unemployed 250 hour cpl holder,how to explain to frnds and family??

[tmbpilot]

tired of being the guy who thought differently took a different line of profession ,went to a foreign land ,did things none of my family or frnds did,came back gt the license and have been sitting idle for and yr now...how the hell do you guys explain this to your frnds and family....would appreciate some good ideas

[hugel]

Did you get the licence with the intention of working professionally ? Do you still have this intention ?

If so then you are looking for the next step in the process of reinventing yourself and you get excited by the challenge (many people are probably jealous that you even did it) and look forward to the next step. It obviously helps if you have some idea of what the next step inyour Meister-Plan will be...

If not then it was a phase in your life that taught you a lot, added to your skills etc etc

hugel

[shanx]

Tell them that you're a secret agent pilot working for the Intelligence Bureau (RAW/ARC) and to keep it all HUSH HUSH.



Later on when airlines start recruiting aggressively after a few months or years, you can tell them that you are now in civil aviation with an airline as you got tired flying for RAW !

[Boeing7xx]

Try

Without prejudice

1. Did you try out some of the smaller airlines in APAC? Like Zest or Nusantara (Don't know if they're still alive) or 1-2-Go.

2. Don't despair, I'm sure its hard on you, especially being in India a grown up son who's unemployed is viewed very differently when compared to other countries.

3. Keep at it, and explore the frontiers ... Africa, Qatar, Emirati, etc. Don't give up.

4. I have a friend who's starting an airline in Rwanda with 732's if you're interested, I can help you with his email ID. But expect to pay for your TR.

5. When you took the path less traveled, you signed up for a life of being a nomad, keep that in mind at all times. Go where the jobs are... that's the only way you'll find the jobs coming to you.

[picollo]

Please do not pay for your type rating. This is the reason that this career is eroding .

Get your flight instructors rating / license. Best way to get experience.
There are a ton of companies in Africa flying everything from C206s to twin otters. Best place is to start on the africa forum and get some leads. It helps to actually travel and show up ready and willing to work.

If you did your Commercial abroad, ask your school if they will hire you as an instructor if you pay for your CFI,
(back in the day if you studied in the US on an M-1 visa they were able to get you a work permit only to gain experience for a year)

There are flight schools in Jordan, Doha, Dubai, Al-ain, just think outside the box and go for it.

Good luck

[soaring.high]

@Shanx
How are you doing mate? Your post was hillarious (The whole RAW Secret Agent cum Pilot thing !!). Cant stop laughing but its giving the right message about caring less for the crap.

@TMBPilot
It might sound like a consolation to you my friend but there are atleast 3000 other fresh CPL holders(Including myself)in India who are experiencing(Rather forced to experience) the same agony and shame because of their unemployement.So you are not fighting the bettle alone. Somebody made a valid point in his/her post that a lot of eyebrows are raised at an unemployed youth in India let it be an unemployed pilot or an unemployed commerce graduate.That is the time when you need to stay by your side,boost your confidence and back your descissions when every other individual (Including family and friends) is doubtful about you,your future and your descission making.Stay connected with your innerself and listen to its voice rather than listening to useless words of the people around you who would do no good to you.You had a passion for aviation and that is why you became an aviator(Employed or unemployed it should not matter to you atleast because you are still an aviator).Pull your socks up and search for a job in other industries and get your self an employment atleast for the time being(Till the time aviation industry starts absorbing low time pilots again).Hopefully those days will come when the same people would envy us who are laughing at our unemployement.They would envy us not because we would be bringing hafty pay cheques at home but we whould have placed ourselves to where we belong, The high skies!!!! Cheers!!!
P.S : TMB pilot did you use to fly out of KTMB by any chance? If yes then which school?

[AAIGUY]

250hrs means you go fly a Cessna 182 in the bush. It doesn't entitle you to a jet. At about 2000-2500 you get to fly a turboprop. Maybe somewhere after 4000hrs you fly a jet.

Theres plenty of sh*t cessna jobs in sh*tty places.. got there.

[tmbpilot]

@hugel yeah i did my training to work professionally in the industry and still have that desire....waiting for things to improve,some opportunities to show up......
@shankx ..ha ha ha dude hilarious reply dude...should work till someone starts cross questioning ...will be a bigger laughing stock than i am today.....
@boeing7xx thanks man will look up for these airlines and please send me the email id of your frnd will be of great help...
@picollo thanks man if you knw any companies in africa that are hiring do tell me...willing to work at any corner of the planet and will even pay for my type rating...
@soaring high -we face the same agony everyday good to talk to someone who shares the pain...yeah i was at ktmb in dean....what about you??
@AAIGUY...dude if you knw any place where i can fly do tell me would be great help....

[shanx]

Although the situation for the thousands of unemployed CPL holders is grim, it has also revealed the sheer "rat race" culture or rather "herd mentality" prevalent in this country.

Obviously it is each one's prerogative to do or pursue what he/she wants to, however one has to only have a look at the sheer numbers !!

How come none of the wannabes or aspirants ever thought that they might be in a cr@ppy situation like this ?
How is it that the majority of them simply rushed to flying schools in India, USA, Australia, Canada etc without ever chalking out any "Plan B" to fall back on ??
Worse .. some have taken huge loans to fund their entire training after mortgaging their house or other property and are now sh!tting bricks when approached by the bank manager or the bank's local "goondas" (hoodlums), demanding repayment ASAP.

The majority of the unemployed (and currently training) CPL holders never had any idea about this field, the realities and what to expect during their licence conversions or about the job market.
Most were too busy drooling over newspaper articles which predicted Indian civil aviation sector's URGENT NEED for 10,000+ pilots, the fat salaries and the 5 star layovers with scantily clad "flying models" !

[shanx]

@Tmbpilot

Quick clarification ... the above post was not directed to you buddy.
I fully understand your position and what you might be going through.

You said you have been doing nothing for a year. Well, you have a few options to spend time productively ..

1. Get an instructor rating. Dont ask right now about work permit etc in the USA (assuming you hold an FAA CPL). It is very much possible to work LEGALLY in the US whilst being in M1 visa status. There are clauses which specifically mention student visas and the type of work they are entitled to for a certain period of time

2. Offer to fly for free as a safety pilot in various flying clubs. Try to approach charter or small cargo companies if they can let you fly right seat on their multi engine piston planes. I have heard of some guys who have built some time this way.

3. If you are on a tight budget or have loans to repay, then look for a job in some other field right now. Earning some money is the priority right now, not your flying hours or validity of CPL.
If you dont have a college degree, either enroll in an undergrad or diploma course if you think it would help fetch something or look for a BPO/call center job.

4. If you are sharp on your DGCA CPL theory, you can conduct your own DGCA ground classes and give Seth, Surinder, Buti etc some competition !
You dont need to be an Air Force veteran or a 747 Captain to teach CPL subjects. You just need some good notes, question banks and a good grasp of the fundamentals and numericals.

You can also help fellow aspirants by conducting free classes or study sessions and put a serious dent (if not completely destroy) this GROUND SCHOOL RACKET in India .. especially in Delhi and Mumbai.

[soaring.high]

@Shanx,
Well said.Dont think any one would have anything more to add.
There are few aviatiors who were trying hard to get into aviation but got the opportunity to spread their wings at the wrong time and are now part of ther HERD and RAT RACE !! May be destiny has some part to play afterall.

@All
Shanx has given a good suggestion.Why dont the aviatiors who have cleared their DGCA written exams are jobless and sitting idle at home offer to provide fellow aviatiors guidance for free or at much lesser costs than the big names of Ground Class Business!! It will serve three purposes 1. Lots of aviators who cant afford to attend ground classes of Big Shots would benifit from it 2. It will help you brush up your own theory and keep you updated 3.You will have some work on your hand that too will be related to aviation (You wont sit idle at home.An empty mind is devil's home remember!!!).

[silent_scream]

Greetings Everyone.

The Options provided are good. I do not know about bush flying because South Africa recently came up with a No-No regulation for Foreign Pilots. And the post in the other part of PPrune where a Gent has travelled through Maun,Namibia and a few other places and could not find a job.
The job might be present, but every day that passes by, it becomes more difficult to find them.


I have just one advice for you tmbpilot, and for that we use some Statistics.
Current CPL's are being issued in 9xxx category in DGCA (We shall take 9500 as average for our calculation).
And the current Indian Population is 1,177,714,000 (and it increases as I write).

That means that the 9500 Pilots are a 0.0000081 % of the Current Population.
I do not know about you, but that does give me a Moral Boost when required.

We did manage to do something really different Boy'O.
So bugger up ! There's a lot to do before you call it Square.
Silent.

[A320flyboy]

i dont fully agree with most statements made above.
it all comes down to how hard one is doing his own homework to search for flying career opportunity. if the job market in your native country is tight, look outside the box.

fyi, i just joined XXXX with my cpl and currently undergoing type qualification course on airbus a320 I have friends who now fly in the line just fine when they started with only 250 hours. To say that one needs thousands of hours in order to be able to fly jets is a myth. Think SQ, CX, MH, CI, BR, etc..

So stay motivated my friend and i wish you best of luck !!

PS : i have doubts if pprune is the right forum for you to look for answers to your situations, since i noticed most ( since in my flying school days ) most of the posters will tend to give discouraging answers.

[peterporker]

??

With 250 hours you won't be getting an airline job anytime soon. So instead of sitting home and cribbing about your situation and worrying about what your family thinks why don't you get a non flying aviation job? Networking is very important to getting a flying job and you won't make any contacts sitting at home. I've been flying in India for a while now and I've yet to meet a CPL holder working as a dispatcher, cabin crew, aircraft cleaner, fueler, technician, etc. I'd recommend getting a job driving the crew transport, that way you'll be "rubbing elbows" with working crews. If you think that you're too good for any of these positions then you have no business flying an airplane. My favorite guys to fly with are the ones that have done some job outside of the cockpit. This makes them less arrogant and they treat their coworkers much better. I'm sick of flying with the rich kids who never went to college, introduce themselves as "captain", and treat the ground staff and cabin crew like servants. Here a link to a great show that shows the reality of aviation in most parts of the world and follows a few people on their quest to get into the cockpit.

Will Fly For Free, The Unprofessional Pilot Wall Of Shame!! Ice Pilot’s All 13 Episodes..

Also, if you haven't already, go to college and get a useful degree in something not related to aviation. This will give you more options when you get laid off from your flying job, lose your medical, or realize that aviation is not such a great career.

Don't wait for luck, make your own luck.

[Dream Land]

I suggest that you start networking, there is bound to be some relative, friend of a relative etc., that is in the industry, there are very few people in this industry that haven't had to use this type of help to get to their current position.

Get out there and tell your story, speak to some cadets that are working at airlines now, find out how they got where they are, don't give up.

[PappyJ]

how the hell do you guys explain this to your frnds and family

A nifty idea would be to simply tell them the truth. An odd concept in this day and age I do agree.

Funny though, that idea may work well with Dreamland's very good suggestion.

[soaring.high]

@TMB Pilot,
Yes mate not only me but other 3k to 5k fellow aviatiors are facing the same problem.So dont think you are alone.Care less about what people have to say and what you will have to say to them(About current situation).Rather invest your thoughts in some constructive and productive work.
Yes I was also at KTMB !! It was really fun flying in and out of TMB,wasnt it?.Might have flown to KPHK,KPGD,KGNV,KTNT,KOPL,KEYW,KMTH,KORL,KOBE on regular basis right?.And how could I forget the great Homestead!! Ever flown 5153Q?
@ Silent_Scream
You said it correctly.There are over 10000000 engineers,500000 Docs and the figure of total number of graduates in India goes much much higher.where as still 9k + pilots.We thought out of the box and we had it in us that is why we are aviatiors.

@All
Employed or unemployed, we are aviatiors and we will be aviators.Degree or no degree we knew how to fly a plane, we cleared all our flight tests, fulfilled all the requirements and then we were awarded with the licence.Having a degree is an additional advantage of course but if you are a pilot and dont have a degree that should not take anything away from your ability to fly nor your piloting skills should be doubted because you dont have a degree,atleast as far as aviation and flying an airplane is concerned.(I doubt the Wright brothers had any degree but still they built the Kitty Hawk and successfully flew it too!!!!).On the other hand if you are sitting idle at home and not flying or working anywhere persue higher education (Graduation,Post Graduation or even further) because you will gain knowledge and knowledge is everything!!
Ek sher yaad aa gaya !!!
"Parwaaz (Free Birds/Flyers) Hain Hum,
Udna Hai Kaam Hamara,
Hamare Samne Asmaa Aur Bhi Hain !!!"
Cheers!!

[A320flyboy]

"I have to disagree with Boeing7xx. At 250 hours, don't even think of airlines (unless you're lucky enough to be a cadet with some sponsoring airline).

You need to build your hours by working on entry level jobs, such as flight instructing, fire spotting, fish spotting, aerial scenic joy flights etc".

xanadu...to suggest that airlines job is beyond reach with bare minimum hours is somewhat misleading. what you pointed out above might be true for the case in north america but not every geographical locations have same minimum requirements.

as said i myself and many others self sponsored ab initio pilots are living proof that one can still reach the dreams of flying big boy jets with mere cpl/me/ir ticket in hands.

again, ofcourse it all depend on supply demand equation and most importantly which part of the planet one lives in.

[profsx]

get ur act together

hang in there man!!!but ask urself if u really want to sit home n face the questions from family/friends....get out n get a job.....i did, i dont mean to brag but, i was unemployed just ONE day....got my licence on a monday, hunted around tuesday(actually went and met a couple of CEOs)...and signed a contract on wed flying light twins now(2 months 40 hrs).i was home studying for three months before getting my licence....n i studied my ass off....right from 4 forces on an aircraft to supersonic flight, i knew it all....i went knocking on a lot of doors, i dint even expect an airline job....and i suggest u dont either....after indigo's ad for FOs with 700hrs on type i dont think any airline is going back to hiring freshers, except maybe air india which will be under pressure form the govt.

my useless advice-get the hours up, make urself worth that airline job, n then ask for it.

[XanaduX]

as said i myself and many others self sponsored ab initio pilots are living proof that one can still reach the dreams of flying big boy jets with mere cpl/me/ir ticket in hands.

Well kudos to you Flyboy, and I don't doubt your achievements one bit. I also have a number of friends who are airline pilots in Indonesia and Malaysia with just a bare 250 hours. But you again have missed my point. Are you here to help offer tmbpilot some real possibilities on how he can improve his chances of an airline job, or are you here to big note yourself?

As I said, if you don't have the opportunity to walk in to an airline job with 250 hours like you have so proudly done, then what would you suggest? Hang around and wait for things to happen by magic, or go about and make yourself employable?

Not everyone has a right to work and live in places like Indonesia and Malaysia where you can walk in to an airline with just the bare minimums. If it was that easy in India, then I'm sure tmbpilot would not be seeking for advice here on pprune.