Noob

[BJMayne]

Hello All,

I'm new to the forums and am considering getting my CPL. I have done some research and am well aware of the time, effort and money involved.

I'm in my late 30's and looking at a 'sea-change' as far as my career goes. My Dad had his PPL and I flew Gliders when i was younger. I have always loved flying.

I'm realisitc about the fact that it will be hard getting a job but my real question is, once ive got the CPL where should i be looking to work and with whom? Obviously most companies are looking for people with 500-2000 hours and i wont get anywhere near this from my CPL. What approach should i take? I live in Adelaide.

I'm sure everyone asks this question and i am sorry for the 'ad nauseam' but, after some Google/forum searching the answer does not seem apparent....

[Homesick-Angel]

The two main pathways are instruction and charter.

After your CPL you either go get a MECIR or a Instructor rating, and then just do all you can to get a job. If you are not interested in teaching, then don't bother with instruction as if you've come across an instructor who doesn't give a rats you'll know why.

With charter you'll be hard pressed to score a job in a capital city, and you'll more than likely, depending on the organization and your skill at both flying and bum licking :) do 500-1000 SE charter before moving up to multi.

Same with instruction. Unless its a school that does international contracts and has a large multi program and a high instructor turnover, it could take you a while.

The outlay getting to both is not dissimilar, but keeping a MECIR current for the year or 2 it will take to get onto twins can be exy.

Your not too old if airlines are your aim, although you may be 80 by the time you get command at the rat, but get a wriggle on.

Good luck and enjoy.

[Wally Mk2]

'BJ' no doubt you will get numerous replies here some with relevance some not.

I can't really add any current info to help but like you as encouragement I didn't start flying commercially 'till early 30's and the secret for me to get up the ladder was based on two prime reasons.It's not what you know (although it helps ) it's whom you know in this industry & having a source of income already which you would obviously have just in case the journey doesn't turn out how you had hoped.
I personally never went down the track of instructing, my $$$ was finite but back in my day Gen Chtr was a plenty & I had a well paid career outside of the flying game.
Like most things in life ya gotta work hard for it & aviation is now one of the harder industries to break into latter in life. But if yr keen, have a level head on yr shoulders with back up plans afoot then you have as good a chance as the next guy with perhaps one advantage, yr more mature age wise which might just be the diff to an employer taking you over someone 20 yrs old with the same low hrs.
Being older also means you might just stick around at a job for a little longer as against most real yougins' who wanna get the taste of that fast shinny jet & stuff the rest along the way:-)Loyalty in aviation now is a rare thing.

Good luck, it's out there for any one with a huge desire:-)

Wmk2