Nice thread... Easy to have a go at people who come here to say their master plan hasn't work out yetwe should all learn something out of it.
A plan in aviation is just that... Reality to come, is usually something else (better or worse).
So talking about our difficulties or disappointments is a first step to find a solution. To skippy, I say well done for coming out
as you are far from being the only one. No doubt some readers will share what you are going through... Like it was said in a previous post though, it is just how it has always been
for most people, myself included.
Not that I ever thought I ll get a RHS on big jet with my 200 hours but the truth was that I knew little about commercial aviation and its reality. So like many I dreamt, hoped and worked my way around a system where a passion for flying may seem like the least important requirement when one wants to get a job.
But with time, luck, work, joys and failures, I managed to log more hours, then onto bigger aeroplanes for better wages etc... Years down the line, all is ok and I even got to fly pretty much all I had wanted to (Bush, Boeings, Bizjets, gliders...) and have little regrets. In fact even the times similar to which you are going through don't seem so bad anymore. Mainly because I stuck with it, remained positive and when I had to do some other jobs (non flying ones but always aviation related), I always got a lot out of it. Be some very good friends, great times (if you see what I mean here
), a better knowledge of various sides of this harsh industry and a lot more, professional contacts etc...
There are some things I would have done differently but not many (like in an effort to make things right, don't dump a job offer for somebody who is trying to leave you
... A very commandable thing but ultimately a disaster).
So my advice to you is... Make up your own mind about things. Don't take your pals (or mine) advice as the magic solution to all your problems. What works for one might not work for the other one and vice versa.
Keep the faith, the hours coming (even if it is an hour once in the blue moon), networking and be what I call... A patient impatient. Somebody who knows that sitting on his bum will bring no success but also somebody who knows when to wait.
As an example, I would say go and knock on doors (small local outfits, companies in a different part of the world, whatever idea you get ...), make yourself known but don't Piss Anybody Off. Be smart, the kind of guy we like to hang around with who allies a good spirit with professionalism.
So to you and the others, the very best of luck. Hang on there and you will get there too.