Advice please: moving from Canada back to Australia (Australian Citizen)
 

Hi all,

I'm an Australian citizen currently in Canada as a Permanent Resident. I was planning to move back to Australia in 2020 but was unable to do so due to the pandemic, and in the last year and a bit I've completed my CPL. As far as I gather, low hour pilot opportunities are much better where I am in Canada, but I've meaning to get back to Australia for years now and it would be nice to see my family and old friends. The possibility of moving back to Canada if things don't work out aviation wise in Australia is certainly an option I'm open to too.

However, I'm in the middle of the hiring process for a position in my hometown, Perth, for a Ground Instructing job working Monday to Friday full time. I'm feeling confident about my prospects of getting the offered the job, however the position will only schedule me instructing in an aeroplane for one day of the work week and only after I covert my Canadian CPL and acquire my Instructor Rating. Essentially the position is 80% ground instruction and 20% flight instruction. The potential to build hours appears limited, though I am free to instruct in the evening, on weekends and between semesters. It may be a good, industry relevant, day job to hold while chipping away on my multi and instrument rating - both of which I think I will have experience in before I leave Canada but am unlikely to have completed.

As a low hour CPL holder, does this opportunity sound like a good place to begin my aviation career? I'm interested in others' thoughts on my situation. I'm 29 and imagine I could be in this position for 3-5 years before having enough experience to land a full time piloting position elsewhere in Australia - or maybe not at all given how tough the job market sounds for Australian pilots? Alternatively, I could take this job, work it for a year or two, continue studying part time and return to Canada where regional charters have started hiring pilots with 250 hours total time, but pay next to nothing compared with employers in Australia. Maybe I should just scrap the move back to Australia and stick it out in Canada?

Thank you in advance for any advice, perspectives and other insights!

Time spent not flying is wasted. No one is going to care about the effort you spend teaching ab initio students. if you can get a flying job in Canada then I would delay my return home. One year in Canada flying full time will be worth five in the PER gig.

At 29 you have to think that you are outside of the ideal demographic. You cannot afford days not flying. By the time you are employable in (non-instructing) commercial aviation you will be 31. With enough hours you would then be able to go the US. That’s assuming that you are still open to staying in North America. By that time there should be lots of jobs in Australia too.

Perthie here. I'm guessing your offer is for either an organisation with the same letters as the RAC or the money printing front MBA

As said, you want to be in a flying role. I know guys stuck doing ground instruction while fresh Grade 3s pass em by to Grade 2. And forking over 20k for an instructor rating into a non flying gig is not a good idea personally

Cheers both Australopithecus & Caedus for your feedback, which I think confirms the gut feeling I had about the position detailed in the OP. Some tough pills to swallow but might be for the best.

Stay in Canada, get your 1500 hours. Take an E3 Visa job in the states and continue to live in Canada.

Work in the states but live in Canada? I'd never considered this as an option but like how it sounds. This is not uncommon?

Do this.

Commuting to base is almost the norm in the USA. Some commute from further abroad, I doubt commuting from Canada would be any more difficult than a US city, particularly if close by - think Vancouver-Seattle or Toronto-New York.

Roger that, thank you both Thumb War & Brakerider.

Stay in Canada. Much better opportunities for a low hour guy.