I say go for it! You will always regret it if you don’t.
Some of your questions I don’t have answers for, but I’ll answer the ones I can.
First you might try to post this on pprune.com you will find this forum has a little more of an international flavor, if you will.
I wouldn’t worry about your age, unless you expect to fly 747’s for BA. That’s probably a little unrealistic
. However this is a strange industry and it changes so fast.
Start networking, and spend some considerable time on this, it WILL get you a job.
Here is a freight company in Sweden. Their minimums for an FO is total time 500 hrs with 200 ME.
http://www.westair.se/
As far as the US goes I’m almost certain flight schools is the only place you will be able to work. Most other employers have a fairly large pool of pilots who want to fly for a living so no one is going to be willing to sponsor you for a temporary work visa (and yes you WILL need one to work). And don’t forget most schools will tailor your training for your needs (as long as you have the $
). With you PPL you can get your US commercial instrument in a twin.
So unless you get married to a US citizen I don’t think you will find any time builders that will pay you (Besides instructing with a J-1), however there are some pay for training programs that you can look into. I do not know if it would require certain type of visa, but I’m sure they can enlighten you on that.
Here is one,
http://www.skymates.com/time-building.shtml
The single best advice I can give you is to network! Search the web, E-mail, call and nock on some door if you have to. If you are persistent it will pay off!
I’m sorry I can’t give more info or better answers.
I wish you the best and hope you endure. Although this industry can be ugly, I love my profession and my job!
