So far, [not] so good...

... it has been 7 months ago now since I proudly obtained my ATPL licence after a few years of saving money, hard work in combining the ATPL Integrated training, obtaining the licence in a 36 month timespan, with a fulltime job as a nightshift leader in Volvo's Truck plant here in Ghent. Then I experienced this small setback, losing my job due the credit crisis that hit many of us quite hard in 2010... But I managed to survive as a night auditor in a 4-star hotel, allowing me to still work the night & fly the day and... find a few hours of sleep in between ;-). Due lack of holiday & colleague absenteism it happened that I even had to attend a couple of my ATPL theory exams after a night on the job. Hard times! But amazingly how the dream keeps you going, alive & kicking!

And after that struggle there you find yourself in the middle of a huge crowd of very enthousiastic and young pilots looking for a job. Hoping ardently one of the many resumes sent gets spotted in between a pile of letters and gigabytes of emails. But so far, no positive news from the recruitment front. I did go to a job interview for a 6 month contract as a first officer with no option to extend... and a 21 000 Euros to be self funded [not really a problem if it would concern a good return on investment] but as the company could not even guarantee a minimum of hours on type and as I know how long it takes to earn that money back, I wisely decided not to sign an agreement.

Does it really mean there is no work at all for pilots? No! There still is a lot going on in the skies! But... it seems most of the companies are very cautious in the way they spend their budgets resulting in the recruitment of experienced people only. I didn't see many vacancies where the minimum experience required on jet engines was below 500 hours... and since most of us, except perhaps the rich guy that flies daddy's jet ;-), leave school with about 200 hours on the prop-counter only... I think it's all been said.

Am I too demanding? Well aaaahm... Am I willing to relocate for the job? No doubt, I ám! ... is there a way I may positively nod if a company would ask me to pay the bill of a type rating course in return for a decent contract? Yés again! Can I cope with hard working and heavy rosters? ... think you know the answer, don't you? Can I... ? Yes, I will, I can, I may, I ... in other words: I'm definitely not the most difficult person if it comes to human resources matters ;-).

Maybe the lack of experience or... an unmotivated spirit? Well, I definitely did not throw my stripes in a trash can the day after I obtained my licence... nor did I put my flightbag in a dark and dusty spot on the attic. I joined a flight club to enjoy real life flying with enthousiastic passengers during sunny weekends. And every flight CV that leaves my desk contains a resume & reference letters pointing out my eye for detail, capacities as a coach, a respected teammember, experience in decision making, ... and so much more.

So, wherever I could/can or saw/see an opportunity to get a foot on the doorstep of aviation, I tried to/will try. So far doors stay closed but I hope one day I find one open through which a can see that reaching hand. But in the meantime decisions have to be made to live a life, save some money, ... I am not the kind of person to sit and just watch, you see. That's why I've put those brackets around the "not" in subject... Things cán be good, it's just about how you focus ;-).

Since a few months I am back @ Volvo now as a shiftleader and I must say I really enjoy my job as I did before, coaching people (I count about 50 "heads" in my team now but it will soon most likely expand), the daily challenges in the supply chain, the sometimes unpredictable though fascinating human spirit, ... But one should keep his dream alive and since mine was, is and will be aviation... I keep myself fully ready for the day on which I receive that call! Nevertheless: next September I will have my recheck and next medical. Not that I expect "surprises" (although... you never know). But if I wouldn't have found a job by then, I would consider a flight instructor course and try to make some money out of my "commercial" pilot licence that way.

To be continued soon hopefully! It's all about to be spotted one day and being busy looking around in the meantime!