Expert: D. Norkus - 7/6/2009

Question
Hey Dottie,   I took my time over the last few years to finish my flight training out of pocket.  I have been finished with my commercial training for about a year and have had no luck finding a flying job. I am wondering about the viability of moving out of the country in search of flying jobs. Have you met any in the industry with success doing this from the entry-level.  I work outside of aviation and have used the past year to save towards purchasing a home and would like to find a place where I could buy a home and compete in a more healthy aviation market.

Answer
Will

With your level of experience (commercial with low total time), you would be hard pressed to find a job abroad- even if you could obtain a work permit. The aviation job market worldwide isn't very 'healthy' right now. Even experienced unemployed American pilots with jet type ratings are now finding that jobs outside the USA are drying up. The economic downturn is not just limited to the USA and it is a bad time for aviation all over. For example, this article from the Wall Street Journal-
"India Sends the Foreign Pilots Back Home"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124182155998502089.html#
More expat pilot layoffs expected in other parts of the world like Asia & Europe as well.

When you add to that the aspiring pilots in those countries already looking for a stepping stone flying position in a job market that is shrinking, you can see how bleak it may be to try and gain your experience abroad.

Aviation is very cyclical and things will eventually come back. I think as a fresh commercial pilot you would do better to network for future jobs here (skydiving, banner tow, traffic watch) than try to get a work permit to go abroad and build time.

Dottie