Apache. No, I am by no means flaunting my resume. Nor am I justifying my place in the flight deck. I am sharing what I went through. Some guys have it easy. Do I hold it against them? No. But I do want them to realise that they are mighty lucky for what they have and VALUE their place in their industry. A lot don't. So a little perspective doesn't hurt.
The impact we as individuals and as a collective have is debatable. Now I will not deter a person or a group giving it their best. But let's not forget where we are. Nowhere have I seen a more opaque bureaucratic machinery than in India. RTI has helped correct that but discussing the impact or lack of it is beyond the scope of this discussion and this forum as a whole.
I personally have tried in my previous airline to bring about change. While I won't claim to hold the lone spot of David against Goliath but it is a very daunting challenge to stand up against status quo. My airline started charging a bomb for their entrance exams. I questioned my chief pilot and head of training IN PUBLIC about this. Their simple answer based on cold hard capitalistic facts.. Supply and demand, and we will milk it for all it's worth. How do you respond to that? It is a business, not a charity. Now, they are exploiting aspirants but will they explicitly admit it? Who will? We all can make changes. Incremental, yes. Tangible, highly unlikely. Our sphere of influence is extremely limited. We can push to expand it but even that has a limit.
The question we need to ask all unemployed guys and gals is did they do the research before plunging into this field? Enquiring about the next layover or the take home pay is not research. The same archaic and ridiculous rules and limitations certainly existed before their first hour. The rules didnt change overnight So it basically becomes a case of buyer beware. The rules of the game are clear. Did you do your due diligence before stepping in? It is the job of a flight school to oversell it's wares. It is the job of a student to filter out the information to his/her benefit. Again, while the circumstances might align against you, are you going to ask yourself how you maneuvered yourself into that situation?
Look at the research folks do before buying a 5 lakh car. Do you you believe they did the same BALANCED unbiased research when they dropped 50 for their training?
Again, I didn't and I got burned...... Badly. As many are right now. I want to be a living, breathing example of what not to do and I am screaming it out but you don't seem to listen. Don't agree with me but just listen and try to form an objective opinion.
An aspiring pilots career objectives or options are pretty much the last things on the minds of the policy makers when it comes to formulating or implementing the same. There is a LOT of money involved, a lot of power exchange and a lot of conflicting interests which we cannot even begin to fathom. We can try to highlight our issues but to use them as a primary or defining motive for change is asking for too much. Any decisions made concerning aviation will have collateral benefit or damage to pilots' careers.
I understand your frustrations. It is basic human nature to lash out. Psycho babble aside these guys need to start generating alternate options cos right now, as I said before, a majority of them are not gonna make it. I really hate to be the bearer of bad news but that is the truth. Not based on personal perceptions but on what I have seen happen with me and people around me.
Good luck to all.