I am paying a fortune to put my kids through university, for example to become a vet! Nobody is going to help me pay for my kids qualification and if they don't have it they wont get the job. Most industries will hire the most (or suitably) qualified person. They don't offer to pay for you to get the qualification, you get it before you apply and hope for the best. Why would flying be different!
Well, if one of the kids gets hired, say as an graduate engineer, and it has to work with a CAD programm different from the one they learned and trained in university, any employer that I know would give you that qualification. If the company uses SAP or any other prog, the kid gets training for that.
So I would compare the degree with the CPL/frozen ATP, that is the investment the employee brings with him and the rating is like the CAD course etcetc. Brought into the 'marriage' by the employer.
The real question is, when should it stop, the SSTR? When you have 500 hrs? a 1000? 5000? I´ve got 8000 and a bit hours now and if I were to seek work these days I´d probably be asked to buy a rating.
So when exactly would I get a return on investment? I´ve completed 2 CR´s and 4 TR´s. Thats roughly 120.000-130.000€ worth of training, less the refreshers. After taxes I´d have to spent roughly 3 years working just to repay that - and not spent a cent whilst doing that. So if I´d spent half of my wages after taxes for 6 years before I can enjoy my salary for myself? Show me any other profession were that is the case. If I were to pay my refreshers, then another 200.000€ would be on my books. that would be another 9 years half the salary. 15 altogether, out of my 21 years in aviation.
Look at the example for a new dude, 70.000€ in debt for his CPL/fATP and say 15.000 for the rating (that would be a cheap one) thats 85.000€.
I personally know people that are in exactly this position and they do earn 1800€ before taxes. That is, if your taxclass in germany is 1, maybe 1200-1300€ after taxes. So the guy lives at home and only uses a bicycle to get to work. Say this guy needs 300€ per month to live (you´d get more than that by social security in Germany & live is so cheap when staying in hotels in Dubai or Moscow or London), leaving him with a 1000 per month to pay his debts. After 85 months he´d be free of debt. Thats 7 years. IF he can stay with one employer!!! What if the company goees bust and he has to SS another TR in order to pay his debts? Add another 15-20-25k€? Thats another 2 years...
I know, he would most likely made captain after 3-4 years and the financial situ should be better then, but I also know companies where you pay upgrade costs. (after all, a supervisor cost a lot of money, doesn`t he?)
I just wonder how a clever business man would hire people that are to dumb to do the maths on their very own living, to look after their million dollar investment.