Originally Posted by
scott454
Hi all,
Was hoping for some genuine advice.
Is there anyone with some experience that could tell me honestly, what are career prospects like for cadets? Say in the case of Jetstar, how long might you be bound solely to Jetstar before you could consider a position at Virgin, Qantas or an international? Is it the command experience that would hold you back?
If this is true, would you be better placed at say Rex or Virgin Cadetships as you are more likely to get command on a turbo prop sooner?
Would appreciate anyones thoughts!
You’ll be bound for them as long as you desire. You pay for all your initial training via FEE HELP, and you also pay for an endorsement cost which is repaid via salary sacrifice. However if you wished to leave at any time by giving the minimum notice you legally can do so, you’ll just be bound to pay back the endorsement costs to the company. But they can’t legally force you to stay.
The command experience wouldn’t hold you back as all those airlines don’t require much beyond basic CPL command hours for their recruitment. Most overseas or contract jobs don’t care for command time, they’re looking more for time on type.
Here’s a post from further back on this thread that’s also enlightening:
Most are in their early 20's once their commitment to Jetstar is completed, I know a few who are now A320 FO's at Air New Zealand and a couple who are A380 FO's at Emirates. Of the ones who stayed in Jetstar, 2 of them have been allocated A320 Commands at Jetstar (NZ), one is the A320 Technical pilot and two are now Type Rating Instructors on the 787.