Flying overseas--How/If it really matters ?
 

I can never tell if posts like this are serious or just some guy trying to see how people respond to these questions...

Pirate, i apologize if you are serious, i'm sure I sounded a lot like that when I was the FNG.

If you're an Indian citizen, you should have no trouble finding a job in India once you meet the mins (which are pretty low for FOs from what I hear). If its an option, you might want to consider skipping the US airline biz as much as possible. If you can find some place to get some turbine time, great. But the US airline industry is a mess, to put it lightly. Asian and Indian airlines (and most of the rest of the world) seem to have figured out that in order for a company to make money doing ANYTHING, you have to charge your customers the same or more than what it cost you to produce your product. So while managers at airlines here in the States continue to hump the proverbial football, what was once a prestigious and vital part of America is slowly being flushed down the toilet.

And just FYI, you might find better responses if you post this in the Foreign section.

I'd say if you had the opportunity to fly in India now if any is surely the time to do it - the industry is in the gutter in the United States...If it ever turns around here in the states you will surely have some great experience under your belt. Flying an Airbus or Boeing in India or doing steeep turns in the practice area? India sounds like the best route to make yourself marketable for FedEx, UPS, or Cathay in the future.

The key to getting a job is having or being what someone else isn't. Obviously most of us here don't have indian citizenship and therefor couldn't compete with you for jobs. However here in the states we can. Therefore if you have the ability to go to a more lucrative market vs. competing with us, I would say go to India. You may find after working as an airline pilot where it still means something you won't be interested in coming back to the states to be abused.

Appreciate your responses. Yeah.... i know its a long road ahead with a fickle lifestyle, but you wouldnt have been here if you didnt have passion :)

I've read before that either Ups or Fed Ex (maybe both) want you to live in the US at least 5 years before employment. Something to do with the background check or such. Also Fed Ex requires internal recs from people that have flown with you.

Go looking for a job in the US vs. India right now and you won't have to ask this kind of question--because no one in the US will hire you with a wet commercial (or with 1000 hours probably!). Whereas in India you have a shot at actually getting a job.

I hate to say it as if the US has some God-given right to other countries oil (well, uh, I guess we did pretty much build most of the infrastructure for getting it out of the ground in Saudi while they were still nomads riding around in the desert eating apricots...I digress).....BUT...the fact that aviation is booming in India and China is one more example of why oil is so f-ing high here....as Jet and Air China and IndiGo, etc. etc. etc add to their fleets and their people start flying around, their demand for jet fuel has gone up, raising prices here...just one more example of many...

Darnit...if we hadn't borrowed that trillion to go to Iraq our dollar would be much stronger and fuel would've only gone up 25% instead of 50% (i.e. EU). Shucks! Guess maybe people shouldn't vote based on who they'd rather have a beer with next time!!! (venting, sorry)