Personal circumstances.....
Cheers Metro and Wally for your input.
My current personal circumstances are Married ( to a super supportive Wife), no kids and we have our House paid off. We don't owe a cent to anyone. Aside from my job, I also have a small business that I can run remotely that also puts a few $ in our pockets. Although I would have liked to have been looking for that first job in my 20's, I like to think that I've still achieved some things that will make the next stage easier. My training has all been paid for with cash, so flying doesn't owe me a cent either.
And yes, when it comes to dealing with employers, I do have some very valid reasons as to why I am where I am at this stage. In my present position I get to deal with the guys in HR/ Recruitment a lot, and they've been able to give me some good advice in that area. FYI I don't work for QF, but elsewhere I the Qantas Group.
My problem is that I can 't live with regret of not having tried as hard as I can to build a career. I can only be at peace with myself if I either manage to build a career- or be able to look at myself in the mirror and honestly tell myself that I did everything that I could. For my age, I don't have (in my opinion) any unrealistic career expectations. I'd love to make it to the left seat at QLink one day, or even a regional jet. There's also the prospect of getting into the RHS of a Jet with the bare minimums with my current Employer- so I've been told by HR and all the Management Pilots at work.
Now that you know my personal circumstances, all constructive advice is welcome.
Cheers,
Gearup.