Advice for a young whipper snapper
 

I know this is a common thread however it is an ever changing climate so I am after some fresh advice.

I am 20 years old, CPL with MECIR in the next 2 months. Just under 200 hours (CPL was integrated 150hr).

I have the avenue of scraping some money together for an Instructor Rating which I would love doing for a few years to develop my knowledge and confidence OR getting out there and finding a job.

I am prepared to rough it for a while, packing up the van and hitting the road but in everybody's honest opinions will I rack up the hours that I could instructing and for that matter learn and experience as much?

There are so many pros and cons to both avenues but like I said I'm after some fresh food for thought :ok: Thanks

Bar tending school.

Forget instructing - hit the road get going.

I agree with Mr Hat. If you want to do instructing, you would do more good to go out and learn to be a commercial pilot so you can teach other newbies what its like in the real world.
I would suggest hitting the telephone before the road. Get in touch with all the companies yu are likely to encounter in your travels, email them your resume, then when you go on your road trip you can put a face to the name. Good luck, its not easy finding a job out there right now but its not impossible either!!

While you might be after some 'new advice', I think you will find the tried and tested methods of the last 30 years still work today!;)

If you want to rack up the hours quckly, hit the road and head North! I'm not saying this is the only path, nor necessarily the best, but it certainly is the quickest!:ok:

If you have big shiney jets in your eyes I suggest you go and check out 'The future?' thread and ask yourself some hard questions about why you are doing this and getting yourself into a declining industry.

If you just love flying then go for it. Just make sure you make an informed decision.

Your chances of landing a gig up north will be slim at best. Guys will be getting laid off around the time you finish your MECIR, with the approaching wet season.

Its expensive driving long distances and staying in hostels, I've been there before and it clears your bank account in no time. You might find yourself in a few months with no job, and no money left for that instructor rating.

Welcome to the world of aviation.

FL170, One thing you should remember is that you will be competing for jobs with others "up north" so sometimes others will try to steer you away in order to decrease their competition. I experienced this when i started looking for work in 2000. People said "don't come up here you'll never get a job". Guess what? I got a job. Why? Because I was willing to live and work in the stinkiest sh!thole with the worst possible conditions you could imagine. The others stayed in the "nicer" areas. Pack your bags drive your car up shake some hands met some people and then do it all over again and again and again....eventually you'll get a job.

im amused :E

Thanks for everybody's personal opinions - whether they be positive or negative :ok:

I believe where there is a will there is a way, I haven't put in the amount of work and sacrifice for the sake of throwing in the towel when times are turbulent. I look forward to the things I will experience up there and hey most probably I'll come back a better man for it.

Cheers and happy flying

PS How does a TD 60 series sound for the trek and a copy of Malcom Douglas' basics of bush mechanics :}

A TD60 would be great however the juice it will consume and the two bucks plus you'll pay per litre ain't worth it. Get a cheap four banger with aircon and you will be leagues ahead.

You won't be driving the tanami or the Gibb looking for work and when roads close due flooding they won't reopen till your average sedan can cross it. Pick a spot dig in for the wet pour beer and wait for a slot at the glimpse of the dry.

The Goblin's got some good advice. If your going to give it a crack, I would suggest making Kununurra your base, that way your only a days drive from Darwin/Broome and all the places in between. As soon as someone needs a pilot you'll be one of the few who can start tomorrow.

Try not to harass the operators too much as you'll piss them off, and make friends with the pilots...if you end up pouring beer to get by you will meet them for sure.

Times are tough so don't be too hard on yourself if you can't find a gig. There is zero movement at the moment which will make job openings for newbies few and far between.

One last thing, make sure you know your VFR met minima's when going for an interview, sounds obvious I know, but many guys have bungled the answer to that one.

Yeh hate to bust bubbles but I for one know of plenty of guys in Aus out of work with all the right stuff under their belts. A mate of mine is back in NZ with 2000hrs half in 185/206 the rest in twins doing IFR ops.....the company went under..... more than qualified to do anything in GA but there aint much over there apparently?
Brutal.

Join the RAAF (and never leave)

1. Rip around in a PC9 - have a ball.

2. Graduate and put in your prefences

"Hmmm. Do I want to fly a Super Hornet, an A330, a C17, a B737 VIP, a B737 AWACS, a Challenger 604, a C130J????"

Not a bad list to choose from for a young kid with just a couple of hundred hours in the book.

3. Travel the world with great mates and have a ball.

4. No living in , quote, "stinkin ****holes on the worst terms and conditions."

5. Cheap beer in the mess.

Might be a long time since you were in Trev, but beer in the mess ain't cheaper anymore...

In the military you also have the chance to see your family for 8 weeks in two years.:* So you make your choice and live by it.

From what you have stated here FL170, I agree with DirectAnywhere, you will do all right. Don't forget, it is the journey not the destination.

And if I can give you one piece of advice you can either take or leave, don't be in a hurry to get to the end. In my experience things happen, some good, some bad, but everything has a way of working out in the end.:ok:

Cheers
CB

Go North.

Broome... Swedish backpackers... Cairns... Swedish backpackers... Agia Napa... Swedish backpackers... oops, sorry, thoughts drifted a bit there... :E

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...q/PunmuBed.jpg


But it was airconditioned!!:ok:


Sage advice indeed.

Towering Q, Absolutely spot on with that photo. I not you have a very nice chair there!

At the time I was absolutely chuffed with getting my first job and I made that little stinkhole work for me. It was an exciting time - there's nothing like that first day on a station when you walk up to the shed to push "your" aeroplane out. Tough time but fond memories indeed.

Towering Q u must have got the Penthouses sweet, have lived in much much worse than that.

My 2 cents worth. There are jobs out their if you are prepared to look. You will be surprised at how many wannabe pilots say they are heading north/west or wherever but never actually make it past the nearest main town/city and say they can't find work. Do you research find the operators that are not based in the main centres and don't get distracted by the bright lights and back packers and I am sure you will find something.

An Instructors rating If you have the cash for it may be a good idea for use later on in life but get some experience first.

I seriously doubt you will find a job as a fresh CPL up north right now when far more qualified people are getting laid off and looking for work. However if you do happen to go up to Kununurra make sure you budget conservatively and have enough savings for a very long wait. Work is hard to find in such a small place.