Imabell,
Coupla points champ....
* Never worked for HM. Never will.
* My first job in OZ was my 3rd in the industry. All previously in NZ.
* Signed up for frontal lobotamy and got citizenship in OZ, since I have spent more than half my life in OZ or PNG. LOVE the place.
* Plenty have tried to get on with those locals but few ever do. A couple of years was my limit. There is a first time for everything.. and that was mine. Still have a lot of friends with P&W thou
* Paid for my licence before the trans tasman agreement. Ask Doaky.
* No pilot owes any helicopter industry anything. I owe OZ nothing. I put in my blood sweat and tears downunder and got the rewards like any individual from any country working in OZ. Remember that immigrants built your country and the outback was opened up on the backs of chinese immigrants. Additionally, I received no help from any Australian but have helped plenty of aussies into good work up here.
In rebutal:
Your profile advertises you are with Bluetongue. Good on ya.
Obviously you are one of their instructors, so how about advertising your work history so we know who you are?
Q: Remember a harley riding, league player you trained? One of the most decent and nicest guys I have worked with. Ask him about his outback experience and the 7 months of FREE work (slaving) that he did at KG. He ended up out on his arse as well. Then ask him why after his commercial licence that he couldn't hover the aircraft he had 100hrs in? The operator up there treated him like sh$t and used his labour for the sake of it. He was never going to get a job and they verbalised it behind his back. That is the type of company up there.
I replied to all previous thread in an honest manner. Perhaps I am overly pessimistic at times. However, the opportunities outback are few and far between and it is a crying shame to see blokes spend hard earned bucks for a job that just isn't there. The training organisations on both sides of the Tasman are blowing smoke up these guys arses. What pisses me off are these "guys" are my friends or me. I hate the deception that goes on and will gladly stand up for my mates. Everyone I knew at the rock was doing it hard: Fact.
Perhaps things have changed and I apologise now if that is the case. But be sure to do your homework.
I will gladly supply you names and phone #'s of guys who will say good and bad things about mustering. It is a go nowhere occupation. I have two guys here on the 76 who combined have 12000hrs of mustering and are counting there lucky stars they are out. Others are too far into it to escape. I love the lifestyle too, but it has a used by date.
What you do not realise is that an english guy has a limited work visa. He will hound the outback, spend more bucks and generally come up fruitless. Seen them come and seen them go.
The bottom line is basic. Don't get sucked in by the rhetoric. As Blue Tongue state in their introduction. It is hard and its all about who you know.
Good luck to you.