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Old 30th Oct 2014, 14:37
  #5 (permalink)  
390blue
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Chengdu, China
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Let me try to be constructive; If you are not someone who is accepting of change and have a hard time seeing the other side of things and willing to give something else a try, don't leave your home to seek out a job in another country. I am finishing my fifth year here in China. Its not easy sometimes no doubt. The ATP is a crap shoot but if you study and your diligent you should pass. Once its done thats the last time you ever have to take it for China. The medicals are a bitch. Here is the bright side......if you have a medical issue, don't you want to know to deal with it? I sure do. Lets face it, at least for us Americans our FAA medicals are a joke. Your initial sim check......if you just ask ahead of time you will probably be provided a syllabus for the sim, if not ask one of the current guys what was covered. Your agency should also be able to provide you something. If you can fly and know your airplane well QRH, SOP, Call outs etc.....your fine. My airline has some hotel issues as well. We(locals/expats) have made some headway, and changes to better hotels is happening(Crown Plaza for ZBAA). Nobody speaks english.......fine, learn some Chinese. Make an effort to speak the language and this accommodation goes a long way trust me. The worst thing you can do is be the ugly expat. Go in complaining nobody speaks english, this sucks, that sucks, training sucks, hotels suck.....you will be put on the short list of "he is a pain in the ass and your life will become difficult" list. Now on the other hand if you are a descent guy, do a good job, fly safe, fly the SOP, smile, be friendly, and know how to make constructive suggestions this will go a long way towards marking you as a respected pilot. We have monthly meetings which give you the formal opportunity to be heard. China is about "relationships" don't underestimate this. I have cultivated this to my benefit here and it has paid huge dividends.
Finally, I have made some good friends here both Chinese and expat. We have great parties, good fun, good food, wine or craft beer if thats your thing. One last thing....occasionally the internet is a pain but as long as you have a good VPN your internet surfing is unfettered. Youtube, Netflix, porn etc...overnout.
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