I thought it a good idea to plunge in with some of my experiences to date with QR., maybe a mistake but here goes.
I joined just over one year ago as a non rated DEC on the 320 so I am bonded for 3yrs. Some of the more recent joiners are only bonded for 2yrs.
The initial recruitment and joining process is all very well organised and in my case, from application to job offer was two months with all documentation completed. Communication with HR was quite poor with many questions sent by e-mail left un-answered.
On arrival in Doha, once again, the organisation was firstclass. All your immigration paperwork is done by Al Maha meet and greet service and you will be taken to your allocated accomodation. Unfortunately you won't know where you are staying until point of arrival ( I had to ask the driver where he was taking me! ). Generally it will be either Ain Khaled Gate or Holiday Villas but not always. Capts get a four bed villa, F/O's an apartment. The villa allocated to me is fine, not the most modern but spacious, clean and everything works. The facilities at AKG are good. Driving from AKG to the airport takes between 20mins and an hour depending on traffic ie. how many crashes there have been.
The initial part of the training including company introductions, medicals, paperwork and ground-school classes is well organised and gives the candidate a real sense that they are joining a world class airline. There are frustrations at this stage but none are the fault of the company and are created when dealing with the bureaucracy over here. There is lots of free time at this stage so don't waste it, start to read the manuals.
Aircraft specific training is all CBT and is very intense with fixed based sim (MFTD) being rostered on the same day as CBT. Most of the MFTD training is conducted by senior F/O's who are all very competent.
The 'proper' sim training will follow soon after and is also intense. You will also be in the box at all sorts of silly times! It really is a 24hr airline. My experience in the sim was mostly very good although there are some horror-stories about training standards. My only comment re this stage of the training is that there is a lack of common standards both in the sim and MFTD. You will be taught one method of operation and the following day, with a different instructor, will be told something totally different. The SOP manuals don't help either as they can be very ambiguous.
Line training is very interesting and enjoyable but with the same caveat.
Then comes the real flying.
Nearly all the 320 fleet is new, or almost new and the engineering and maintenance standards are excellent. The current airport is over crowded and you will often experience arrival or departure delays. The routes are very interesting and each flight is a minor challenge. If you haven't flown in this part of the world before, it will be a real eye opener.
As loc22550 has previously stated the 320 rosters are appalling. 85 to 90 hrs per month flying out of 170 hrs duty, largely night Indias. The best routes and flying times seem to be reserved for training and who can blame the TRIs. You will get min days off some of which will be downroute. STBY's are rostered but don't expect to keep them. There is a roster bidding system but most people agree that it is very poor due to being 'interfered' with. It is clear that we are short of crew on the 320 and stories abound that recruitment is just keeping pace with the current level of leavers but not the continuing fleet expansion.
In summary you come here to work, take the money and leave when you've had enough. There are some here that have been in QR for many years but they are a minority.
With hind sight, would I do it again?............probably
PL