Canada

[polarbear66]

So I have been thinking about moving to Canada. I am wondering if anyone knows about the job market, or if the hours aquired in the land of "Eh!" will still count if I ever move back to the U.S.? Hours are hours as far as I know but how might a U.S. employer view them. As I understand it you have to be a citizen of Canada to even apply for a company like Air Canada.

Just curious if anyone has had experience or knows something that would help me out.

 

[lymanm]

In Canada...

I'm a Canuck with my Canadian PPL but FAA ratings from there...

Firstly, you'll need to convert your ratings. For the PPL, it's a matter of taking the written and flight tests.

For the Commercial (which is just that - no SE/ME designation) you'll need the same as above, but you're 250 NM x-c solo does not qualify up there as the req' is a 300 NM solo x-c.

For the instrument, you'll need the written and flight tests. There, the Inst. is divided by class: I for ME, II for ME-centre line thrust and III for SE. If you do your Class I flight test, you already qualify for the Class II and III. It's equivalent to your FAA ME-Com.

If you want to instruct, you need to do an additional 50% of the Transport Canada required flight hours (15) and 50% of the ground training hours (10) for the Canadian instructor rating. The instructor rating is also divided by class based on experience. A newly minted instructor is a Class IV, 3 solos/3 flight test endorsements nets you a Class III, etc etc. As a Class IV, you'll need to be under the supervision of a Class I, but many flight schools do not have Class I instructors, as the requirement to be a CFI (in Canada that's Chief Flight Instructor) is only a Class II. Thus, you'll have a difficult time trying to find a Class I instructor willing to supervise (read: "sponsor") you.

That is the regulatory side of it. You will need work authorization in Canada, which is not easy to get. You can apply as a landed immigrant, which I believe allows you to work.

As far as the job market goes: it's always tougher up there than in the US. Canada is huge geographically, but with a population of only 31 million, it's a small market. Currently, there is little movement, as Air Canada (and Air Canada Jazz, the regional) are both laying off pilots. At the majors level, Jetsgo requires a 30k training deposit for your MD-80 training. And yes, people are paying it! Westjet is growing and their new hire mins are 4000 hours. On the regional level, AC Jazz is laying off as mentioned but AC is now contracting out some of their regional routes to 3rd party regionals, such as Georgian flying B1900s and PC-12s. There may be opportunity to get on there. From an entry-type position, there are occasionally opportunities up North (similar to AK) but it's difficult to guage.

Overall, the industry is WAY smaller up there. Thus, networking is key. Having not done any training up there, you will have a difficult time getting an 'in'. There are less than 1000 instructors working in Canada at the moment, so you can get an idea of how small the industry really is and how incenstuous it is. There are TONS of Canadians who wish they had US green cards so they could work in the US; they would call you crazy to consider moving up there!

I think it would be detrimental to your flying career to move up there. It would cost money to convert your FAA licenses and even then, the job market is tough.

On a side not, yes, your hours will count in the US, but there is one significant difference: only ONE person can log PIC time in a Canadian plane, unlike here where both rated student and instructor can do so. It actually makes more sense if you think about it. Sorry, "aboot" it.

 

[polarbear66]

Thanks for the through response! That answered evry question I had. Now all I have to do is roll back time and win the lottery! Ah well I will have a house in BC someday........

Thanks again for the time!