weekends to get his law degree.
I also have a number of friends who are missionaries. With all due respect, these people are "different" from most of us. They see that they have instructions from a higher being, and are willing to go through a fair amount of self-sacrifice to bring the Word to those who will be receptive. Some of them may fly airplanes, and they may like flying, but flying is secondary to what they do (missionary first, pilot second). One friend, who I flew with years ago, is now in Afghanistan, with his pregnant wife and two young children, "bringing the Bible" to them.
I don't even think I would be willing to accept a paying job to go there.
I hope you'll visit us occasionally on this Forum, as there are a number of interesting regional topics discussed from time to time (when people actually come and post-- this is often the quiet backwater of PPRuNe
). One of the emerging problems is that flight training is rising (cost of a Cessna 152 these days in Nicaragua is $130/dual, $110/solo) while wages and opportunities remain low. Seeing as we discuss economics, the laws of economics should mean that wages should go up-- well, at least something's got to give. In the case of Nicaragua, most of the pilots are in their 40's or older. This points towards an upcoming shortage-- and hopefully more realistic wages to attract people into the profession (there is hardly a Nicaraguan military anymore). As one pilot friend said years ago "We don't want jobs, we want careers."
Check out this thread
So I'm glad we've had this discussion
Dimiair, and I hope that you might be able to get your dream job, not because of anything you said earlier which I surely misunderstood, but because of your qualifications (however low they may be, you've worked hard for them, invested heavily in that, and should be appropriately rewarded-- you are a professional) and desire to succeed, your track record in the Caribbean as a police officer and your enthusiasm for the region and for aviation in general. Oh, and as you said-- Networking . . . networking . . . networking . . .
Who knows, small industry, maybe we will share the flight deck together one day.