Current Job Climate

[The Green Goblin]

AAA Charter
Two Pilots Required
Top End fixed-wing charter operator has two openings.
1. Experienced charter pilot, min 700TT, incl 200+hrs Cessna 200 time
2. Casual position for low time pilot

Looks like no help for the low time guys, last year they would have taken a bare CPL and zero 200 series exposure.

Looks like back to the good old days of begging stealing and flying for free, scrapping up 500TT and trying your luck at your first real job

If it were me looking at jets with stars in my eyes right now I'd want someone to punch me fair in the head, knock some sense into me and point me to the closest university.

[The_Pharoah]

its funny how if everyone wants min 800hrs TT and newbies are coming out with 200 hrs TT and no low hour jobs...where the heck is the 600 hrs deficit supposed to come from? (rhetorical question).

[eeper23]

From someone working in the current GA industry I wouldnt say its dead at all. Pilots are still moving around, and there are definetley jobs being taken in the regionals at the moment. I think think of at least 5 pilots who have moved on from NT GA in the past month.

[VH-SKY]

Suppose everyone thats deciding to do there pilots license CPL from now on will know what to expect.

500TT is the new 200TT

Might be some movement but it's still not be advertised.

[The Green Goblin]

I think think of at least 5 pilots who have moved on from NT GA in the past month.

Yep, the five guys who were laid off from Airnorth

[Jettson]

2. Casual position for low time pilot

The second position is for a low time guy/newbie I am guessing. Bet there is a million people after that one!

[The_Pharoah]

I know there's AFAP jobs but I've seen other pilot forums that actually have a running sticky/post specifically for low hour pilots <1000 hrs TT. Obviously I don't know what the PPRuNe forum policy is about that but having something like that by region (eg. one for DG&P) would be awesome for info purposes. It would certainly allow GA operators (heck even regionals) to pop in with a post like:
- need 2 pilots min 250 hrs CPL + ME/IR, etc etc. PM me with your details.

Esp in this climate where the old 'jump in a car and head north' don't work no more (and esp in a country as small as Aust ), this would certainly help newbies.

Eh, thats my $0.02 worth.

[Maxweight]

Pilots are still moving around, and there are definetley jobs being taken in the regionals at the moment. I think think of at least 5 pilots who have moved on from NT GA in the past month.

The police airwing in Darwin and SA in Broome were recruiting recently and i think a couple of the Network pilots joined Airnorth.

Surprised to hear that Airnorth laid off a few though!Were they from the jet?

Max

[training wheels]

Anyone know anyone who got short listed for the AAA Aircharter job? They said only short listed candidates will be notified by this evening.

[Mike Litoris]

pilot positions post boom

Just wondering how many people who got work during the boom 18 months ago, are still in work? how many lost jobs after the boom? are there less positions out there? or are all the positions just filled with reduced progression?

safe skies to all

ML

[ResumeOwnNav]

Gday Mike,

You asked some interesting questions which nobody has yet to answer, so I thought I would give it a go. I was employed in my first flying job 18-24 months ago.

Just wondering how many people who got work during the boom 18 months ago, are still in work?

I am still with the same company I was originally employed with, flying single and twin work. All the guys I know who started around this time are all still in work. Some have changed companys looking for twin work etc. But all are still employed.

how many lost jobs after the boom?

No one I know of has lost their job to work not being there. (Commenting on single and twin piston GA work. I can't comment on the higher end GA turbine/contract mine/regional stuff, if that is what your questions relate to)

are there less positions out there?

No less positions available.

or are all the positions just filled with reduced progression?

Yes & No, it seems most are holding onto their multi IFR jobs longer as the multi crew turbine/regional jobs are harder to get or require more experience than what we have recently seen. There is still people moving around the industry, hence companys still hiring SE VFR pilots.

Don't give up guys, those first jobs will come in time.

* I can only comment on the entry level GA world as this is where I currently am employed. I believe your questions will have totally different answers for those that where employed in the Regional/contract mine charter jobs 18 months ago.

Nav.

[The Green Goblin]

* I can only comment on the entry level GA world as this is where I currently am employed. I believe your questions will have totally different answers for those that where employed in the Regional/contract mine charter jobs 18 months ago.

Nav.

No one that I know have moved on, only been laid off

Everyone that has a job is holding onto the gold stuff, putting off buying that new car or buying that house as job security feels a little uncomfortable right now

A lot of the guys who were laid off will be the first ones back on when the hiring starts again unless they don't want to come back.

Don't quit your job, sell your car or dump your woman (or bloke) 'till you have a new one lined up

[777WakeTurbz]

Very good advice Green Goblin, i was unfortunate enough to have given many months notice in advance of moving on to complete my ATPL exams seeing as i could not do them where i was without great expense in travel.
And by the time the market started crashing there was already a replacement trained and work was dropping off, i still did not expect i would have too much trouble picking up some more casual work on the east coast with my experience (1800TT, 1000hrs Multi Command, 2 MECIR renewals and now holding a full ATPL) so i chose to continue with my plans and do the exams... That was many many months ago now and i still have not had a sniff of any prospects on the horizon.

It is frustrating and bloody depressing, and there are so many in this position that you get to wonder if there is light at the end of the tunnel. But i guess with the falls there will inevitably be the rises and hopefully they arent too distant in the future.

Anyone want to offer me a job? Will work for free, just want to get back in the air... haha

[The Green Goblin]

i was unfortunate enough to have given many months notice in advance of moving on to complete my ATPL exams seeing as i could not do them where i was without great expense in travel.

Carnarvon has a direct flight to Karratha with XR and QF fly to the east coast ex Karratha now

[dik cheney]

I was employed in my first flying job 18-24 months ago.

I am still with the same company I was originally employed with, flying single and twin work. All the guys I know who started around this time are all still in work.

Thats how it was during the boom guys, 18 months to a twin. Times that by 2 or 3 now and your getting close. I know many guys with around the 1000hr multi mark with no where to go.

[M14_P]

Exactly, if guys like that (1000hr multi) haven't got options, what hope do any of the freshly qualified guys have?

[Xcel]

its been 12 months since the downturn.. give it some time...

[Mr. Hat]

M14, it was exactly the same if not worse when I started out. Qantas hired about 3 pilots every 300 years and Ansett just didn't hire so there were no airlines pulling people out of g.a. at all. So the scenario was about 10-20 fresh cpls waiting for each job. Regardless of the warnings to "not bother" I still drove up to the top end and still got a job. I didn't undercut, brownnose or work for free. I just worked hard at updating with operators, meeting people and went to places that no one else went. When I was finally working driving a 210 I couldn't believe how few people would come out to see us to get a job. We weren't in a popular spot! We got hundreds of cv's though.

As for the 1000 hour or 30000 hour guys having more chance than you argument. This is not the case. Sure the 300 hrs guy is ideal but if he/she is not there on the spot then thry'll miss out also. Operators want people that fit the build. A 200 hour guy/gal is the right fit for those newbie jobs becasue the operator generally wants someone they can work to the bone and will hang around for a while. The 1000 hour guy/gal won't put up with as much and is realistically very close to a twin job given the right circumstances and contacts.

Don't talk yourself out of your career and don't exclusively limit yourself to the pilot meccas. There are more random jobs going that noone even knows of that are just waiting to be discovered.

[increasedescent]

Don't talk yourself out of your career

Well said Mr. Hat.

ID

[The Green Goblin]

Quote:
Don't talk yourself out of your career
Well said Mr. Hat.

ID

Problem is the flying schools have been pumping 'em out the last few years saying there is a shortage, now they are pumping them out saying no one is doing their training because job prospects are low and its getting too expensive. So all the starry eyed youngsters keep handing over the cash and are ill prepared for the industry once outside the flying school.

Flying schools teach you how to operate an aeroplane, the don't teach you how to operate in the industry and once the many ray ban donning pilots walk out expecting one thing, they sadly find another and to often walk away.

2 students out of about 20 in my course got their first job straight out of training, a couple of others got lucky last year and paid their way into cadet schemes and now myself and the other fella are flying in the regionals.

I'd love to see the figures for CPL licences issued now without a current medical and BFR.