If only the shortage of pilots was as real as the magazines make it out to be in their articles.
Just the same as any industry, there is always a shortage of well qualified, experienced people. I'm sure that Tesco or Asda will tell you that there is a shortage of experienced financial directors, or purchasing directors, but that doesn't mean that every Tom Dick and Harry is going to get a job on the till just because they've paid to learn how to stack shelves reasonably well.
Back to aviation, airlines are desperate for, in decreasing order:
- TR Examiners
- TR Instructors
- Type Rated training captains
- Type Rated captains
- non Type Rated captains with 3,000 jet hours
- Type Rated first officers with 1,000 multi crew hours
- non Type Rated first officers with 1,000 hours jet experience
- anybody with 500 multi crew hours on anything
- anybody with 1,000 instructing hours on anything
- anybody with a CPL / IR who is not whingeing
- anybody with a CPL / IR who is still breathing but whinges a lot!
Now, where do you fit in? What qualifications do you have? How can you make yourself look attractive to your future employers? What initiative have you shown to increase your hours / experience? You may think this is rather harsh, but it is a real world out there - experience and attitude is everything.
Coming here to sound off about the mere £10k return on a £6k FI investment won't impress anybody. Going and doing it for 3 years just might.