Newbie seeks career guidance in OZ
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: australia
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Newbie seeks career guidance in OZ
Hi,
I am 32 years old and have chosen aviation as a career and to date love every moment except for the crosswinds landings! I should crack solo within the week, and expect to sit the BAK exam soon.
My end state is to have CPL/MECIR and maybe go down the instructor route.
I feel some what concerned if this is the best choice. I want to gain the experience and the right exposure that will put me in good stead for say virgin or qantas.
I'm not sure what direction i should head post training. i was thinking the Instructor route however the possibility of charter work sounds solid as well.
Really appreciate some inside knowledge, from australian pilots.
Regards.
I am 32 years old and have chosen aviation as a career and to date love every moment except for the crosswinds landings! I should crack solo within the week, and expect to sit the BAK exam soon.
My end state is to have CPL/MECIR and maybe go down the instructor route.
I feel some what concerned if this is the best choice. I want to gain the experience and the right exposure that will put me in good stead for say virgin or qantas.
I'm not sure what direction i should head post training. i was thinking the Instructor route however the possibility of charter work sounds solid as well.
Really appreciate some inside knowledge, from australian pilots.
Regards.
Join Date: Oct 2007
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what i've heard, I'm on my SPL atm, is that (Don't quote me, i'm probably wrong, I ADMIT IT) is that charter work is possibly the better option in one way, and instructing is the better in another way:
Charter: away from home, but gets the hours up
Instructor: near home, gets the hours up, however, possibly moved to train pilots as opposed to fly the big aircraft.. That's just what i've heard about joining airlines with instructor ratings, you can easily get purged to flying more 152's for the same salary...
could be fun though, if you still like flying 152's by then.. or Tomahawks...
(Anyone want to correct me? i'm open to suggestion)
Charter: away from home, but gets the hours up
Instructor: near home, gets the hours up, however, possibly moved to train pilots as opposed to fly the big aircraft.. That's just what i've heard about joining airlines with instructor ratings, you can easily get purged to flying more 152's for the same salary...
could be fun though, if you still like flying 152's by then.. or Tomahawks...
(Anyone want to correct me? i'm open to suggestion)
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: WA
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Charter all the way mate.You'll se yourself progressing with your career pretty quickly as long as you don't stick around one job for years unless there's a decent opportunity to progress to bigger things.Instructing will take you trice as long to get up the ladder.
you sure do talk a lot of shhhh pyro.You remind me of a guy back at flying school who did just that, talk alot of BS.He had a comment and advice on everything, yet he was just a PPL.
so how bout a little liquor?
you sure do talk a lot of shhhh pyro.You remind me of a guy back at flying school who did just that, talk alot of BS.He had a comment and advice on everything, yet he was just a PPL.
so how bout a little liquor?
Join Date: Oct 2007
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weezythef, And I assume everything you say comes from your daddy, QF Skippers mouth?
Also, did you see my comments in my post about "correct me if I am wrong", that doesn't vouch a textual abuse, it asks for a polite correction.
I am sorry you don't understand how to post on an internet forum and keep/gain respect. In the last topic of mine you posted in I guess you retracted all your posts due to embarrassment. Possibly to "turn over a new leaf" and look like you did nothing in the wrong.
Anyway, what I said, was essentially exactly the same as what you said, dear Weezythef.
I may have added details that i've heard of along the way, with parts of it saying I might be wrong.
I said something along the lines of: "Charter is the way to go IMO" but i also gave another list of pros and cons for jongray to assess and decide on, himself.
jongray, sorry about this bickering, weezythef has really started to annoy me.
Also, did you see my comments in my post about "correct me if I am wrong", that doesn't vouch a textual abuse, it asks for a polite correction.
I am sorry you don't understand how to post on an internet forum and keep/gain respect. In the last topic of mine you posted in I guess you retracted all your posts due to embarrassment. Possibly to "turn over a new leaf" and look like you did nothing in the wrong.
Anyway, what I said, was essentially exactly the same as what you said, dear Weezythef.
I may have added details that i've heard of along the way, with parts of it saying I might be wrong.
I said something along the lines of: "Charter is the way to go IMO" but i also gave another list of pros and cons for jongray to assess and decide on, himself.
jongray, sorry about this bickering, weezythef has really started to annoy me.
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Join Date: Mar 2008
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When you look at the instructors rating, it is another 2 months of training whilst at the same time I could be job hunting for charter work.
I live on the sunshine coast, would I have to travel to Darwin or Northern W.A to do such work?
Do charter companies employ guys with such small amount of hours under ones belt?
Thanks again,
Happy flying.
I live on the sunshine coast, would I have to travel to Darwin or Northern W.A to do such work?
Do charter companies employ guys with such small amount of hours under ones belt?
Thanks again,
Happy flying.
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hey mate do some tail time as part of your training and head over to WA for the summer fire spotting there will be a few seats open next season. By the time the fire season is over you will be just about right for the start of the season up north with a few hundred hr more under your belt. They start recruting about September so sounds like you will have all your training done by then. As for hrs don't stress currentcy is the main thing at this stage of the game. Just another option for you
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Once upon a time the choice was somewhat difficult, but these days you can pretty much go either way & still achieve an airline gig in the not too distant future.
I would think that if money was tight then perhaps get an instructors rating & go down that path 'cause in order to do serious twin charter you still need a few hrs on various twin types in order to get anywhere. Instructing on a C152/C172 isn't that difficult & is cheap compared to getting time on say a BE58/PA31 or the likes. Yr choice, yr lucky 'cause a lot in here had little of that many years ago, I'm jealous in some ways, wish I was yr age again !
Good luck
CW
I would think that if money was tight then perhaps get an instructors rating & go down that path 'cause in order to do serious twin charter you still need a few hrs on various twin types in order to get anywhere. Instructing on a C152/C172 isn't that difficult & is cheap compared to getting time on say a BE58/PA31 or the likes. Yr choice, yr lucky 'cause a lot in here had little of that many years ago, I'm jealous in some ways, wish I was yr age again !
Good luckCW
WEEZYTHEF,
How bout you get some experience, then you can actually say something with a tiny bit of credibility. Or better still, just stop posting stuff. Can't wait for the school holidays to be over!
As for the choice, all depends on the circumstance. If you would like to remain in the city, an instructor rating would probably help. However, seeing as you stated you were thinking about up north, I would spend the extra time and money on an instrument rating, it's worth it, no matter what you're flying
j3
How bout you get some experience, then you can actually say something with a tiny bit of credibility. Or better still, just stop posting stuff. Can't wait for the school holidays to be over!
As for the choice, all depends on the circumstance. If you would like to remain in the city, an instructor rating would probably help. However, seeing as you stated you were thinking about up north, I would spend the extra time and money on an instrument rating, it's worth it, no matter what you're flying
j3
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Truth of the matter is this;
Pilots are getting hard to come by in Oz due to various reasons. If you want to go to an airline then look at a little forward planning and head down that path, obviously some juggling will be required to reach your goals. I took the instructor path and given the environment I was in (heaps of pilots and not many jobs) it paid dividends for me but has taken a long time for things to accelerate. This was mostly due to me not having the $$ more than anything at certain times. Charter jobs in the same time period were also hard to come by and I know more than a handful of guys who headed up north not to get a job at all. Now some pros and cons at least for instructing.
Instructing;
Pro
Shortage of instructors at present. Colleges such as Singapore Flying College and FTA advertising the fact that you can get into the organisation and the move to the airline. Has advantages that once you get a gig you can claim tax deductions for training that the company would use such as an instrument rating and instructor upgrades. Most instructing jobs allow you to live in the cities.
Cons
To get multi time you generally end up having to pay for the instructor rating then an instrument rating on top. Tax deductale if it advances your instructing in the company. Multi Engine training required to instruct on twins (which is where you get the multi time the quickest), means logging 50hrs command. Some companies have programs in place to make it easier to achieve this though. Hours building wise depends on the size of the school, but again due to shortages places are taking instructors with very little hours. Singapore Flying College has been taking grade 3 instructors lately from what I hear with very few hours.
Charter
Haven't headed up north to do charter so I can only offer hear say from third parties. All the guys I know that have gone to KFS (Karratha) have ended up in jet jobs or regionals within a year or so of going there. All of them had instructor ratings and were ME-CIR before they went however. Living up the wasn't the best from all accounts but it was short lived so they put up with it. Again I haven't been there so I can't give anything but hear say. One of the guys that has recently moved onto to better things even asked if I wanted a job up there, so they are hiring.
Other options are the Qantaslink cadet schemes etc being offered (I haven't looked into these but others where I work at the moment are) these could be a fast option for you. Given the minimums that are being listed it's a very tempting offer for someone just starting out.
So I hope my ramblings helped, but as I said, having never gone up north for charter I can only give you hearsay.
Cheers
Pilots are getting hard to come by in Oz due to various reasons. If you want to go to an airline then look at a little forward planning and head down that path, obviously some juggling will be required to reach your goals. I took the instructor path and given the environment I was in (heaps of pilots and not many jobs) it paid dividends for me but has taken a long time for things to accelerate. This was mostly due to me not having the $$ more than anything at certain times. Charter jobs in the same time period were also hard to come by and I know more than a handful of guys who headed up north not to get a job at all. Now some pros and cons at least for instructing.
Instructing;
Pro
Shortage of instructors at present. Colleges such as Singapore Flying College and FTA advertising the fact that you can get into the organisation and the move to the airline. Has advantages that once you get a gig you can claim tax deductions for training that the company would use such as an instrument rating and instructor upgrades. Most instructing jobs allow you to live in the cities.
Cons
To get multi time you generally end up having to pay for the instructor rating then an instrument rating on top. Tax deductale if it advances your instructing in the company. Multi Engine training required to instruct on twins (which is where you get the multi time the quickest), means logging 50hrs command. Some companies have programs in place to make it easier to achieve this though. Hours building wise depends on the size of the school, but again due to shortages places are taking instructors with very little hours. Singapore Flying College has been taking grade 3 instructors lately from what I hear with very few hours.
Charter
Haven't headed up north to do charter so I can only offer hear say from third parties. All the guys I know that have gone to KFS (Karratha) have ended up in jet jobs or regionals within a year or so of going there. All of them had instructor ratings and were ME-CIR before they went however. Living up the wasn't the best from all accounts but it was short lived so they put up with it. Again I haven't been there so I can't give anything but hear say. One of the guys that has recently moved onto to better things even asked if I wanted a job up there, so they are hiring.
Other options are the Qantaslink cadet schemes etc being offered (I haven't looked into these but others where I work at the moment are) these could be a fast option for you. Given the minimums that are being listed it's a very tempting offer for someone just starting out.
So I hope my ramblings helped, but as I said, having never gone up north for charter I can only give you hearsay.
Cheers
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I understand that instructing is a means for buying food and gaining hours (read experience as well) but please, if you don't feel a calling to the PROFESSION of flight instructing, then you should head straight for charter.
I have enjoyed turboprop and jet employment after instructing in all the different bug smashers. I was 31 when I started instructing full time, and I dearly miss it. I hope to get back to it someday soon.
It isn't for everyone, and from a basic posting you don't seem to embrace it (I may be wrong).
Good luck with your flying.
I have enjoyed turboprop and jet employment after instructing in all the different bug smashers. I was 31 when I started instructing full time, and I dearly miss it. I hope to get back to it someday soon.
It isn't for everyone, and from a basic posting you don't seem to embrace it (I may be wrong).
Good luck with your flying.
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Unless you have a strong desire to teach/instruct, which is up for personal discretion, you may find the finances spent on an instructor rating, might very well prove a fast(er)-tracked GA career if spent on a MECIR... Then again I hear a FIR is almost essential if you would like to look at Check and Training in an airline, don't quote me.
172capt
172capt
