cheakymunkie
I'm fed up of hearing people blame the new cadets who are "prostituting themselves". They've just paid £70k for training and now they are facing an industry in crisis. They have the choice of paying an extra 30k for a type rating or refusing to do this on point of principal. I suppose they can then enjoy their clear conscience as they stack shelves at Tesco and contemplate repaying there wasted 70k initial training.
How about a bit of respect and encouragement for these up and coming aviators who are the victims of bad timing. The assumption that they are all blowing Daddys money so they can impress their friends with their jobs "flying shiny jets" is rediculous and oh so patronising. I suggest that sort of person is in a huge minority.
I was a victim of bad timing - 9/11 was right in the middle of my training! However I have never paid a bean for a type rating, nor sold myself short either.
I will admit that the industry has changed considerably in that short space of time, yet paying for a type rating and working for a packet of mouldy sweets is
not the only way of getting a foot on the ladder. I did not carpet bomb every airline but I targeted a few turboprop operators and worked hard to build up contacts and get myself known and get invited for a interview. I Instructed and flew Turboprops and then moved onto Jets then got my command and became a Line Trainer by the time I was 26, so the old 'apprenticeship' route worked very well for me personally. It still does work!
Do I regret taking that path - not in the slightest. I know that I have already seen the best days of my career which is alarming to some extent yet I now have the chance to leave the airline industry and move into the corporate world. I feel somewhat relieved, since I feel the business aviation sector is less likely to resort to the 'dirty tactics' that seem to be so widespread in the airline industry.
Don't let the buggers grind you down and hold onto your cash!
