Age discrimination
Flyingmariner said:
Just can't seem to get any response from employers. I've got 2500 TT meet all the Pt 135 mins and then some. I've been offered a summer job flying a 206. A friend in the airlines says don't be dumb just get on and take it but I'm not so sure as the pay and hours ($100/12/day duty time 3 days/week) are lousy and odd as it may sound I do pretty well as an independent CFII monetarily. Ok I'm an old bastard but that never goes on the resume . . . .
I don't know what you consider to be old, but I was in my late thirties-early forties when I was in the job market. I met all the commuter (regional) mins with most of the time you see at the left. I had my ATP and type rating, college degree, everything you'd think they want, including, finally, 500+ hours of multi. Fourteen years ago, 500 hours of multi was a standard requirement; more was still better - and people whine about the 200 or less these days.
I had a few regional interviews, but, in the overall scheme, few responses. I sent resumes with and without my personal information; it made no difference with either. In the meantime, those at my school who had similar or lesser quals but were fifteen years or more younger were getting interviews at the same places from which I heard nothing.
I do agree that your low multi puts you at a big disadvantage, Further,
Vladimir Lenin said:
I think your resume may be telling a story of your achievements and the [employers] are leery of hiring an older dude who may be set in his ways by now . . .
(emphasis added)
Take note that it was Vladimir, not me, who said it first, this time. What Vlad wrote sums up what I believe happened in my case. Moreover, employers think that older applicants will want more money to start, no matter what they say. I was always completely willing to start at the bottom of scale, just like everyone else. They refuse to be convinced otherwise, or even listen. Their minds are closed and their ears and eyes are shut. They also fear that an older worker will stay at their airline, top out at scale, and eventually vest in their 401-K, both of which will cost them money.
Leaving your age off your resume won't help. An employer can calculate from your employment history your age within a few years, even if you leave off dates of employment - and discriminate accordingly. In addition, if you were not required to furnish copies of your airman certficates with your application or resume, the employer will ask to see them at your interview. No matter which way you turn, you cannot win with an employer that practices age discrimination. And, it's impossible to prove; all the employer has to say is he/she had better-qualified applicants. It is institutionalized discrimination.
If it were me, I'd take the 206 job if you are at all serious of continuing your career. It'll be something other than instructing. Although flight instructing kept me employed as a pilot fourteen years ago, when better-qualified pilots from the defunct airlines were on the market, I believe that too much instructing time also may have hurt me.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
