A few pairs

Forced to rethink my life and the way I'm steering it. Finally work is getting rid of all the contractors. So a lot of friends and people I have had good memories with are being moved on. And no doubt in my mind it is the best thing for them. Moving on to greener pastures. Getting outta here IMO can only be a good thing. Especially for the connie boys.

Which has made me think about where I'm headed. I've got some reasonable qualifications under my belt now. Reasonable in that I won't be totally screwed if I had to lose my job now. But not of the level where I feel comfortable that I can get a job I like where I like. Basically having a good set of choices. Not just the odd one or 2, followed by the what if I don't get it worry.

Problem I've realized is 2 fold. 1st is my personal mentality. I personally don't feel experienced or confident enough to be totally self sufficient. Confident that I can work in a place inhabited by morons and not be dragged down or bamboozled into their unprofessional methods. I want to be on a level where I know what to do, how to do it and if not then at least know where I can turn to in order to get the task done properly. Way to remedy this 1st problem is simple. Hang about with professionals and keep my eyes and ears open. Learn and remember what they do. Problem now is those I consider professionals are being kicked out. And all that is left is well... Lets put it this way. A plant can grow in compost and it can grow in sand. In both a plant will grow. But 1 plant will take a lot longer to reach the level of the other.

2nd is my paper qualifications. This is governed by 2 factors. Certificates, gained from attending courses and recorded time working of different types of aircraft. Time is in a way, simple. However long I spend in a company with said types of aircraft determines the length of time of experience I can place on my CV. Courses are a lil more difficult. The studying bit is the easy part. Hard bit is attending it. Firstly its finding a course you can physically make it to. Getting time of is a major problem. These things can go on for anywhere from 3 day to 2 mths, depending what you are trying to get the cert on. Employers look at this independent taking of courses in 2 ways. That it's great, cos they don't foot a penny. Just grant the time off and once you're back, they have a much more qualified employee, who they can instantly use. With no input cost to their accounts, save being a man down for the time you are away. The other way they can view it is. That it's dangerous. If they let you go on the course, you will be more qualified and thus will be more able to leave for another job somewhere else. Hence they would lose an employee. So they don't grant the time off. In my personal case, as many of you would guess, it seems the latter holds true.

I've got a short list of courses I would like. PW4000 engine course. Useful to complement my A330 airframe. A good short course, like 5 days. A320 airframe with CFM56 & V2500 engines. VERY useful to have. Tonnes of jobs around. Take your pick of Country to work in, pay to receive, hours to work, etc... B767 airframe with CF6 & PW4000 engines. Lots of budget airlines kicking around with them. Ever since Boeing stopped making em, they got cheap, hence lots of lo-cost carriers in Europe taking them. So reasonable amount of work.

Only short listed those as they are planes I have worked on for a good deal of time, hence I can get the courses added to my license without much problem. Of cause there are dream courses I would love to take. Courses that would mean total job security and in most senses of the saying, allow you to print all the money you want. But getting those kinda courses, you might as well speculate on what if you won the lottery.