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Old 09-11-2007, 08:22 AM
  #8  
rickair7777
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Originally Posted by pilot77 View Post
Its so hard to get multi time by instructing and it just seems like your going to have to pay for it, so why not get the edge on every body and do a first officer program? People say you're buying your job, but didnt everybody buy there job by spending 30k to 70k on ppl and ratings? To me, if I were going to hire someone and one person has 1000 hour total in teaching ppl and the other person has a total of 1000 hour in sic king air I think I would go with the king air pilot. Im not trying to be a smart ass at all i just think a paid first officer should not be looked down on just because some other guy worked at a FBO for the last 3 years flight instructing. I hope i didnt step an any toes in this forum im just trying to figure out which way i need to go. Thank you again
Aviation is a little different from the business and financial worlds (where you are expected to try to screw everybody else before they screw you). There is a certain feeling of brotherhood, and there are some fine lines that define right and wrong.

Also in the business world your reputation may not follow you around...in the airline business the federal government ensures that your entire flying history is available to any potential employer. If you cross the line everyone will know forever...

There are excepted ways to "get ahead" in aviation: Putting in your time and working hard. If you want to progress faster, you do that by making QOL sacrifices to chase the best job opportunities. Ultimately airline aviation is a seniority-based endevour...getting too far ahead is going to require cheating, which is not acceptable. Some behavior to avoid:

- Pay For Training (PFT): It's OK to pay for your licenses (most civilians have to), but not OK to pay for training in a specific aircraft in order to get a job. This one is a grey area...many flight schools charge new instructors for airplane checkouts, and SWA requires you to buy a 737 type before you start work.

- SCAB (Picket Line Crossing): This is the worst, and will brand you for life. Since nobody's going on strike any time soon, this is not an issue today.

- Alter-ego: This involves an internal division within an airline where some pilots agree to work for less pay and benefits if management will allow them to fly certain aircraft and upgrade before their seniority would allow it. GoJet airlines is the only active alter-ego that I know of. This one is as bad as scabbing, and will also likely haunt you forever.

- Pay-to-Play: This is basically what you were asking about. You pay for a job as an FO...a job that SHOULD have gone to an qualified pilot who needed a job. This might or might not bite you in the @ss in the future. Most airlines use pilots to interview and hire pilots. If you get a guy at your interview who does not approve of Pay-to-Play...well, there are probably many other candidates who have acceptable backgrounds.
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