Beaver job in FiJi?

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DHCdriver
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Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by DHCdriver »

I'm pretty sure I saw this posting 2 months ago? Bad Pay, management, accomadations? Just curious DHC
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cdnpilot77
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by cdnpilot77 »

Wasnt this one for the 206? But from what I have heard, all of the above.

Edit: just re-read and my mistake it was for both :oops:
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Doc »

Looks pretty attractive for some of us snow bound turkeys, though.....on the surface at least. I'd research it long and hard....it's a long swim home.
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Just another canuck
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Just another canuck »

It's a low paying "lifestyle" job for a single guy or girl in their early twenties... the question is will you sacrifice pay and deal with a little extra bullshit to fly a Beaver year round in tropical Fiji? I would.
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Doc »

Just another canuck wrote:It's a low paying "lifestyle" job for a single guy or girl in their early twenties... the question is will you sacrifice pay and deal with a little extra bullshit to fly a Beaver year round in tropical Fiji? I would.
If I was young and single (Hell! if I was single!) I'd agree whole heartedly with you on that one! Somebody show me a down side. It's Fiji for Christ's sake! Fiji! "And if it doesn't work out, there'll never be any doubt, that the pleasure was worth all the pain......." JB
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by TeePeeCreeper »

Its a joke.

750 a month, no accoms, no per diems, heck if its the same CP with whom I spoke with last year he'll ask you to call HIM!

I was tempted to take this perticular job offer awhile back and when I gave the CP my "I gotta pay my fixed costs back home, and this is the minimum I can accept to be paid for my skill level" was laughted at. He actually hung up the phone on me! (remember I'd called him at my own expense!) Luckily, I held out as there just wasn't any way to justify it financially... Glad I did as I was offered my dream float flying job a month later...

How many ads have they had in the last 12 months? Fiji sounds nice, but there's a reason they have this add go up every couple of months...

Stay away folks... Seriously.

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Just another canuck
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Just another canuck »

Doc wrote:Hell! if I was single!
Yeah, I take the "early twenties" comment back I made in my last post. Being single and having the time is enough...

750/month is a joke... a friend of mine was paid 1500/month to start flying there. He did initially work for Turtle and quit right away. I'm not sure what his initial pay at Turtle was. What I do know is he had a blast... Island life got a bit old after awhile but a beer and a bar full of hot tourists would always cheer you up. I know guys go fly a 206 in TZ or Bots for 500/month during training, a period which can last up to 3 months or longer. And I bet not one of those guys regrets their time there.

If you have a mortgage, or loans of significant size then perhaps you should wait to partake in such an adventure. I did notice they posted the salary would be "above local industry standard" this time... I don't remember seeing that before.
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by TeePeeCreeper »

Just another canuck wrote:
Doc wrote:Hell! if I was single!
Yeah, I take the "early twenties" comment back I made in my last post. Being single and having the time is enough...

750/month is a joke... a friend of mine was paid 1500/month to start flying there. He did initially work for Turtle and quit right away. I'm not sure what his initial pay at Turtle was. What I do know is he had a blast... Island life got a bit old after awhile but a beer and a bar full of hot tourists would always cheer you up. I know guys go fly a 206 in TZ or Bots for 500/month during training, a period which can last up to 3 months or longer. And I bet not one of those guys regrets their time there.

If you have a mortgage, or loans of significant size then perhaps you should wait to partake in such an adventure. I did notice they posted the salary would be "above local industry standard" this time... I don't remember seeing that before.
I can only reiterate what I was offered.... At the time that's what was offered. If you'd like to belittle me for it, than by all means feel free to do so via PM.

On a side note, if you truly believe that any licenced pilot should be thanking their lucky stars for being paid 500$ a month to flog a 206 in East Africa, well... Am not sure how to respond... (Having been paid more almost 10 years ago to do the same job... Room and board included!) Remember a seasonal Beaver driver in Canada makes 4000-6000 a month, with housing included... 750-1500 a month no housing for a 206/-2 driver is a joke whether you've got a mortage back home or not.... Just saying...

PS The "above industry standart" part of the ad made me chuckle... Wonder why your "friend" quit if the pay was truly above "industry standard"... Wonder if it was pay related or if the Oz chickies were just nicer on another location on the island! LOL
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Just another canuck »

Belittle you? Not my intention and I'm not really sure how you came to that conclusion anyway.

500/month is also a joke... I did say that was the training period BTW. After you're released, your pay increases to 1500... still terrible, yes, but accommodations are usually included with this. My point was that if you want to start your career in Africa, you're going to get paid shit to do it. Don't want to get paid shit? Don't go to Africa and don't go to Fiji. I never went overseas for the pay, I went for the adventure. As a side note, I went to TZ and got paid 3500/month to fly a Van, a job that is often given to the 206 pilot a year or two down the road and if you think about it, 42000/year tax free with a place to stay isn't a bad deal, especially when you consider the fact that you get to do things and see things continuously that tourists pay a fortune to cram into a week.

My buddy quit Turtle for a number of reasons if my memory serves me right... pay, management and the fact that they only fly to Turtle Island got a little boring. He quit Fiji because two years was enough and I think he was at 2500/month when he left. My Fiji info is second hand info, so it may not be accurate.

P.S. I understand the difficulty for someone like you or anyone who has been in the industry for any length of time to accept a job with such a low salary. I personally, would not accept it because I have other goals and options. But for the 1000 hour guy who just got off his/her first season on the Beaver, it might not be such a bad life choice to hang out in Fiji for a year or two. Concentrate on your financial future when you return. And hey, apart from the pay, if it is really that bad, I'm sure the plane that dropped you off can also bring you home!! :wink:
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by TeePeeCreeper »

Just another canuck wrote:Belittle you? Not my intention and I'm not really sure how you came to that conclusion anyway.

500/month is also a joke... I did say that was the training period BTW. After you're released, your pay increases to 1500... still terrible, yes, but accommodations are usually included with this. My point was that if you want to start your career in Africa, you're going to get paid shit to do it. Don't want to get paid shit? Don't go to Africa and don't go to Fiji. I never went overseas for the pay, I went for the adventure. As a side note, I went to TZ and got paid 3500/month to fly a Van, a job that is often given to the 206 pilot a year or two down the road and if you think about it, 42000/year tax free with a place to stay isn't a bad deal, especially when you consider the fact that you get to do things and see things continuously that tourists pay a fortune to cram into a week.
.
Agreed. I enjoyed my time in EA for the same reasons you did... Staying in those lodges for free during overnights was a huge bonus... Especially when I found out how much the tourists were paying to stay there! The problem in that part of the world and elsewhere (Fiji) is that too many young pilots see it as the land to do "whatever it takes" to build hours... Shame really, because East Africa is not really a place for a new comer to build "easy time"... I've never seen thunder storms and weird weather since!
Sorry if I came on strong with my initial response to your first post... Trust you did not take it personally....

Regards,
TPC
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by trey kule »

To anyone thinking about applying for this job. Please read carefully.

Before you send your resume, picture and documents, contact the regulator.
Ask them specifically about the CP's violation record. Ask specifically how many times in the last two years their AOC or their AMO has being suspended...And for what reasons.
And ask how many pilots they have turned over in the last two years....and maybe even why?
Maybe even call one or two of the other companies.

You are not going to be living the dream.

The dream will become a nightmare, as it has for all the pilots who only stayed for a month or two...It happens that fast
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Bobby868
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Bobby868 »

It makes my stomach turn every time I hear a pilot say, “I took the job for the experience not the pay.” Weather that experience is a newer bigger machine or a tropical paradise I don’t care! You’re a professional with professional skills and when you work for free or close to it you hurt us all!

This posting isn’t asking for an entry level pilot it’s asking for 1000+ hours and time on type. When this add was running a year or two ago offering $1600 / month that was a joke. Now $750 . . . come on guys stop screwing all of us and demand a real wage!

I know of several pilots that came to Canada for the “Experience.” How would you feel if they started to fly a DHC-2 for $750 a month here in Canada?

I can’t stop pilots from selling themselves short on jobs like this but if you’re going to hurt us all by lowering the bar I’m going to do what I can to help us all. I’ve decided to not even considering pilots with these types of places on their resume. I’m sending them directly into the trash where they belong.
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Sam300 »

Seems like a bucket list type job for a short duration. By the way Doc the girls are getting better looking and shinier in those pictures!
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Doc »

Okay, did a little research. From very reliable sources, including a TC inspector who worked there way back when.
I'm told the guy relieves you of you passport on day one. Getting it back can be a wee bit of a task. The general consensus is: Don't even THINK about it!
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by cdnpilot77 »

Doc wrote:Okay, did a little research. From very reliable sources, including a TC inspector who worked there way back when.
I'm told the guy relieves you of you passport on day one. Getting it back can be a wee bit of a task. The general consensus is: Don't even THINK about it!
A friend of mine has been there 20+ times as a guest and is a good friend of the owner. He told me the owner often jokes with him about how terribly he treats his employees and tells him that if they put up a fight they can be replaced tomorrow no problem. At the very least you always know where you stand....you are lower on the totem pole than the fish they catch for dinner :roll: as stated many times above, stay far away!
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Donald »

Would the owner happen to be Buffalo Joe's long lost brother??
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by DHCdriver »

Donald wrote:Would the owner happen to be Buffalo Joe's long lost brother??
That's funny as hell :lol: My son has been looking long and hard at going there. Know I no. I'd hate for him to go down there after reading these comments. There are plenty of other jobs for him to get expierence then to go down there and get shit on by Joe's brother :lol: Thanks DHC
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by trey kule »

I’ve decided to not even considering pilots with these types of places on their resume. I’m sending them directly into the trash where they belong
.

There is a few of us that have been doing that for awhile now. We may not make a huge difference but we can help the pilots who dont prostitute themselves get a leg up.
(BTW. that type of pilot is usually referred to as a Victim when they bang one in and we are all supposed to feel sorry for them as they were just trying to get experience)

Flying and working in a foreign country is far far different from travelling there as a tourist.

I hope that anyone who is not smart enough to take the advice here, will post about their experience in a couple of months when they come back with their tail between their legs, wishing they had never gone.
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Just another canuck »

trey kule wrote:Quote:
I’ve decided to not even considering pilots with these types of places on their resume. I’m sending them directly into the trash where they belong
.

There is a few of us that have been doing that for awhile now. We may not make a huge difference but we can help the pilots who dont prostitute themselves get a leg up.
So, you guys see a resume with Fiji or some other African third world operation on it and you are just gonna bin it... sounds like the the thought process of a simpleton to me. Like you're punishing someone for taking a chance on an adventure which may or may not have worked out. When I accepted my jobs overseas in the past, I just went for it... I hopped on a plane and gave it a shot... no wife, no kids, nothing to lose. It worked out for me. In fact, I am a far, far better person and pilot for my experiences overseas.

FYI, none of my jobs paid low... does that now make my resume acceptable now? Not that I really care if it is or not, but you're unfairly putting an awful lot of pilots into a group in which they do not belong.

Yes, I get it... this particular opportunity is probably a bad idea, but there are other operators there that are not all that bad to work for apparently. No, the pay is still not that great and you can gain the same or better experience in Canada, but last time I checked, Canadian beaches weren't too hot to walk on in bare feet, fresh coconuts didn't grow in anyone's back yard and the women, oh the women. Same thing goes for East Africa... when was the last time you saw a lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, etc., etc., on your way to Sandy Lake or Peace River. Yes, moose and wolves are cool too, but I've seen them all my life.

What does my niece say all the time? Haters gonna hate. :roll:
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Jack Klumpus »

I love how the older generation, who supposedly give people shit for signing bonds, or working ramps, sit here and say, hell ya! its Fiji! Pay me peanuts, I don't mind, It's Fiji.

:rolleyes:
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Doc »

Jack Klumpus wrote:I love how the older generation, who supposedly give people shit for signing bonds, or working ramps, sit here and say, hell ya! its Fiji! Pay me peanuts, I don't mind, It's Fiji.
:rolleyes:
Pity some of you young ones (I'm assuming you are young with your "older generation" remark) are to STOOOPID and uneducated enough to recognize SARCASM. Hey! It's Fiji! You don't GET that?? You living under a rock in your Mom's basement?
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Indanao »

Doc wrote:
....are to STOOOPID and uneducated enough to recognize SARCASM.
Classic.
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by trey kule »

Actually Canuckrick, I was not referring to overseas jobs. I was referring to pilots who work for compnanies that are known to only hire people with existing PPC's, pay them nothing, work them to death doing other jobs on their "time off", or have them pay for their PPC.

I think maybe you personalized it a bit to much. I do not put ex-African experienced pilots resumes in the bin. or most other places overseas. I understand quite well the differences in pay in different countries.

But to get back to the original poster. You cant enjoy a nice warm sand beach if the company has you working 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. And you cant enjoy life if every time you try to leave the base, your cell phone rings. Don't answer it and the next morning you will be expected to stand up in front of 50 employees at the morning prayer meeting and say you are sorry for being such a bad employee. Well, not really a prayer meeting. 50 employees sit at the feet (literally) of the owner, and listen to the daily berations before the prayers. I have said my peice. the smart ones will understand.
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Bobby868 »

As Trey already stated, I don't blanket toss a resume just because of a region like Fiji, Africa etc. But if I know a specific company like Turtle and the fact that the pilot sold themselves and the rest of us out by working for $1400 a month; yep I'm tossing the resume. It's not like you got there and surprise found out that they were only paying X amount. No one takes a job without asking what the wage is. And I don't give a rats butt if you did it for the experience. You sold yourself and all of us out by doing it for slave wages. So cry all you want to your mommy I'm tossing it.

ENOUGH PEOPLE! Frick . . . Enough. I'm gonna burst a blood vessel if I have to read one more pilot talk about not caring if he / she gets paid becuase it's fun, it's flight time, it's a bigger machine, its a tropical paradise whatever!! When you work for nothing or close to nothing here in Canada or overseas you hurt us all. Right from the rampies and 172 drivers right up to Chief pilots and airline captains. It's a trickle down effect were the lowest paid job sets the standard pay for every job after that.

If you think a Chief pilot wants a bunch of guys who have shown a history of working for free think again becuase if you're willing to do a line job for free then you'll do the chief pilots job for a lot less than he's getting paid and that's just going to bring down his wages too.
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Re: Beaver job in FiJi?

Post by Lost Lake »

Well said Bobby 868. I give more respect to people who have worked overseas, like Dash 8 captains having to land vfr into gravel runways with no nav aid, short strips, animal and human incursions on the runway, poor or no ATC, unpredictable weather, etc. I would hire a pilot like that over someone who has had everything done for him.You hit the nail on the head, it's not where you work, it's who you worked for.
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