Seeing as the Mods believe this thread should degenerate into a Ryanair debate, I'll bite:
I think you all miss the point. Why does Ryanair need to be your first job?
No, we
haven't missed the point! It doesn't have to be a first job, but it's not an awful option. In any case, you are not comparing like with like. The market was very different when you were starting out.
You suggest:
Instructing, charter, freight, regional airlines
for first jobs.
There are very few instructing jobs. FTOs have suffered in this recession and it is constant advice on this forum that a £7K FI Rating is not the key to hours it might have been even 3 years ago. In any case, instructing without any real motivatation to teach is intrinsically bad IMHO. In the past, Airlines did not take on low-hour pilots, so the route you followed was the norm. Things have changed. Given the choice between paying £7K in order to earn over £120K over 3 years to build 1500 737NG hours, I know which I would prefer.
Charter? Are you suggesting charter Airlines are recruiting pilots? They haven't suffered in the recession due to lack of demand, shedding jobs left, right and centre. The contacts I have are scared for their own jobs even though my CV has received good comments by being on the right desk (albeit at the wrong time!)
Freight? As with charter, they're not recruiting more than the odd few pilots, mostly, if not all, with plenty of hours. Many freight operators fly large aircraft and have the choice of many, many out of work experienced pilots.
Regional airlines? I'm sorry but the Eastern Airlines of this world only take people with 1000 hours minimum and the ones who do take low-hour pilots have closed their applications systems. Flybe etc have stopped recruitment too. I could list many other Airlines that aren't recruiting or have drowned under a massive weight of CVs.
Look, I'm not saying that there are
no jobs out there but they are so few and far between that you could spend 2 years driving up and down the country with your CV and not even get an interview. Some of us don't want to be in the same position for the next 2 years and must get.
Ryanair and their expensive Type Rating offer a way to get a very good flying job on reasonable terms and conditions provided you are willing to put up with their awful system.
Qantaslink in Australia started charging for Dash 8 type ratings. The applications dried up over night.
If that's true then I would put it down to Australia being a small market with unique recruitment needs. Anyone advertising pilot jobs in the UK or Europe, whether charging for Type Ratings or not, is swamped with hundreds, if not thousands, of applications from hopefuls.
That is the situation with Ryanair.
Desperation is not a good bargaining chip
I'm not desperate but I will be flying a 737NG in 3 months time, earning a decent wage. In 2 years time I will have unfrozen my ATPL and in 3-4 years time I will be either a Captain or I will have moved to an Airline with better terms and conditions. I'm not desperate, I'm just sensible.
And there is your answer
And not a very good one either.