First, both eyes were previously corrected by glasses and I still have the astigmatism, so the 20/20 in one eye is a false assumption. The DCA I used to come under worked/works under the former UK Colonial Air Navigation Order (CANO), under which both eyes must come up to scratch.
I originally trained in Winnipeg (about 1970), so as far as Canadian experience is concerned I would have to do the Comm IR ME again, then move on to Instructing (I guess).
And after six years without a job here in Toronto (I have been trying to work in IT and have been badly self-managed as a webmaster) I can no longer afford to pay for the instruction to get to that point.
I'm pretty fed up with the politics, cost of living and taxes in Ontario and Canada, though - it's the only place I have ever seen where even postage stamps have sales tax. I seriously wonder how the poorer people manage to survive in this Yuppie hell.
Truth is I'd rather get myself a life and a job elsewhere - like many other people in Canada that are voting with their feet - and my current preference is for the UK.
Only one exception: I have been knocking on the door at WestJet, but even with inside recommendations I don't seem to be making any progress there.
At 52 and unemployed for 6 years I no longer have the luxury of time or money to play silly PC games with hyper-intelligentsia HR departments overflowing with highly qualified do-nothings. I have abilities and skills to offer that Canada clearly does not want or need, and I finally do get the message that it's time to move on.
So if anyone knows of somewhere in the UK that I can start a new career at the bottom and work my way up again, I really do need to hear about it.
No insult intended, my friend, but it's a fact that Canada is not a land where the experience of middle age is welcome at ground zero, especially not for middle agers without that recent holy grail of "Canadian Experience".
Jim Lynch
[email protected]
[This message has been edited by JimLyn (edited 21 May 2001).]