As you may or may not already know, I’ve managed to earn a reputation for using A LOT of words in my posts. Guilty. I plead being an educator/instructor. So … with some anticipation of some degree of good natured criticisms (well, I hope they’re good natured…), and, with a promise to TRY to keep the length down below the price of gold … here I go again…
This aviation industry is so vast, so varied, and so important to almost everything we do, I’d whole-heartedly recommend you spend your new-found “bonus” time in reading all you can, talking to anyone who is willing, formulating your own opinions and bouncing them off of others ... about training and training equipment: what is training, what training means, how it’s done, how one knows it’s done satisfactorily, what’s the best way to train, how to best use the equipment available … and the list can go on and on. Personally, I don’t believe this subject will ever be completely addressed. We used to depend on pilots coming out of the military to populate the growing number of cockpit seats in the airline industry … and as a result … I think we all got “spoiled.” The military “hired” folks who generally had difficulty in recognizing a wing from a flap, and, in something just under, or just over, 1 year, made most of them into very fine fledgling aviators. The military is now doing things to ensure they get their fair-share return on their training investment in the pilots they train. As a result – pilots are staying in the military for longer periods – including time sufficient to retire … and THEN, only SOME of them find themselves looking for jobs in the airline industry. Today - with the industry apparently beginning to expand AND the fact that existing airplanes are being replaced with newer versions – the training requirements are going through the roof. There are some who regularly predict a “pilot shortage,” and others who “pooh-pooh” that opinion. The point is … there will always be training requirements – sometimes more and sometimes less – but it absolutely won’t go away. Anyone who knows (and I mean really knows) training, will be sought after for quite some time to come … regardless of whether they want to be involved in basic, pre-solo training or training modern airline crews in the newest technologies available, and anything and everything in between. As long as aviation continues to interest you … and you feel like you want to use your time wisely and continue to satisfy your interest … try this aspect on for size. If you find it interesting, I can just about promise you that you will always be rewarded for your efforts. AND – please feel free to let me know if you have questions or other comments. Good Luck!