American of Indian Descent Working in India?

[Geebz]

I am married to an Indian and therefore have had my PIO/ OCI for the past 10 years.

In short, just living in India is a major PITA. Working there even harder. Getting pilot-certified there under the Indian DGCA? An exercise in futility, maybe even insanity.

As previous posters stated. Not easy.

I have worked in India as a pilot on a DGCA FATA, exercising my US FAA ATP, flying for a large carrier there. THAT is the only way to go, IMO... working for a carrier there on an expat contract. Sure there were downsides to it but compared to what the local pilots have to put up with, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I have worked there 3 different periods in my career over two different contracts, all totaling nearly 5 years. Lived there that entire time and even educated my kids there. I wouldn't go back, not to work anyway. I go back periodically for family visits, afterall, my kids are half Indian so we keep them connected with that part of their heritage. But life is too short to put up with the never-ending bs that Indian bureaucracy is known for, which is what you will have to endure on any contract gig there. It's never easy for any party involved, be it the gov't worker, the contractor, or the company sponsoring you.

I won't go so far as to say that I regret it. But I would never do it again. In fact, I'd probably quit aviation altogether before I would chose to fly as an airline pilot there again. But I'm older and wiser now. Maybe that's part of it.

Your best bet is to leverage your experience and get into a US regional airline job as quickly as possible. You'd end up making captain in no time at all and once you have some Jet PIC under your belt you will be competitive for a US legacy gig. Or you could jump over to corporate, probably just as fast a career path to a US legacy job but could more interesting if you get on with an outfit that does a lot of international. Point being, use either paths to set yourself up for that coveted US Legacy airline slot. Believe me, it's worth the time and effort to get to a US legacy. But nobody is going to hand it to you. You have to put in the effort to jump through the hoops.

I have a lot of friends who refused to engage in that path. Today they still hop from carrier to carrier every few years never quite accomplishing their lifestyle goals. I hunkered down on the legacy route years ago and it's finally paying off. I mostly sit reserve as a 737 captain but typically only fly 30-35 hrs per month, some months I don't fly at all. Pay-wise I pull in $250K/ yr, usually 78-83 hrs of pay per month. Each month on reserve I get 12-13 days off in a row. If I want to fly a line I can make more hours but it's a lot of work for only a couple thousand more in pay. No thanks. If I really want to cruise I can bid WB FO and make more than I make as a reserve captain. Most of my buddies flying as FO on the WBs are averaging 20 days off per month... AVERAGE. We stay at the best hotels, fly new equipment, have tons of time off and average $50K/ year into our retirement funds. So yes, working for a legacy carrier is everything it is cracked up to be and more.

I'm not mentioning any of this to brag. Just showing that hard work towards the seniority-driven path, that US legacies are known for, pays off after a while. The beginning sucks, but it just gets better after the 10 year point. These boards are full of contract pilots who refuse to downgrade themselves to the bottom slot on a seniority list, flying as FO, and would rather take DEC jobs instead. That's one way to play the career but it has very little value after a few years because contract gigs are usually short lived or have very little protections and/ or upside for the pilot.

BTW, most of my NB FOs on the 737 make more money that I do. They pick up trips on their days off. So you can make plenty of money as an FO at a legacy as well. Me, I'm too lazy. I figure 15,000 hrs is enough in the career so I do whatever I can to get paid not to work. Means a little less money in life but still plenty to do all the things I want while taking care of my family. The main thing is I'm not a slave to the job.

But it all starts with that first step at a US regional airline. Generally speaking, that is the most predictable path to the enviable US legacy airline pilot position. Unless you're a fighter pilot for the US military.

You just need to get current. That's pretty easy to do. I took some time off in the down turn of the early 1990s. I hadn't flown for 5 years. All I did was immerse myself in getting current and flying a lot. I think I did around 200 hrs in a few months and a regional airline picked me up thereafter. The fact that I had 1500 hrs prior to that was what made me competitive. If you have 5500 hrs, all you need to do is get a quick 100 hrs and you're golden.