MagicTiger its ok no offence taken. The whole thread was started so I could air my frustrations (rightly or wrongly). The whole problem is that the experience I have gained from various flying jobs seems to be almost useless despite it being jet/ glass cockpit. The problem is that for airline jobs they (the HR depts) appear to love the 200 hour wonder kids. As already stated here airline managment love them and they love the prospect of flying a shinny jet instead of starting on the bottom rung of the career ladder. For instance theres already cadet schemes in the pipeline for various airlines although there is a good surplus of already experienced pilots out there.Crazy. Why take someone with less experience when theres already guys out there with thousands of hours?
They have turned the RHS into the most costly seat in the whole aeroplane and these kids dont mind working for nothing on a 6 month contract, after a few hundred hours probably being binned for the next wonderkid with 30K burning a hole in his back pocket. I dont doubt that some of these 200 hour wonderkids can fly with an autopilot although what happens when something goes wrong and theres a screaming x wind on a dark and stormy night into a procedural only field? The whole concept and word "crew" implies that the members work together on the flight deck although how can this be happening in the modern flightdeck; the captain is flying single crew Im affraid; and the first officer has bought his seat like all the other passengers in the aeroplane. The problem is that these characters have never served their time in any other aeroplane or seen the industry from a different angle.
How long will it be for schemes to start for LHS ratings and hours just so you can jump the job market and have command time flying your shinny jet for no pay or conditions.
I do love flying and me ranting about the system will not change a thing, granted. I do have to think whether in the long term I do need to cash my chips in and start a new career. The main worry is that one can gain all this experience earned the hard way but its not really valued and sometimes its seen as a negative.