Unfortunately, paying your own rating is fast on the way of becoming the norm in some markets.... Best example is in Switzerland right now, where laid-off Swiss pilots get just enough cash as a parting gift to buy a nice TR... So those guys are flooding the offices of corporate operators, offering to pay for their G4, G5 ratings and such... I even heard of a guy who got hired not only paying for his rating, but accepting an additional training bond for the line intro as well!!!
However, the "buy your own rating" only works for people whow already have quite a few jet hours, because then the operators see a better chance of a short line-intro.. So I definitely would NOT adorn a fresh-baked ATP with a jet rating. Better off to buy something smaller, or corporate...
If you got the jet hours, and can't leave it alone, go for the 320 though, it's sooooo nice...
