Tarmach -
I'm not CAP509, or modular either. I'm a New Zealander, I trained on what you might call a CAP509 type program back in NZ (full time, CAA approved, reduced hour CPL/IR type of deal anyway) back in '95 - '96. Seems I've been skipping around the world ever since, instructing back home for a while before getting sick of the depressed job market there, and I moved to the UK in 1999. It hasn't been quite as rosy as advertised over here either, and I'm still instructing for my crusts ... (coming up on my 5th instructing anniversary in September actually, ouch Scroggs!!
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My comment on that other thread was related to my present job, which mostly involves instructing RAF flying scholarship cadets and Air League sponsorship recipients. In the recent past, several of my students have gone on to jet jobs via British Airways sponsorships and/or self funded 509 courses, once they completed their scholarships with us.
With this being largely a UK website, what many wannabe's forum followers perhaps don't realise is that in most of the rest of the civilised world, it's unheard of to get a look in to even the lowest level of turboprop operator without much much higher experience levels than poor old Brymon/BRAL are asking for.
My personal example - back in '96 when I had 250 hours and a shiny new CPL/IR, my first aviation job involved sweeping hangar floors and assembling towed aerial banners for a skywriting company back home. I was deliriously happy to have it, and my mates were all jealous, because the boss promised me that I'd actually get a few hours flying after a few months (unpaid, obviously) if I worked hard! Me and the boys at that time also must have spent thousands of hours telemarketing and database punching, trying to create a bit of single engine charter work, and working for nothing on a marketing stall the flying school ran in the local shopping mall on weekends (any joyrides and PPL students we could create, we got to fly - perhaps). I logged 120 hours in my first year after graduating flying school and 180 hours in my second. I had a night job as a mechanic at a go-kart racing track, I was signing on for the dole most of that time as well, and I believe the most I ever made from flying in that period was $150 kiwi dollars in a single week (about £45). It's taken me this long to even get to the stage of making a living out of 'just' flying without having to slide further into debt to stay alive.
I'm not trying to make a hard luck story out of all that or fish for sympathy, in fact that is quite a normal sort of career path for new flying school graduates where I come from. Right now, I'm pretty happy just to be in the position of having finally cracked this mythical 1,000 hours and being able to start applying for some of these regional airline type positions at long last.
What should be crystal clear from the words of Scroggs is that the airline business does not owe anyone a break. Flying in any capacity is one of the most prestigious, sought after and desired jobs in the world (as the mere existence and popularity of this forum indicates!!) At this end of the market, they could specify that we should all have degrees in basket weaving and we'd all rush and do them and they'd still be overwhelmed with 'suitably qualified' people. Whether we think it's fair is a matter of supreme indifference.
I knew what the deal was going to be when I got into aviation, and walked into it with my eyes open - I may periodically have a good old bitch about my circumstances after a hard day, but I'm still acutely aware of how lucky I am compared to people who don't get to fly for a living, I wouldn't trade places for any money. Perhaps certain people on this forum having a go at the likes of Scroggs for telling it like it is, need to open their eyes a bit more.