Aus Expats - would you go home (with poll)

[AirNoServicesAustralia]

Hempy, if I was able to make a decision of where I live based purely on ATC and enjoyment of work, I would never leave here. Some may say ATC has evolved in Australia whereas ATC here is still like the old days where you plug in and push the metal around till you get em in a straight line and fling em to approach. May be old fashioned but for me its a hell of a lot more fun.

Ability and experience are not the same thing, you are right Hempy, but if you are constantly working high levels of traffic safely, then surely that person would be able to be sent to a similarly busy sector back in Australia and slot in without too many problems. Speaking with guys who have returned recently, their time over here has helped them out immensely, and traffic levels have been the least of their problems. Learning to say "QANTAS-THIRTYTWO-TWENTY" or whatever it is you guys say these days has been a problem though, and sweating over the fact that you will be suspended for SHOCK HORROR! being late with some coordination is another thing to get used to after being in a place where if coordination is late, you apologise and if no problem came of it, it is logged and you keep working.

Just one last thing for JFOKKERJ, I know of one expat that went back and then left again. You may know of more but it hasn't been a lot thats for sure. The guy in question that I know of, was yes, firstly frustrated at the restraints placed on him in regards to handling high traffic loads all in the name of "protecting the roster", but also frustrated at the Team Leader position in his group being given to someone else with less experience and qualifications, because the person deciding on the job was told by the succesful candidate that our ex-expat was not a team player and not good for the job. Thats right, the ex-expats competitor for the job, not surprisingly doesn't give the ex-expat a glowing reference for the team leader job, so our ex-expat misses out. Hempy you would know first hand all about how that particular group works. It is not a lack of loyalty or just wanting a paid holiday back home that makes ex-expats leave, it is the frustration that the reasons we left in the first place are still there or worse than ever, and thats not a money issue, but a massive mismanagement, a lack of job satisfaction, and a lack of career developement issue.