Today is 'emoticon day'.
If any of you wannabes out there accept this dreadful package and
if you succeed in meeting the required standard and
if you end up in my cockpit I don't want to hear one peep about your crappy accommodation, poor promotion prospects, unmarketable flight experience, sub-standard salary or the company culture.
The corporation has just announced record profits, yet it is not prepared to invest properly in its future crew in order to expand the airline safely and efficiently.
There is a Senate Inquiry into 'cadet schemes' etc. going on in Australia right now, and we know about the Colgan disaster, don't we?
There are already recent-joiners who have just discovered what housing costs really are here.
I suggest a session with Mr. Google if you haven't had one already.
Just make sure you put enough money aside so you can eat properly, and you had better be properly rested in your 'accommodation' so that you can do your job under the occasionally very demanding conditions that we were once paid A scales to cope with (typhoon season runs from about July to October).
We have had management making war on our salaries and conditions for the better part of twenty years now and if you accept these terms you must be aware that there will be little goodwill or sympathy toward you.
P.S. I too cannot believe some of the questions being asked here by persons aspiring to train as 'instant' pilots of wide-bodied, globally-flying airliners.