Another one bites the dust. Sooo, what now?

[Rostori]

Hi everyone, so like many people my job has become a covid victim! I'm a survey pilot with 1200 hours, now unemployed. I like to be doing things, so I've got a choice. I've got a history as an FI, so I could go back there, but need my SEP and FI rating back because I was working on an MEP for the last 3 years. Should I spend my not limitless funds on getting my existing but lapsed ratings back and go hang around a flight school like a bad smell til they give me work, or go whole hog and do an A-UPRT and/or refresh an MCC so I can go to an airline? It really is one or the other money wise, without going round my family with a begging bowl.

Thoughts? Commiseration? Jobs?

Existing FIs, how is it going for you?

[PilotLZ]

As you mentioned A-UPRT, it sounds like you come from the EASA lands. Either of your options has its peculiarities.

For instructing, you have to be quite sure that the school where you do your FI will give you a job afterwards. Someone with as significant GA experience as you has fairly good chances and will definitely be prioritised over a 200-hour CPL graduate who couldn't think of anything else to do. However, make sure that the financial arrangements make it more or less survivable. Many, if not most instructors in Europe are only paid by the hour. Which means that a month of bad weather and/or low demand for lessons leaves you without any income.

For airlines, it's certainly not the best time. Recruitment these days is mostly limited to type-rated pilots - and even then, there are far more applicants than jobs. And it's likely that at some places retrenchment is still not over and done with.

Something that could be a good opportunity is corporate aviation. Relatively unaffected by corona and often prioritising pilots from a GA background over former airline guys. However, most jobs there never get advertised. And the good ones are distributed by referral only. Nonetheless, having a word with your local business jet operators certainly wouldn't hurt.

Best of luck!

[wiggy]

Originally Posted by PilotLZ

For airlines, it's certainly not the best time. Recruitment these days is mostly limited to type-rated pilots - and even then, there are far more applicants than jobs. And it's likely that at some places retrenchment is still not over and done with.

I can't comment about the prospect of getting a job as an FI or in the corporate world but I admire your optimism with regard to the airline recruitment situation.

Realistically at many airlines both inside and outside Euroland significant retrenchment hasn't even started yet..yes lots of newspaper headlines shouting about jobs going at x, y or z but in reality at many operators consultations on exact numbers are still ongoing and people haven't left the building ..yet...

Rostori - Good Luck

[PilotLZ]

In that part of the world where there are consultations, those are still ongoing. In many other places, the faith of the unlucky ones was sealed on the spot with a two-line email and hardly any opportunity to object, whether in court or otherwise.

Back to the topic of GA instruction - have you got the instrument experience to qualify for IRI? SEP IRI, MEP IRI or MEP CRI are normally in higher demand than SEP FI. Also, if there happens to be an FNPT II in your area, you might be able to teach IR sim sessions.