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RedBullGaveMeWings
19th Apr 2013, 19:33
As the title says, for flight training and job hunting in Europe afterwards where to go?

Personally, I have never thought there were big differences, both flight training in Europe and flight training in America give the same result: ATPL frozen. I had never ever questioned myself about this topic as I'd never thought that it really matters.

But what do recruiters think about this topic?

I had a discussion with a 23-year old boy that has started a TR course in Ryanair with his twin broter a couple of weeks ago and he sticks to the opinion that recruiters really care which continent candidates learnt to fly and gained their licenses in and that recruiters tend to prefer the candidates that trained in Europe while the ones that trained in America (or somewhere else) are unlikely to be considered for a vacancy the same way.
Maybe this boy is just full of himself, he trained at one of the biggest integrated school in my country and as far as I am concerned his father is a pilot of my county's ex-flag carrier:rolleyes:

What are your thought about this topic?:suspect:

squall1984
19th Apr 2013, 20:18
Personally I don't think it matters as much as he says he does. There are one or two airlines that I am aware of that says that you need to have experience flying in Europe (Monarch I believe is one of them). Being a airline pilot myself I can tell you theres a big difference in how you fly during training compared to in the airlines. Being a airline pilot becomes more of a system monitoring position, you fly IFR everywhere so such things as VFR chart navigation or entering patterns and airspace requirements etc aren't as important as they were before.

Thats my opinion tho. As for training being better in the US or in Europe, it all depends on the school, theres fantastic schools on both sides and slimy money grabbing schools as well. Personally I think cost is lower in the states, the weather is typically better (florida) and its obv a nice experience getting away from home and being able to say in your resume that you've flown abroad.

RedBullGaveMeWings
19th Apr 2013, 20:59
That's what I have always thought personally...

Another statement by him is that of 100 pilots he knows well only a few are currently working and they obtained their licenses in Europe:bored:

squall1984
19th Apr 2013, 22:35
I think it depends what people you know. I instructed a whole bunch of Europeans in the US (Somewhere around 60 students) and some have jobs and some dont. It all comes down to experience, I know a lot of people have 250 hours and expect to get a job but I think those days are over, you need experience or something that puts you out from the rest. Pay to fly use to be a shortcut for low time people to get jobs, but now everyone is doing it to the point that experienced people have to do it too to get a job. Its sad that that is what the culture is now,but it wont end because someone will always be willing to pay for a job (which is crazy to me.)

The market in Europe is flooded with 250 hour people, so he is probably right most dont have jobs, but I dont think its about where they trained. I trained at a very well known flight school and I sit next to captains that learned to fly at mom and dad flight schools, only difference is I paid more. It comes down to knowledge and experience in the interview, can you do the job safely and can a captain put up with you for a extended period of time.

squall1984
19th Apr 2013, 22:38
Also depends on the people, I know some of my students in Europe that keep at it, keep applying, keep looking for jobs even outside Europe, its a numbers game, the more applications you send out the more likely you are to get a job. Then you get some people that just sit back and wait or give up after a little time, I dont blame them, it is exhausting doing applications a million times over, but when the market is the way it is, thats what you have to do .

pudoc
20th Apr 2013, 11:12
3 things will get you a job, you only need one.

- Being in the right place at the right time. You have to make this happen, and you do it by applying to jobs and hopefully one of your CVs lands on the right desk.

- knowing someone on the inside

- being a naturally gifted pilot, you will never struggle for a job.

Having trained myself in Europe, I only know a handful of FAA to EASA converters, they're all jobless right now but so are the majority of Euro trained pilots I know of. I would think its better to train in Europe to become a pilot in Europe, but that's just a guess rather an experience talking.

Swings and roundabouts.

squall1984
20th Apr 2013, 14:44
I think its probably because of the hiring situation there that most people are unemployed rather than where they trained, just depends how much people keep at it, sending the resume and knocking on doors.


Of course there are also people that are trained in the US by non-EASA/JAA instructors that are FAA certified and given a quick conversion type course that allows them to teach private, that to me is a bit of a downfall (I was one of those FAA guys) because most instructors won't take the time to study the differences in airspace, airlaw etc and are kinda just given a quick "how europeans navigate" lesson. That of course depends on the school you go to. To a recruiter I don't think it matters, most care about how many hours you have and if you have a TR or not.

What boggles my mind is how the US does the TR in sims just like most of the world but in the UK you need to do landings in a plane which just increases the cost drastically, I think sims have advanced to the point where its realistic personally.