Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in 2008 and was still lighting up the Manhattan boardwalk in lurid green when I had the pleasure of visiting the Big Apple in September 2007.
I had started training at the beginning of that year when things still looked promising for newly qualified pilots using the self-improver route. Boy did things change between 2008 and 2010! Apart from a tiny number of niche positions and the loco expansion requirements, there were no jobs whatsoever.
So why on earth did anyone start training after 2008/9? It seems akin to gambling to me. And meanwhile the locos ran a very successful bookies knowing the odds were stacked entirely in their favour. The people who commenced training knowing that the locos were the only route were nuts!
Last edited by Mikehotel152; 20th Aug 2013 at 09:56.