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Old 11th Sep 2009, 15:53
  #69 (permalink)  
the air up there
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: out there
Age: 43
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ok nkand, I am seriously not trying to get a bite here but please enlighten me because I think you really need to assess the way and the speed your career is going to progress.

On getting to the airlines you said "there are many routes and that is one option" on GA.

Sounds like you think that you will get another option and GA is just a fallback.

Then you say in 2-3 years you will be in an airline and you havent even finished your training yet.

In case you haven't noticed the airlines have stopped recruitment and there is very little in the way of GA progression and this has filled numerous threads on pprune. Who is telling you that you will get into an airline so quick? Talking with some mates in the industry, I/we are resigned to the fact that we will be were we are for at least the next 12months before the economic conditions improve for us to move on. Some people are even saying another 2-3 years which scares me.

No, I am not a whinger. I love where I am in GA at the moment. No I am not jealous, I have a job which I spent many years looking for and hence I want to try and help newbies see the accurate picture. Right now is not the best time to be starting out in aviation. Ring around the operators up north and ask them how many pilots they are hiring and the answer will be not many, ask about newbies and they may not say it but why take a 200hr pilot with experience when there are guys leaving kunners and Broome with 600-700hrs.

If you sit down and really ask yourself these questions, you may see how some of the things that have been thrown around by people at MB are alot rosier than the picture I have painted.

In response to wwejosh, vary rarely will the school that you trained at have a direct impact on your prospects of employment. Glass cockpit, fine fly a glass cockpit but before you jump in a plane with the CP for your first job, get some time in a steam driven aircraft. As stated in all the other threads about finding that first job the factor that will get you a job is attitude. Don't have a bad one and be presentable.

Talk to as many pilots as you can. Learn their names. Try and get them to learn your name. Its all about networking, it means jobs find you because they have thrown your name in the hat.

Know your checks, know your regs.

Finally, don't sell yourself short and stand up for yourself. You are a professional pilot. There is a big difference between going the extra yard and working for free.
the air up there is offline