Portsharbourflyer...
Fair enough - you are entitled to your opinion - although I personally don't share it.
SSTR and PTF have degraded terms and conditions and what's more has totally re-defined the industry (my opinion of course).
- pilots have become a mere expendable commodity as there is absolutely nil company loyalty to the pilot as an employee (indeed many are "contractors" now). There is zero financial risk to the company as they have no commitment at the training stage, so the pilot can be picked up and dropped again at company's convenience. Zero job stability whatsoever.
- Prior to SSTR, there was no paying for uniforms, paying for sim checks, paying for hotac when training etc etc. The company paid this for you, as you were a traditional employee in which they had invested time and money.
I agree that flying instructor pay is pretty deplorable - and always has been. That in itself should be rectified among with a few other things.
The TP salary you refer to is extracted from one example of one operator in the SW of the country? Again I agree that its a lot of money for a TR bond, but traditionally (like a multitude of professions) it was an excellent way to cut your teeth and hone your skills for a few years and then move on.
In an era where money talks, people now have no interest in real flying but rather in accelerating their earning potential. This assumes that you have the extra 30K in the first place to fork out for a TR.