Ask Captain Lim - Do I need to do any type rating to be more marketable?

Dear Capt Lim,

My name is Sergio I'm from Argentina and I find your your website very interesting.

Let me tell you a little about my situation: I'm pilot since 9 years now, and here in Argentina where I live, it is very complicated to find a pilot job.

I'm 29 year old and I have logged 1200 hours with 250 hours as PIC (pilot-in-charge) in a Cessna 402 - that is the airplane that Im flying now. I really want to change my job but I don*t know how to do it since I find it very difficult to get hired from an Asian company, especially from a pilot without any jet experience or type rating.

Do I need to do any type rating to be more marketable? I have emailed almost every Asian airlines without positive results. I fell very discouraged for being unable to change to a bigger airplane or find a better job.

I hope you can give me some advice on where or how to do it.

Thanks and best regards!

Sergio

Hi Sergio,

The reason why you have not received any positive responses from any Asian airline yet is because you may not have met their minimum requirements. Most airlines would require you to have jet experience.

Cathay Pacific Airways is currently looking for Direct Entry pilots for position of First Officers and Second Officers. Since you do not qualify for position as First Officers as you do not have jet experience, you can perhaps try for the post of Second Officer.

(See here) for Position of Second Officer:

Within Cathay Pacific, the Second Officer is considered an integral part of the flight crew with specific responsibilities. The primary functions of the Second Officer are to act as a cruise relief pilot, to monitor all facets of the operation and to support the crew. Second Officers operate on Cathay Pacific*s fleet of Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A340-300 and A340-600 aircraft, operating worldwide on longhaul routes.

Minimum Requirements

All Second Officer applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

An ICAO Airline Transport Pilot*s License (ATPL) (obtained without exemptions) or ICAO Commercial Pilot*s License (CPL) (obtained without exemptions) with passes in all ATPL ground examinations
A Valid Multi-Engine Instrument Rating
A minimum of 1000 hours fixed wing (preference will be given to applicants with turbine or multi-engine experience)
Experience commensurate with age
A current Class One Medical
Fluent spoken & written English

Do you satisfy all the minimum requirements? Do you have an ICAO ATPL that is recognized? If not, you have to get it converted. The website states that you must have 1000 hours fixed wing but preference will be given to those with turbine or multi-engine experience.

If you think you can satisfy their requirements, you can try writing in and hope that they will call you.

Doing a type rating may be an advantage to a small charter company or a low cost carrier but it is only of a slight advantage to a major airline as they want you to have real jet experence and not just 5 or 10 hours!

For further advice and information, please read all the Pilot Career FAQ in my Website.