Back on topic:
Brazilian pilots are paid very well....much more than pilots in the United States. And when you take into consideration salary vs cost of living the lifestyle of a Brazilian pilot is comprable to that of an American pilot back in the 60s and 70s. The reason why there were ever any Brazilian pilots abroad was because up until about 3 years ago the airlines in Brazil were not hiring.
Plus, 2 of Brazil's major airlines folded in the early 2000s; VARIG and VASP leaving thousands of pilots unemployed.
Now things have changed. Brazil's economy is booming and rocketing upwards. Already it is the 8th largest economy in the world and projected to be the 5th within 4 years surpassing England and France.
As a result aviation in Brazil is growing at such a rate that the airlines can't keep up. Right now they can't hire enough pilots...literally. The average time requirement is 500TT to 1000TT to fly Airbus, Boeing, and E190s for all the legacy carriers down there. One thing they will not compromise on is English. ICAO 4 is the minimum for all the legacies...if you don't know what that means don't worry. If English is your first language than you are ICAO 5.
As of right now, you have to be a Brazilian citizen or legal resident to fly down there...just like you have to be an American citizen to fly here in the U.S.
A couple of Brazilian Senators introduced legislation this last Summer proposing that foreign pilots be allowed to fly in Brazil to meet the high demands of the airlines. There were strong measures against the bill and so far it hasn't gone anywhere.
As far as safety goes...Brazil has very high standards. The GOL/Legacy mid-air was a combination of erros made by BOTH the Legacy crew and ATC...the only ones who did nothing wrong were the GOL pilots and unfortunantly the people on that plane were the only ones who paid the price.
Mid-airs such as that one has happened all over the world...most recently in Europe involving a DHL and Russian airliner. So to say that Brazil is or isn't safe based on that one crash alone is not valid or fair. And to be sure, after that crash a number of new policies were put in place by Brazilian ATC to guard against something like that happening again.
Not to mention the Brazilian Government has set aside billions, I repeat BILLIONS of dollars to spend over the next 3 years on aviation alone. That includes airports, ATC, radars, etc....
It is certainly an interesting moment to be a pilot in Brazil. Plenty of jobs and very high pay...not to mention rapid development of the industry and country. And unlike flying in the Middle-East, India, or China...Brazil is a Western country with Western standards of living. It wouldn't be very much of a culture shock at all. In fact I know many, MANY N.American and European transplants living in Brazil right now working in non-aviation fields who swear they will never leave.
If and when Brazil allows foreign pilots to fly down there I will let you guys know.
