Reapplying for cadet

[Flyingmoggy]

earlier this april i attended 1st stage interview in HK, i think what prevented me onto the 2nd stage was the personal interview, i think i went into the interview too relaxed for my own good, prolly didn't show how much i wanted to be a pilot if anything

after i returned to australia i took some time off to think about it and now i'm currently getting my PPL which should hopefully be completed by mid to late november

what i want to know is since i've gone out to do this PPL will they take me into the 1st interview again a little faster? after i failed i phoned belinder in HK and she said its best to wait a year, but i assume thats because most people do not drastically differentiate in a years time, what do others think? i plan to phone to ask them after i obtain my PPL (which would've been quicker if the government department wasn't so incompetant)

i can't wait a full year because during april i've already taken the year off with firing ambitions to get in, now i'm just sitting here passing the year and getting the PPL

if its not possible to get another interview b4 the year i'll have to wait till july next year during my uni break

oh and i forgot to ask

how much of an advantage is having a PPL or even a CPL? from what i can see its definately an advantage, holding a PPL at least shows to cathay that you can handle flying (dun laugh i\'ve seen how many ppl almost white out while learning stall procedures) also it shows some dedication to the profession as a PPL isn\'t exactly cheap like a drivers license, and of course as stated the 2nd stage interview has a flight plan exercise, which after i\'ve done some navigations and PPL theory became obvious that someone without any knowledge would be at a huge disadvantage

p.s. sorry for my poor spacing and not using proper sentence structures, its 3am i\'m a little tired ^-^

[horace17]

hey there

i dont think they will exempt you for that.. u must wait for the full year.... what if u applied and got into the final int. and at that point they realized u were defered for an year. u will be in big trouble... so its abit risky to apply within the year..

and for the advantage part... if u have a ppl or cpl.. yeah it shows that u really love flying, and show the dedication on actually spending money and getting one..... which is a good thing..( but there are many ways to show such dedication folks.. so dont fly down aus and get one....lol)

and for the flight plan, well.. what they r looking for is the cooperation betweeen too candidates.. of course doing a correct flight plan is the key 2.. but they mostly look for team work... so.. again i dont see any advantages on taking ppl and score well on flight plan..... u might screw up in team work strategy....right?

good luck
horace

[avistudent]

..

Hi,

Yes, most of the stuff horace said is true. By getting a PPL does shows them you love aviation, but it doesnt mean very much to them. It is up to YOU to prove them that you really want to get in and to determine if you fit in to the company.

In terms of the flight planning exercise, team work is what they look for. If someone is being an arse, he or she can also bring the team to a total failure. So, being the "i know it all" and "don't feel like to share" means an instant failure.

good luck

PS, I am also on my way to get my PPL as well

[Flyingmoggy]

i think i'll phone and ask, i know ppl that got interview within the year and some that never got a reply

another question, how highly do they look at someone with a diploma? personally i think its retarded to say a person holding any kind of diploma has a high education level standard

i am personally in a double degree of chemical engineering / law in 2nd year, i fail to see how someone with a diploma would be reguarded as more capable to learn than someone in an actual bachelor degree

oh and i just want to ask, why would i be in trouble if they found out i deferred a year? i told them that at the interview '(

its not exactly possible to drop my current degrees, there is no guarentee i\'ll ever get in, if i ever got to the 3rd stage for flight grading there would\'ve been no choice but to defer anyway

[horace17]

hey,

for the diploma, as long as u qualified the minimum requirement of cadet pilot programme (i.e. a diploma or a degree in any discipline) u r basically guaranteed for an interview( not 100% but at least 80-90.. coz there are some ppl who wasn't offered an interview)..... so.. the education background doesnt really matters to cathay.. coz as long as u done well on the tests and the interviews.. showing them u r capable to be a pilot......

so.. folks,, education is not a big deal.. they wont like hire a PHD, who does terrible in his/her interview.... but they will hire a form 7 grad who did good in his/her interview..... so u get my point now?

[avistudent]

edu level

Hi Flyingmoggy,

I personally find your previous post a little bit stereotyped in reagrads to your comments on education level between diploma and degree.

Again, horace is right, having a degree doesnt mean everything anymore in this cruel society, once you walked out of that grad ceremony, you are the same as everybody else's who are unemployed and competing against your peers for everything.

It doesnt matter he or she has a diploma or degree, it isn't and shouldn't be used as a measuring stick to asscess one's intelligence. It is how you apply yourself and use your knowledge.

Experience is what make an indivdual stand out of the crowd and be more competitive among others. Bear in mind that macho type, or "i think I am the best and you are not" doesnt work in a flying environment.

Take care

[off_off_dim_and_off]

Nothing personal here, just some advice. Looking at your posts here, I think I know why you didn't get through the selection. There is no competition between candidates in the selection proccess. Cathay takes everyone who has the enthusiasm in aviation, the right attitude and the right type of personality. You obviously have the first quality but you have to show them you have all three. avistudent is right. Macho and arrogant type personally have no place in civil aviation.

[Flyingmoggy]

i think you are missing my point, my point is if they want to see a diploma certificate to verify that u can withstand the theory learning then its rather stupid, a diploma in anything doesn't really show an ability to learn

let me ask u this, how does a diploma in arts help you being a pilot? what i'm asking is if they were using it to measure ability to learn then anyone studying/studied a bachelor in any field should demonstrate a greater ability

if you came out of highschool with such grades that you couldn't even make it into a bachelor program and had to study a diploma i fail to see that confriming any abilities to learn

to put it simple i want to know why it says diploma in any field, is it because some ppl couldn't even pass high school so their only certificate is a diploma in some random thing they paid for?

[avistudent]

..

Hi again,

I think a few of us here understands your point of argument. All you are sayig in your previous post is that a diploma student's learning abilities/intelligence isn't as good as degreee student.

Well, then you are so wrong, because I have had experience in both collge and university academic experiences, and I tell you, there are a handfull of students that are no very smart and it takes time to learn new things.

You have to remember, everybody's learning parttern and capabilities are different. And a diploma and a degree doesnt represent an individual's learning ability or intelligence. It is important not to label someone because of their eduacational background. Regardless of what you have learned in University, aviation is always new to the rookies and it TAKES TIME to absorb it. Thats why a strong passion, enthusiasm is important.

Diploma inArt's? What kind of Arts program are u talking about? Arts as in artistic/drawing or business? or just General Arts and Sicence? Keep in mind that, CX's requirement is geared to local candidates that has various educational backgound.

Hong Kong is a very competitive society in many shapes and forms, especially in education. Not everyone are fortunate enough to go to a University let along have the money to pay for it. So high school students have to literally work their arse off to get in a university for a degree or a technical institute for a diploma or to GET a low paying job fresh out of high school!

I hope this post answers most of your questions

Take care

[NelsonLee]

Hello,

Just a few word for getting the PPL or not.

Here's my background, oversea degree student with a PPL. I recently failed the 2nd interview, because of my flight planning exercise, THEY ARE LOOKING FOR TEAM WORK, not the result, I got the flight plan 100% correct, but my cooperation is bad with my partner since my mental math is not as good as the 19 year old kid (i did not do any mental math for 4 years, using the calculator and EB6 too much), so I was playing cat and mouse with him, I was always behind him and just focused on catching up... BAD BAD BAD. I did good on the panel interview, I think I even did better than the 1st interview, but I still failed. And If you got a PPL, they expect you to know more things for the technical part.

BTW, my friend who also got a PPL passed the 2nd interview and management, but failed the flight grading, this summer, CX changed the Flight grading process for candidate with PPL, you will now do 3 simulated ILS landing, and 3 real ILS. He went for flight grading as a group of 3, only 1 was offered the job (the one with ATPL). So what I can say is, 2nd interview is not the hardest stage. Flight grading is.

Summary of getting PPL

Pro
- Faster interview process (mine from beginning to end lasted only 1 1/2 month and I applied LOCALLY)
- Easier to show them you love aviation

Cons
- Harder question on technical interview
- Higher expectation for the Flight Grading

One more thing, please get your PPL if and only if for your own interest. Like me, I have no regret getting my PPL even though I failed the cadetship. If you are getting it beacause of the CX cadetship, then good luck, your chance of getting in are slim.

[avistudent]

..

Well said Nelson...Well said, Flyinymoggy, I dont think I need to say anymore or provide you an example that I already know.

Take care and good luck!

[FL726]

How about the flight grading programme for those with first solo only?According to the BAE website, candidates with less than 20 hours experience will undergo a programme with 7 flights in a Grob G115. Thanks a lot.

[Flyingmoggy]

hmm try again?
could always do better next time

fyi in flight grading they aren't looking for ur abilities to fly to plane either (maybe ones with PPL or above) but more wether u can follow procedures to check the plane, start up, radio calls, and landing procedures more

i know they aren't looking for ur ability to plan in the 2nd stage, i have no problems with that i just hope i get to the 2nd stage next time i apply
and hopefully get an interview b4 next march

btw i'm not saying ppl with a diploma sucks or anything, but a diploma and bachelor are 2 different level, if u were in the same field a bachelor or above would be viewed many times better than a diploma

anyway, no one answered, how is a diploma in any field useful for the selection process? or do they only want that for ppl that didn't get through high school for some reason?

[wongtaisin]

Hi there Flyingmoggy

Please forget about the diploma/degree issue. There are SOs with none of them. One of them was actually interviewed by appledaily of HK.

I know someone applied before entry to uni and managed to get to a certain stage (can't remember, but certainly more than first interview), but couldn't proceed due to a medical reason.

If you still consider the sth what two different levels things, please note, the difference between "dip" and "degree" is the depth of the knowledge. A higher dip = 1st/2nd year of a degree course. The mode of teaching is more or less the same (lectures/tutorials).

I wish you to know that there are plenty "arts" graduate successfully got into CX's cadet programme. Studying science subjects gives an advantage of understanding the materials more easily, but it has no relationship with success in the application.

It's never stated in the requirements of CX/KA's cadet programme that the degree/diploma must be aviation-relation. Therefore your claim,

btw i'm not saying ppl with a diploma sucks or anything, but a diploma and bachelor are 2 different level, if u were in the same field a bachelor or above would be viewed many times better than a diploma

is totally not related to the cadet pilot application. (applicants even with full ratings failed to get into the cadet!)


"how is a diploma in any field useful for the selection process? or do they only want that for ppl that didn't get through high school for some reason?"

This is irrelevant to cadet pilot application. On the other hand, you will have more tokens in hand in raising this issue when you can make it to the cadet programme.

Final words, facing one's own failure positively leads to a better future.

Sorry if there's any hard feeling that may cause you.

[::Joey::1985620]

very interesting argument going on here. It is true that having a deploma doesn't give you a disadvantage in the selection process. I actually know some high school grad who got offered an interview.

But here is my view:
- getting a degree or deploma doesn't show the interviewers how well you can learn (for groundschool) but in fact, it shows them your determination, and that you can put your mind to something you started and finish it.

the difference between "dip" and "degree" is the depth of the knowledge. A higher dip = 1st/2nd year of a degree course. The mode of teaching is more or less the same (lectures/tutorials).

Here is my understanding, dip program teaches more handson, technical kinda stuff. Degree program teaches theory, and how to think. Future wise (having nothing to do with cadetship), dip people would be machinics, office admin,etc < people who follow orders. Whereas, people with degree get to make decisions, and do more "brain work".

Like it or not, pilots are both.

[Hydrolix]

FlyingMoggie and others

It does make a difference to Cathay if you have some sort of higher education. I do agree with the statement that a diploma in arts does not neccessarily make you a good pilot, however it does make you a better candidate (on paper) to the company. One thing that they are looking for in an interview, is that you have the ability to get through the "tough" course in Adelaide. In having some sort of tertiary education to your name, it proves that you have the ability to study at a higher level. This is very important to the recruitment staff.

With regard to a PPL. I would advise anyone with the means to definitely get as much experience as possible. It proves to Cathay that you are keen and that a career in Aviation is your only motivation, particularly with Cathay Pacific. It also virtually guarantees you getting through the technical parts of the interviews and also flight grading, surely this is an advantage, isn't it?

Good luck

Hydro

[Flyingmoggy]

naw i dun get hard feelings easily i failed cos i didn't meet some requirements, i'll fix that up hopefully

the whole point of the argument is just because my double degree is a 6 year course, to actually get a certificate i have to finish both courses, what i don't understand is how can someone with a dipolma be looked at as higher standard of education than someone like myself

i could go out to any old uni and get a diploma in anything within the year and apply again if thats meant to prove to them a higher level of learning but i just think thats silly >_<

after i failed i actually thought for a while wether flying is really suitable for me, then i worked my butt off for a little while and now i'm doing my PPL, i enjoy it a lot hope i get another interview to show them my love for flying

[skypeeper]

2 cents

Just to chuck in a thought:

Cathay don't view a diploma higher than a bachelors, nor would any company really. The only time it might be viewed that way is if it's the only certificate of education available in a particular field. All Cathay are looking for is a minimum standard which they require from people applying for the cadetship. Your doing a double degree is certainly admirable, I'm still recovering from the trauma of studying for my bachelors years ago. However, from an airline's point of view, once you have surpassed the basic requirements on paper, and they call you in for an interview, the guys and gals that are seated next to you in the waiting room that day are all on a level playing field with you. From then on, CX want to see what skills you have learned up to that stage, how far you can push yourself, and how well you can work with others.

Having gone through the whole dang process with CX, may I beg to differ a bit on the earlier mentioned subject of what they are looking for down there at BAe. They certainly are looking for your ability to fly a plane! Even if you don't have experience, they want to know if you have inherent basic skills which demonstrate good potential to fly. When Cathay take on zero hour or low time pilots, they are taking on the financial burden of training people who have no other demonstrable flying capability other than what they can gather from their battery of tests done at CX city and Oz BAe. The trick of getting through the flight grading, from what I gathered down there, is that one can show a good rate of improvement from one day to the next, that you don't freak out and lose total confidence when something doesn't go your way, that you can correct your mistakes and biggest of all, that you have the right attitude. This includes mutual respect, confidence in your abilities, confidence in your compadres' abilities, genuine enthusiasm for learning to fly and a touch of humility for recognising one's own shortcomings also helps. This is what I have learned so far in my flying and it's only the flake that rests on the tip of the iceberg that broke off from an icecliff.

More power to everyone who's going through selection!

peeps

p.s. FL 726: it depends on how many hours you have under your belt, first solo or not. Last I heard, if you have fewer than 30 hours, you do 7 Grob sorties. Greater than 30, you do 7 Grobs and 3 Cap 10s.

[a9733232hkg]

Re-application

Hi fellow pilots.

Can someone who has a commercial pilot licence apply to Cathay cadet pilot programme? If yes, does he/she needs to attend the training in Adalaide? Thanks in advance.

Later

[avistudent]

.

"Can someone who has a commercial pilot licence apply to Cathay cadet pilot programme? If yes, does he/she needs to attend the training in Adalaide? Thanks in advance."

Yes, you can apply even if u already have a commerical licence and Yes, you will need conduct your training in Adalaide if u ever get in, but I dont know how long. Do they give exemptions? or doesnt it really based on the pilot's currency