Salt in an already deep wound!

[Skippy129]

I’m sure it’s not just me, but I was curious so I thought I would write a thread.

I like so many people completed my training in the summer 08 and ever since haven’t had a decent sniff of a job especially in the UK. I completed my training with high pass rates and first time passes in all but my IR which was a second time pass.

Prior to the course I really struggled to decide whether to go integrated or modular. I was "fortunate" enough to go integrated through using inheritance money left to me by my late mother. At the time, this was apparently the only way of securing an airline job without the struggle of going modular. As I happens I was so close to the modular option and in hindsight, really whish I had so that I would have x no of thousand left (esp. if you go to a large FTO)

Anyhow I digress slightly...

The thing i'm struggling with is, having spent 2/3's of a flat on my training, I find it hard to accept that there seems to be an increasing trend by the Veto’s to be sending out "Another Pilot Opportunity" to former students which require them to part with a further 50000 euros or so for a type rating and 300ish hours flying in the bondoo for next to nothing in the way of earnings and no guaranteed job at the end of it. I’m not sure about others but even though I funded my own training, the banks will not offer the cash for a TR because I don’t already owe them 50k. Sounds crazy to me and I can understand that they are trying to protect their investment. But how are you to get a sensible footing on the ladder?

I am deeply concerned about that there is an increasing trend towards the airlines or FTO's offering this sort of opportunity (especially if the FTO is somehow connected to the TRTO). There has to come a limit to how much we are expected to spend on our flight training. I was under the misguided belief that this should in most cases stop after the IR. So much so, I was hauled over the hot coals by the careers department of my FTO for contacting some TRTO's to find out some costs of a TR whilst finishing my IR.

I’m sorry if this sounds like a huge whinge but I think this adds salt to a very deep wound that so many of us are carrying ring now.

Your sensible and honest opinions would be appreciated.