I converted some ... errm
LOTS ... of Kina to Oz dollars this morning at Westpac in downtown Port Morbid. To my absolute horror, found that each Kina was buying the princely
sum of 39 Oz cents...
I arrived in PNG at the end of March, 1984, when one Kina bought AUD1.33. I remember the rate going as high as AUD2.00 and I sure made a killing in those days!
But those days are long, long gone and the Kina has been heading south faster than most of the local pollies.
Lake Evil ... when you come up here to check out the job and the conditions, also check the rate of exchange at a few banks. They will
ALL always be slightly different from one another, but it'll give you an idea of what the pay will be worth in Oz dollar terms.
However, remember that NCA really
IS an "entry level" company. They operate into difficult places and, sometimes, your days will be very long indeed. At other times, the weather will defeat you so completely that you'll be sitting in the office at Nadzab Airport drinking coffee all day long. But still being paid.
Remember too that you won't have any accommodation costs. The company will provide accommodation for you. You should NOT expect it to be flash or even luxurious, but you won't have to pay anything from your wages for it. Now think about what you might earn in a similar job in Oz and how much of that you pay out in rent.
You will, of course, be paying for your food at home and the average basket of groceries can be pretty expensive, if you go for top shelf name brands. However, as you'll undoubtedly be sharing accommodation with other pilots in the company, it's my guess that you'll all contribute toward the groceries ... you may, however, need a more formal arrangement with beer purchases tho!
Finally, I feel the need to say something about the hatchet job that's been done on this thread to GT, NCA's CP and a bloke I've known basically since my first day in country. He's always been a bit of a hard-ass, but he's been flying around the country for a
VERY long time without major mishap.
I would suggest to you that, by doing things "his way" you are likely to live to a ripe old age. The final point is that, if you go in there looking for trouble, you'll find it with him. If you do the right thing by him, he will certainly do the right thing by you - he's not in the business of destroying aircraft or killing pilots, though I know of a few who sorely tempted him...
I wish you luck with whatever you decide to do.