I'm sorry you have to resort to adolescent name calling, I would expect more from a fellow Boilermaker.
Read again - there wasn't any "adolescent name calling".
I said the
line of thinking was asinine,
not the person doing the thinking.
Big difference between the two.
And I thought you went to JU, not Purdue? When did you graduate?
Lots of businesses require employees to pay for training and are reimbursed over some length of a training contract. It encourages company loyalty and discourages bandit-like behavior. Everyone from dog-groomers to physicians with tuition reimbursement
Logical fallacy.
Lets take your "physicians with tuition reimbursement" angle. Med school is what they have to have in order to be called doctor; flight training is what a pilot needs to be called "professional pilot". In both cases, we're talking about basic-level required training. Now lets move to a type rating, which is
specialized training. Do doctors have to sign a contract with their employer in order to receive cardiothoracic or OB-GYN specialized training? More to the point, are doctors required to pay for that specialized training themselves, up front, only to be reimbursed back by their employer?
I think not.
Also, having training contracts may deter "bandit behavior" from someone taking a $20k type rating and leaving...but indentured servitude via training contract does
nothing to foster "company loyalty"; on the contrary, it places a financial restriction on someone who might seek to better their family or themselves in another position. While that may be less of a factor on an Initial, its a basic fact if one is faced with annual contracts for their Recurrent training. To leave, you have to "buy" your freedom...freedom from a company that wouldn't hesitate to terminate your employment if it was in their financial best interest.
Yes, my company is doing well, business is BOOMING. We've actually brought on new pilots, opened a new office, and are looking at one new jet at least. One thing I've noticed about our customers is they tend to weather economic storms like this fairly well. They can afford anything they want, the one thing they can't buy they get from us: time. Time is a priceless commodity that never loses its value.
I'm very happy to hear your customers aren't being severely impacted by the financial crisis and major slowdown in the economy. Many 91 departments and most 135 departments that I'm aware of cannot say the same. My company, however, seems to be similar to yours in viability; we're taking a new airplane in the spring and flew record hours this summer despite the record fuel prices.
I stand by my statements and mark my words, you'll see this sort of thing happen more and more in the future. Even the regional and majors do it: (Republic & Southwest) for example.
Again, companies only do that sort of thing because
pilots let them get away with it; pilots as a collective group are our own worst enemies when it comes to compensation and lifestyle.
And while SWA requires one obtain a 737 type before attending class, Republic does NOT require their candidates to pay for their training up front (they do require a 24mo training contract). While I personally dislike the concept of a training contract I realize why they exist; I abhor the thought of someone being forced to pay for their own training, upfront, as a precondition of employment for a business aviation job based on my reasons above...reimbursed or not.
I
personally will not subsidize someone's operation of a business jet; I believe if someone can afford an aircraft, they can afford to train the pilots required for it.
To that end, I won't be responding to any further flamebait.
You have an awfully thin skin if you think disagreement with your position is the same thing as flamebait.
I've explained and defended my position - no defend yours. Prove me wrong. After all, this is about thoughts and business practices, not about individual posters...