LOW TIME PILOT JOB IN GTA CANADA

[tuskegee0147]

hello everyone,
I am a Canadian Commercial Pilot with 243+ hours
I have my Group 1 instrument and MEL ratings
Currently working on my IATRA as my FI funding is slow
Looking for low time pilot jobs in the GTA.
I am in Toronto, recently moved from Montreal.
Looking to fly anywhere in CA

[iflyforpie]

If you are looking to fly anywhere in Canada... get out of the GTA. You need to get away from the center of the universe where everybody and their dog wants a flying job and go north... further north than Barrie. NWO, Northern Manitoba, Yellowknife... anywhere where the survival rate of metrosexuals is less than 10%.

And please PLEASE do not pay for a job at Skydive Toronto. Lots of operators will round bin your resume with that employer on it.

[cj555]

+1

I think you're going the wrong way there bud. Toronto is actually SW of Montreal, you need to be going NORTH.

I hope you didn't complete your CPL with the illusion that you'd be handed a job at 250 hours in the GTA? Unless you're instructing, you won't find a job with 250 hours in any large cites (Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, TO). If you absolutely don't want to leave civilization, you've got two options:

1. Spending at least 2 years at a charter operator on the ramp loading luggage for minimum wage before you get near the FO seat (assuming you can even get a ramp position with no flying experience).

2. Instruct for a few years making $20K-$25K per year, then hope you make the right connections to land you something in the GTA.

If you really want to get your career off the ground quickly, you need to go up North: Winnipeg, Thompson, Yellowknife, Whitehorse (just to name a few). Target operators with a variety of twin turbine aircraft that will allow you to upgrade. Fly as much as you can, upgrade, log some Multi PIC, get your ATPL asap. THEN you'll be ready to apply in the GTA once you have around 1000-1700 hours.

The issue here is that you're competing for jobs in the GTA against guys who already went up north and logged alot of hours. When your resume comes in with 250 hours, it goes straight into the revolving in/out basket.

[FenderManDan]

... anywhere where the survival rate of metrosexuals is less than 10%.

I spilled my coffee. I have to deal with the particular profile on the daily basis.

[Changes in Latitudes]

... anywhere where the survival rate of metrosexuals is less than 10%.

I spilled my coffee. I have to deal with the particular profile on the daily basis.

I've been defying the odds my whole life.


And yea, get yourself NORTH. You say you want a low-time job in the GTA, I say YOU DO NOT WANT A JOB IN THE GTA. It is key place for broken promises, low pay and companies out to take advantage of desperate green-horns. Get NORTH as soon as possible, you're going to love it.

[tuskegee0147]

If you are looking to fly anywhere in Canada... get out of the GTA. You need to get away from the center of the universe where everybody and their dog wants a flying job and go north... further north than Barrie. NWO, Northern Manitoba, Yellowknife... anywhere where the survival rate of metrosexuals is less than 10%.

And please PLEASE do not pay for a job at Skydive Toronto. Lots of operators will round bin your resume with that employer on it.

@iflyforpie

Thanks for the advice but getting up and moving to another province is doable, the question is who will give me a break? i don't mind sleeping in my car or in the office till i can afford my own place.i am more concerned about learning and teaching more about aviation, networking with aviation professionals and building hours.

#skydive is duly noted

[Lost Lake]

TWA SASKATCHEWAN.

[Rowdy]

TWA SASKATCHEWAN.

Werent you lamenting about the poor treatment of rampies/cojoes there previously?

You want a good shot, while being treated fairly? Go see the folk at Perimeter, or Borek, or arctic sunwest, Air tindi etc. That have established low time programs to get you on the ramp, make sure you're competent and then plunk you (a year or so later) into the right seat with competent crews and solid training!

[Diadem]

Buffalo. You get to fly vintage aircraft!

[iflyforpie]

Yeah... I don't think you want to be a Transwestite. I know a few people who were cured from aviation completely by working there.


tuskegee0147, unfortunately I don't have an answer for you. I got my break by already working for the company that had hired me in another capacity. Counting school, this is my 15th year in aviation... and I am still working at an entry-level 703 company... so keep that in mind when you get impatient about how your career is progressing.

Networking, luck, and going where nobody else wants to go is what is going to set you apart from the hundreds, if not thousands of other low timers looking for the same seats in this grandiose game of musical chairs.

Look for companies that have a single engine piston aircraft that you can start building PIC time on. If they don't have a twin, your odds are more likely of getting a job since pilots jump ship after a season or two and lots don't bother applying. PIC is gold and you should look for that first rather than a twin cojo job... it will help a great deal down the road if you want to go into the turbine IFR world.

Actually going there is a big deal... we get hundreds of resumes a year.. but the only people who we hired (when we were looking... not this year so far) showed up ready to work. If all somebody is going to do is carpet bomb the inbox with resumes, they aren't worth the time unless there is something really spectacular on that resume.

You're going to get rejected. You are going to burn up gallons of gas, miles of road, and hundreds of dollars going on a road trip looking for work, but all it takes is one job offer to make it all worth while.

[esp803]

Whitehorse

Unlikely for a lowtimer... it happens, but not often. Whitehorse is a lifestyle place, not a progression place.

the question is who will give me a break? i don't mind sleeping in my car or in the office till i can afford my own place.i am more concerned about learning and teaching more about aviation

Who? There are thousands of hightime pilots in this country, they all got their start somewhere. Hundreds of companies give guys just like you a start every year. You should mind sleeping in your car and the office... a crew house is fine, if you can't afford to take the job DON'T TAKE IT. Hours are not more important then looking out for numero uno! At any entry level position you will learn a lot, I suspect the first few months will be like drinking from a firehydrant.

E

*Edited to fix quotation.... I guess I highlighted the correct word, and pressed the wrong quote, sorry IFFP
And you fixed it incorrectly...edited to quote correct poster/lil

[iflyforpie]

I never wrote Whitehorse... but I agree that it is not the best place to start out. But you never know... I've done my entire aviation career in lifestyle destinations much more hospitable than Whitehorse.

[ragbagflyer]

Considering you recently just moved to Toronto I'm assuming you don't have deep roots there. Take the advice of all of the above posters and move. There is really nothing in the GTA - or most other major centres - for a low timer that will keep your love of aviation alive. Stay if you want to experience poverty wages, huge commutes, and mostly boring flying. North doesn't need to mean shitty but staying in Toronto probably guarantees it.

[tuskegee0147]

Yeah... I don't think you want to be a Transwestite. I know a few people who were cured from aviation completely by working there.


tuskegee0147, unfortunately I don't have an answer for you. I got my break by already working for the company that had hired me in another capacity. Counting school, this is my 15th year in aviation... and I am still working at an entry-level 703 company... so keep that in mind when you get impatient about how your career is progressing.

Networking, luck, and going where nobody else wants to go is what is going to set you apart from the hundreds, if not thousands of other low timers looking for the same seats in this grandiose game of musical chairs.

Look for companies that have a single engine piston aircraft that you can start building PIC time on. If they don't have a twin, your odds are more likely of getting a job since pilots jump ship after a season or two and lots don't bother applying. PIC is gold and you should look for that first rather than a twin cojo job... it will help a great deal down the road if you want to go into the turbine IFR world.

Actually going there is a big deal... we get hundreds of resumes a year.. but the only people who we hired (when we were looking... not this year so far) showed up ready to work. If all somebody is going to do is carpet bomb the inbox with resumes, they aren't worth the time unless there is something really spectacular on that resume.

You're going to get rejected. You are going to burn up gallons of gas, miles of road, and hundreds of dollars going on a road trip looking for work, but all it takes is one job offer to make it all worth while.

Thanks a lot il work on that

[Lost Lake]

TWA SASKATCHEWAN.

Werent you lamenting about the poor treatment of rampies/cojoes there previously?

You want a good shot, while being treated fairly? Go see the folk at Perimeter, or Borek, or arctic sunwest, Air tindi etc. That have established low time programs to get you on the ramp, make sure you're competent and then plunk you (a year or so later) into the right seat with competent crews and solid training!

I am not promoting them. Just offered a suggestion to a guy looking for his first job. Some rallies have mo ed on and are happy.

Caveat Emptor!

[tuskegee0147]

I thank all of you who have given honest opinions

[GUMPS]

+1 for everyone who said go north otherwise try Aviation World.

[av8tor_assrope]

Take whatever you read on this website with a grain of salt.

You dont necessarily have to go North to get your start. You're kind of limited in the GTA but one company you might consider is Air Georgian. They hire from their dispatch/office onto the 1900. You could also instruct part time and work a job full time that pays the bills. Then once you have 1000 + hours you can try companies like Image Air, Air Sprint, Air Bravo ect.

[North Shore]

^It's not the destination, it's the journey to get there.
Go 'North' - see the country in all four seasons etc...

[Gear Jerker]

If you genuinely want to get flying and don't have any reservations about where/how, let me offer my 2 cents.

1) If you're at 243ish TT (close to 250), write the IATRA. It's a stepping stone and won't make you, but in certain situations not having it written could in fact break you.
2) If you can afford it, go do a float rating. You can do it in 2 or 3 days, and probably in 2-3000$.

Then, if you really are willing to move, DO A ROADTRIP! You WILL get a job if you do a roadtrip and go about it the right way (including timing it correctly, very important). You may or may not get a job by emailing/phoning places from across the country. I won't elaborate further on the roadtrip as there are some great threads on here about how to do it, including an excellent post by the late Just Curious. I did one last year, feel free to PM me.

[sky's the limit]

You need to get away from the center of the universe where everybody and their dog wants a flying job

And therein lies the advantage of being a "nobody..." Never wanted, nor would accept a job in the GTA, or even Ontario for that matter...

Nor have any of my pets.

stl

PS Not found in "Trauma:"

[ragbagflyer]

stl

PS Not found in "Trauma:"

Or on the West Coast sadly; well not with the props turning anyway.

[sky's the limit]

stl

PS Not found in "Trauma:"

Or on the West Coast sadly; well not with the props turning anyway.

Dude....

[ragbagflyer]

Always wanted to fly one.

[sky's the limit]

Got a couple rides when shifting in and out of work, but never got to try it out.