I have to agree that Canadian aviation is turning in to a dead end career. As I am writing this it exactly 12 years since I came to Canada with big dreams and a sparkle in my eye. I have managed to remain positive and goal oriented until I lost my job this winter. I have moved my family 6 times (soon 7) in 6 years! Only 2 of those moves were our own idea the rest were foced because of restructuring and or facing layoff's. I've been flying for 12 years and I have yet to brake $60,000CDN in a year, although I got close in 2001. Since then however It's been going downhill. My wages has steadily declined and my gross earnings for 2004 was less than 40k!
I love Canada and I love the people, but that is it for me! I have got a job in Asia where my starting salary is much higher than anything I have ever been paid here.
Thanks to a gazillion flyingschools feeding naive kids lies and giving false hope there are simply to many dogs fighting for the same bone around here! It is off course good for the large general aviation sector. Operators can get pilots at a dime a dozen and pilots take these underpaid slavery like jobs because it is "only a stepping stone" on the rocky road glamorous airline pilot life...right?
I hope for everyone here aspiring and or planning on sticking around that things get better..I really do! I am fortunate to be in a postion where packing up and moving the family half way around the world is not a huge deal, but not everyone are in this position.