Sorry Andrew7, the good old days dissapeared when people like yourself started paying for type ratings, now anyone can fly and the capts you fly with are probably of the same ilk. In my day you were selected and paid to do a rating, so many I see now that are paying their way and buying the job. Thankfully the airlines taking people like you can tell from experience, who paid their way and those who didnt and thus generally the pay as you go types end up in the crappier outfits. The good jobs are still out there,mainly overseas but the filter is higher for low hour guys.Im guessing you ended up in a pretty sad organisation, certainly sounds like it .