Ok...Here we go again.
Self funding of Type ratings is NEVER OK. It should never be laid upon a pilot experienced or not, to fund training in any shape or form. It is something the company should be responsible for funding, they get good tax breaks on training, whereas Pilots do not, making it unreasonably expensive also.
It is OK for companies to demand a training Bond from Pilots trained by them. I should be a reasonable Bond for a reasonable time frame. Again, it is the responsibility of the Candidate to read and accept the Contract prior to signing. ( Have met to many people complaining about terms and conditions few months down the line, when it's all according to contract.) So read it carefully and make sure it's what you can accept. Stop complaining and suck it up. Always have an exit plan, if things do not work out. But do not breach agreements, contracts or Bonds. Or pay the consequences. If another company is interested, they might be willing to fund the Bond release. The company have responsibilities too, if thy breach the contract, they also breach the Bond agreement. So read it carefully.
Do not Self Fund Type ratings. It's like busting Minimas or operating outside the envelope of safety, at some point it bites, and it bites hard. Hurting you and a lot of others in the process.
Be professional pilots, and Pros don't work for free, hence the word Professional.
Both are destructive to our profession in a very serious way. So let us lead the ones seeking advice down an alternative route to Success, away from self funding and Slave labour, thus we will pave the way for our own job satisfaction and security
O
