illusion, very well put, good advice for anyone starting out!
I've heard the same whinge from aviators on three continents: "If I had the chance to do it again, I'd get a degree and go into aviation as a hobby/afterthought/entrepreneur/second career" (delete as appropriate
).
It's because of the nature of the beast, a bit like advertising (stay with me here
): Young starry-eyed kids think it's the dog's b@llocks when it comes to jobs and oh so glamorous, and of course supply and demand then dictate that conditions would be atrocious for newbies, especially in a small industry like in Oz/NZ where there seems to be a never ending supply of budding aviators..
Once the newly minted drivers find their feet in this very specialised, but still trade-like job (as it doesn't usually come with a tertiary qualification), they have a mountain of debt that takes years to pay off, no alternative as the skills are too specific to be transferable to another industry, and until they have enough experience to be marketable (e.g. overseas), or indeed be 'worth' a decent salary, they're well and truly locked in.. add to that wife and kids and the recipe for chronic stress is complete
The solution? Easy
: Get the guvmint in the aviation white paper to mandate extension of the CPL syllabus to include general business management, economics, how to run a small business 101, accounting, marketing, tourism studies 101 and some other stuff, then issue a tertiary qualification on the back of the CPL, and offer Fee Help or whatever other assistance programs exist, and Bob's your uncle.
To save the 'overseas student pilot exploitation industry', you could for example offer a stripped-down version without the actual degree, in order to accommodate budget and preserve international competitiveness.
Chance that that will ever happen? Infinitesimal methinks
Such a nice idea though
Does it have the potential to revolutionise pilot training and maybe even aviation around the world? I bet! Anyway, off to take a cold shower now, the excitement will soon pass