Sanders

[LegoMan]

Anyone know what sort of time they look for? I've been told they have hire low timers.

[C-GGGQ]

not sure what time they look for but i've put a few resumes in with no luck as a low timer (last resume was at 400 hours). I hear they do but have no idea what qualifications they want

[Doc]

I know of one person they hired, who can't even fly.

[LegoMan]

That makes me feel much better!

[wallypilot]

Sander Geophysics will hire low timers for the right seat of the caravan. You do double duty as a survey equipment operator until they feel you are ready for the left seat. Obviously, with the type of work they do, this will take longer than the normal charter operation. However, probably at the 1000hr mark, (if you started around the 200-400hr mark) you would be in the left seat.

If you want to go direct as PIC, I imagine it's somewhere around 1500 hours, with a good amount of PIC time, or at least some survey experience, and experience working overseas. Otherwise they need you to gain that experience with them before letting you loose.

Doc, that's a silly remark when you don't qualify it.

Sander is a good company with good pay, and very good experience. It's a lot of VFR work, and you get very good experience for the hands and feet. The international experience can't be matched....much better than flying to the same 9 airports for 3-8 years while building your time. This job teaches you to be flexible, expect anything, learn about flying in other countries/climates/geographies, and I personally think it teaches you to make good decisions. Pilots are well supported in their decision making w.r.t weather, flight conditions, etc. You won't find a better operation to start out in and learn from the beginning that you don't have to give in to the pressures that some managements give you in the multi IFR charter/cargo world that many guys start out in.

I'll end with the qualifier that the numbers stated above may not be entirely accurate, as I have been out of that business for a few years now. But I doubt much has changed. If you like to travel, and want to do something a little different, go for it. If you need to be home more due to family, or just personal preference, I'd look into the standard IFR charter/cargo world.

Best of luck.
wp

[LegoMan]

Have applied several times, havent heard anything back yet but will keep trying.

[Spokes]

Sander is a good company with good pay

I would say low-fair pay depending on your perspective. The offered me 36000 for right seat on a Caravan rotating overseas in Saudi. I was told to expect upgrade to Captain in a few months (3-6) comanding 42k.

Since I am making more than this and can come home every night I declined.

[confuzed]

Sander is a good company with good pay

I would say low-fair pay depending on your perspective. The offered me 36000 for right seat on a Caravan rotating overseas in Saudi. I was told to expect upgrade to Captain in a few months (3-6) comanding 42k.

Since I am making more than this and can come home every night I declined.

Wow, what a silly thing to do. I have a buddy of mine that flies there and LOVES it. The pay that you mention is just starting pay. As an F/O on the van he was making more then I was on the van somewhere else as Captain. I was paid in the low 50's. As captain on the van he'll be making as much as or a little bit more then I do sitting as FO in a large jet. From what he was telling me, he was CLEARING $2600-$2900 every 2 weeks.

They pay the basic salary, you can live anywhere in Canada and they'll airline you to your post, you get your $110/day per diem, overseas allowance, etc...The schedule is 9 weeks on and then I think it's 3-4 weeks off. The only thing that I've seen as an issue sometimes is attaining a work VISA for the country that you're supposed to be posted at. Other then that, he loves it and has no intention of leaving any time soon.

[wallypilot]

Sander is a good company with good pay

I would say low-fair pay depending on your perspective. The offered me 36000 for right seat on a Caravan rotating overseas in Saudi. I was told to expect upgrade to Captain in a few months (3-6) comanding 42k.

I expect that 42K is the base salary, and that the pay formula was not properly explained to you. starting salary on the van PIC should be around 48K for a 1500 hour type, higher (like 55-65) for guys with a good amount of survey experience. remember working overseas, you'll clear about 93% of your gross pay, and chances are with the per diems, you'll bank your entire pay cheque when overseas.

Since I am making more than this and can come home every night I declined.

For sure...if you want to be home most nights, survey work is not for you. For me, after about 10 years, it definitely lost its appeal.

However, if you want to travel the world on the company dime and see places you would probably not otherwise see, or pay a tonne of money to see, then this is the job for you. The chunks of time off are nice. Some of the jobs are not so great (the high arctic or saudi for example...although saudi is good for pocketing per diems since there is nothing to do there), while others are quite enjoyable (south america, much of the work in the US, some parts of Africa, Australia, etc).

[Spokes]

I'm 45, have a pre-teen son, am making mid 50's and am home every night. I have seen the world, or a good part of it on the company dime (taxpayer in my case).

The poster had asked about pay etc. The point I wanted to get to him is what was offered. The rest was simply musing on my part.

[grassroots]

Everyone,

As Wally says Sander is a good operator, with good equipment and maintenance. Regarding their pay and per diems that "buddies" are reporting. Make sure to get the info from the company. Sander has historically been low on the pay and per diem side, so for the $110 per day, be careful, you may be expected to find hotel as well as your meals, for your $110/day.

Take home pay, clearing so much every couple weeks, again be careful, they may be talking about after the "overseas tax credit", which while being great, can get disqualified pretty quickly if you work in Canada as well. How are they being paid, by the month, week, day? If it is by the day, it is quick possible they get no pay for their time off, so the rate they report should actually get averaged over the period they are online and offline.

Just some friendly advice, don't rely on the network for your numbers, get the hard facts from the company, and ask the right questions about pay scales, per diems, and rotations.

[VSF]

Hi all,
I'm currently employed at Sander. While it would be nice to be home more often, I am very happy with my position here.

Wallypilot: thanks for your kind words about the experience pilots get here. Alot of people see "day VFR" and think the time is worthless. I'll probably get flamed for this, but I think the flying here is probably some of the most challenging you could find. We fly to very tight tolerances for ~7 hours a day. Flying an ILS is a sinch after surveying! Also, the international experience is great. We've had alot of interesting ferries in the past few years. I've done a number of trans-Atlantic ferries.

As for pay, everyone is in the ballpark. A junior copilot will start at $34 100. A new-hire captain will start at $47 800. Most often, you will qualify for the Overseas Tax Credit, which gives you approx 80% of your federal income tax back. This is, of course, not guaranteed by the company. Perdiems always include food, laundry, and phone calls. In some special circumstances, the perdiem is increased due to living conditions. But it is always set fairly. Never once have I had to pay for a hotel out of my pocket. The company has always provided one. The benefits package is very good.

Our current rotations are 9 weeks on, 4 weeks off. However, management is usually flexible if you need specific dates off. Part of the benefit of a family-run business.

If anyone has some serious questions, feel free to PM me.

vsf