life after the sandpit

[fourgolds]

OK so with all the forums and continued negative sentiment about life in the sandpit .( and lots of it for good reason)
Lets try get some honest opinions from those who have left for other arenas ( including other expat jobs). I am most interested to hear your experiences.
We have had many leave .For those that have how about some reality checks for those of us that are here considering a move.

My personal concern on life in the sandpit ( but this goes with most expat jobs) is that you have all your eggs in one basket. i.e wifey is working here (on your visa.) kids are in schools ( on your visa) , you have a housy ( because of your visa) , you have a social network ( because of your visa).
Now it all go,s wrong ( a bad day at work) . You now loose all of the above and have to find your way.

Even our colleauges at places like CX and KAL , have basings where they might have houses in their countries , kids at school in thier countries etc.
So if it all went to pot there , they would only efffectively loose the job part ( the rest of their lives remain largely intact).

How about some honest gouge on life outside the sandpit . Yip tax , rosters , time off , lifestyle , your new company culture , general well being and retirement prospects etc

or as per the nature of prune , anything thats relevent.

[daviddea]

I have done contracts in India, Kazakhstan,Saudi,and Africa. Abu Dhabi is by far the most liveable. Before that 30 years flying in the USA,if the dukie hits the fan no matter where you are working ,the walls will come tumbling down. Only in your home country you may have a better support group.

[sandpit]

Spent many years in the sandpit and when I finally thought my bucket of s..t was full - I left. A few years on and I am now back :eek: - turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought it was! A changed perception can do wonders for your satisfaction levels ;)

[Desert Diner]

... finally thought my bucket of s..t was full - I left. A few years on and I am now back ...

It's amazing how quickly the "other" bucket tends to empty after you leave.

One tends to froget about throttling back on the lifestyle after leaving as well as developing a particulary thick set of rose colored glasses.

From another retread.

[fourgolds]

Thanks so far chaps. I agree , we all complain but when we seriously look at leaving we have to ask some serious questions ,and only then, do we start to see whats good.

Notwithstanding this , I know of one who left to fly a corporate jet. Is living in his home country , flying a mere 300 hrs a year , great wage ( he has job security , in fact the boss has been using his jet more during the downturn). He never looked back , loves his lifestyle.
.
There must be guys out there , I know for sure of others who left for
CX , KAL, Virgin Atlantic , Jet , Easy Jet , SQ , V OZ, PB and VB, ANA , Air France, etc .

Common lads , give us a peak . If you are worried and you want to keep your back door open in case you want to return one day , then just say. " I left for airline "X" at airline "X" compared to the sandpit etc etc.

Many thanks.

[P.Clostermann]

Well, I can not speak for myself because I am still doing my first, albeit rather long, tour of duty in the sandpit.

What I have seen however is two cases of two guys leaving to join a major carrier in the UK, only to come back here after a few years.

One of them went from A330 senior FO QR --> A340 FO Virgin Atlantic --> A320 FO QR!!

Rather crazy you might think, untill you actually talk to the guy.

His arguments are:

- Fed up being stuck in comuting traffic for almost days/month
- Fed up of the corporate BS mentality in most european big carriers
- Fed up paying taxes at foolish rates
- Fed up flying only ultra long haul
- Fed up having no carrer perspective whatsoever

So he came back, requested the seat on an A320 and so far he is happy, even though he lost 5 years worth of seniority!

So I guess its not that bad overhere afterall, although sometimes that idea alone is hard to grasp!

[Iver]

Wow, that's a crazy story about the Virgin pilot - most people would kill for a job at Virgin but I understand his points. I guess short haul around the Gulf on an A320 is welcome change for him. The tax situation is understandable.

If you don't mind me asking, how likely are employers like QR, EK, Gulf Air and Etihad to accept offers to return once pilots leave? Is that a likely scenario due to demand for pilots? I suppose one must learn not to burn bridges as they leave to keep options open...

[millerscourt]

Iver Very wise words. I returned to an ex employer after 4 years away and stayed a further 14.

Re the QR/Virgin F/O. Probably more than meets the eye for his reasons for returning. All the tea in China would not get me to live in Qatar and as for flying short haul around the Gulf, when I was in GF on the B767 I always felt sorry for the B737 and later A320 guys. They never cooled down in summer and flew up to 5 sectors a day. They also night stopped just as much as the B767 guys but it was in Muscat,Doha and Abu Dhabi!!

[ironbutt57]

Well we have a few "new" night stops..still never cool down..after a while you just don't think about it...I did 6yrs on the "San Antonio tube from hell" in this heat, so the 320 never quite seems that bad....I've known quite a few leave the place over the years..most have come back in one form or another...

[fourgolds]

Funny , but most of the sentiment here is fairly positive.About the pit.
Could it be that those that have made the move are to happy to be surfing Prune ? ( no offense Dani , I think its great)

[Iver]

I think there is the realization that no job/place is ever perfect.

I'd actually like to hear from those pilots who left so-called "cherry" ME jobs (i.e., Emirates, Etihad and QR) for LCC jobs back in the UK and elsewhere in Europe like Easy and Ryanair just to get back home. I suppose Aussie pilots returning to Virgin Blue and Jetstar might also apply. How are those transitions going? Is your life much better off for the change and returning home or do you miss the sandpit and the opportunity to fly big/new equipment? It's true however that not everyone cares about WHAT or WHERE they fly because QOL/family life is also very important.

[5star]

my thoughts :

Guys who left the sandpit will not return to this forum either... Why would they? There are so many things to do back home (some of which would be done by the maid before...).

I think most of us over here, including me, are bored once in a while and post to kill time. Or also to give an insight into the daily life in the ME ( as for Dubai: not the one you see in the glossy magazines).

Secondly, I think the big financial meltdown currently over the ME (and in particular over Dubai) might make things better in the long run. I am enjoying it every second...
Lots and lots of greedy boys and girls biting the dust (And there is a lot to bite.....) after the real estate bubble burst...You had to be an idiot not to see this bubble growing. But then again it's not a surprise given the high number of idiots in this place....

[Desert Diner]

Funny , but most of the sentiment here is fairly positive.About the pit.
Could it be that those that have made the move are to happy to be surfing Prune ? ( no offense Dani , I think its great)

More like: Those that can stand it here, stay while those that can't stand it here leave.

It's easy enough to b**** about the place, the "managements" and even the conditions, but those that do not have a reasonable work attitued do not last long out here. A bad work attitude is not tolerated for those without wasta and there is no such thing as job protection for an expat. So there is always a continuous culling amongst the really disatisfied.

As for the web surfing, I can remember when such was not possible out here.:bored: