abusing pilots must stop
Like most of my fellow pilots I choose to be a pilot because of my love of flying. That love of flying took me to the flight schools which fed me the full load of crap about how I must train in the UK, how I must do this and that and how all their students get into the airlines. I only realised how much the industry revolves around lies and deception when it was too late - I was only ever going to get enough of a return on my investment to pay my debts by getting a salary flying an aircraft.
After completing all of my training and spending ten of thousands of pounds I was in the privileged position of being able to post my CV to anyone who owned an aircraft - I do not believe there is another profession that exists where you must pay a very very large amount of money just to get into a position were you can apply for a job, a job you are not going to get because you do not have the experience OR, in this day and age, you have not spent enough money i.e. you do not have a type rating.
Spending a considerable time unemployed, fending off banks and credit card and watching my family fall apart I was offered a sniff of a job on a turbo-prop...if I payed for the rating. Choice = bankrupt or pay more money. I thought sod it and got an interest free credit card and paid for the rating and if it all goes wrong then I will be bankrupt with a rating.
I started the job, was paid pea-nuts via an agency (an agency I later learned took 80% of the money the airline spent for me).
After that job I was offered a job on the A320, i took it but the airline takes cash from me each month.
Basically, I will spend many many years just paying for the privilage of going to work and making the airlines richer.
I took years out of my life, spent lots of money, lost money due to no salary during training - it will be years before I get back to where I should be.
Then I read threads from 'management' about how us pilots should pay for rating.....it makes me sick! We pay for PPL, hours building, ATPL, CPL, ME, IR, MCC, renewals, medicals and now ratings well I think it's about time pilots started to give the airline management a slap across the face. Pilots need to toughen up and actively discourage 'would be's' from taking up this profession....I wish someone had turned me off the idea as I would certainly not be in this debt, would not have had to study like crazy and I would now be getting more salary and better treatment from a different industry.
Fellow pilots - make sure you tell 'would be's' the truth and do all you can to change their minds. Tell them how many years they will be set back. Tell them to get another career and do a PPL and fly for FUN because airline management have taken that away from the airlines for sure.
- be supportive of each other and if that means tough action against the airlines then so be it.
It's about time the management realised how lucky they are to have guys and girls like us.
START SPEAKING UP! LET'S GET BACK TO THE TIMES WHEN THE AIRLINES PAID FOR EVERYTHING FROM PPL TO JETS. NOW IS THE TIME TO DO IT -SOMEONE WILL HAVE TO FLY ALL THE AIRCRAFT THAT ARE ON ORDER LETS NOT DO IT FOR FREE! MANAGEMENT - start looking for cadets and get your wallets out!