Does anyone here understand the points system for skilled immigration?

[Frank N. O.]

I've been looking around the internet to find out if I got any chances to move from Denmark and after looking around the australian goverment's site then it seems that the only way to legally stay in Australia is with the skilled immigration program. However, it seems that to be qualified for the skilled immigration program then you need an education/experiencel that earns at least 100 points (and that's only if you got a company sponsoring you) but the point value of an aircraft pilot is, according to the official site I found, zero! Furthermore, after visiting dozens of flight school sites I finally found a price for a CASA CPL and it's 45000 AUD (around 32000 USD or 24000 euro) and that'll probably take me years to earn so earning it by doing simple labour at a FBO or such seems impossible.

Anyone have more accurate info or any suggestions?

Frank

[G-man]

the point value of an aircraft pilot is, according to the official site I found, zero!

Well, here in lies the problem.. The average helicopter pilot is a highly sought after commodity..especially by the "sheilas". and to add to that, we tend to drink copious amounts of "crownies".

   

The average immigration official in Australia is a "crownie drinking womaniser" but without a helicopter pilot license---ERGO, the value of ZERO is to try to improve his chances with the Sheila's. Lets face it---would YOU let in the competition.

The point system is based upon a need and the lack of qualified people already in the country.

it seems that the only way to legally stay in Australia is with the skilled immigration program.
Anyone have more accurate info or any suggestions?
Frank

Seems that back in the late 1800's there was an easier way to get to Australia--- I tried to get there about 15 years ago, but was denied access due to the lack of a criminal record.. 

[Oddball]

Err I thought once you got your Heli driver licence you instantly got a criminal record and able to emigrate to Australia with out going through the point system....and a free boat ticket with it. 

[Frank N. O.]

I don't remember the list mentioning more than one type of pilot.

Frank

[G-man]

I don't remember the list mentioning more than one type of pilot.
Frank

I think they are going for the worst case scenario..After all--every airplane pilot aspires to be a helicopter pilot and they often try to emulate us.. 

[Frank N. O.]

Maybe, but helicopter-training seems even more unrealistic for me than stuck-wing training does.

Seriously though, does anyone know if there is any way to get permission to live and work in Australia or New Zealand as a professional aircraft pilot? It would be nice to know if my dreams are completely unrealistic, especially considering the consequences it would have for my life trying to achieve the dream.

Frank

[G-man]

Seriously though, does anyone know if there is any way to get permission to live and work in Australia or New Zealand as a professional aircraft pilot?

Hate to tell ya Frank--Slim to no chance

[Frank N. O.]

I was actually fearing that but I needed to know it for a fact, and I can probably safely assume this goes for USA, Japan, Canada and any other "western" country as well. Well that's that.

Frank

[FlyboyGil]

Frank what I suggest is applying to a college which offers an aviation program in which you can get a student loan for. I went to one, (but couldn't make the grade ) and you have to have alot of smarts to get through. Here in Canada you can get a student loan for the program, but being an international student the loan will be huge, at least $50,000 US!! Maybe not as much.  If you want to train here. I've listed the four schools I know of, although I recommend the first school. It's the one I attended and will give you your float rating, which is usually where your first flying job starts.

http://www.confederationc.on.ca/flight-mgmt/
http://www.saultc.on.ca/Programs/Programs.asp?progcode=4061&cat=overview&groupc=AVI

I can't remember the other 2, but it's a start. Hope this helps

[Frank N. O.]

I appreciate the help but there are sadly several problems.

Problem one: Money. A month ago, my mom's condition was so bad I could not stand to be at home (and they wouldn't take her to the hospital) so I begged the county to help me find some small place to live so I could move out, the alternative was sleeping on the floor at our friend's place in the other end of the country. They found one but the deposit was almost 30K DKK (twice what normal deposits are) and since I hadn't planned on moving soon then I didn't have even close to that amount at all. As you all probably know by now then I have no more than 2 family members and 2 family friends left alive in the whole world and none of them have any money to spare. After getting a rejection from the county for an emergency loan on the ground that I should've easily been able to save it up, then I asked the bank I'd had since I was a kid, and while he wasn't happy to do so, he had to turn me down according to the bank's rules. That bank-loan was for 30K DKK which is around 5300 USD and that was to get a roof over my head. Do you think my chances of getting a loan to this will be any greater than a pilot getting a worker's visa for Australia? I barely own anything that can be put up as insurance for the loan, and as said above I have no-one to co-sign a loan.

(Potential) problem two: I'm vulnurable to winter-depression, easily freeze in danish weather and generally don't like the climate and the problem it gives me, and while I know the stereotypes of Canada being a freezing winter-land are exagerated then I doubt it's warmer/sunnier than Denmark so even if I could fly there then there is a risk that the weather would be a negative influence on me.

Another thing I thought about is that with these times when there's a job-shortage would it then really be fair of me to come from another country and potentially take a job from someone who might be facing living on the street, especially given my personal situation at this point.

Frank

[Mike]

Frank!

Please don't take this the wrong way but:
   I can't help but notice that you ask a lot about how to become a pilot and then when somebody (in this case Gilly) tries to help you out and points you into a direction that just may work out for you there seems to be yet another problem..... You didn't even mention looking at the link Gilly posted!
I wonder sometimes how much you really want this. If your conditions for becoming a pilot are that you can only be a pilot in a "warm" country where your training is paid for preferrably on a beach in California or Australia, this whole thing may not happen for you.

A little story:
Let's start off with the fact that we just got done doing another round of "Frost Control". Thats where you use a helicopter to break up a frost layer which can save expensive crops like Strawberries, Oranges, Lemons, Avocados, and so forth. The job starts at 3am and it's ALWAYS dark and cold. And that job is, surprisingly, in Southern California! It's a part of aviation. Airline guys get up at all hours in the morning and then fly to places like Fargo, ND or Calgary Canada, you get the idea. Being a pilot means at some point you're gonna freeze your @$$ off more than you've ever done before, no matter where you are.

I had as much money as you did when I decided to become a pilot. My idea was to become a fighter pilot in the airforce but that got shut down because I am nearsighted. I was crushed. Then I tried for army helicopter pilot. DENIED again for wearing glasses. The I tried the airlines. Didn't make it in. Then I was thinking of going to Australia but I couldn't make it over there and had no money anyways.
What finally worked for me is joining the military as a grunt, then volunteered for a war, almost had my ear ripped off in a street fight, and got stabbed during a shuffle during some big demonstration, not to mention being shot at a few times....
I did this to make money since I knew working a day job would take too long for little impatient me to save up for a license.

The States were not my first choice for getting my helicopter license either, but at the time they were the cheapest. At one point in my flight training I worked a dayjob as a mechanic, then another 4 hours for an overhaul shop putting Hughes 500's back together and on the weekends I studied for my A&P and did random survey work for a third company. All my money went to flight taining and I never bought a toy, a model plane, a computer, a fancy dinner, a phone or even a movie or a video game until my first year in fire. My time flying offshore (before the fire stuff) was spent paying back all the money I owed because what I made it the military wasn't enough.
I could go on and I know for a fact that everybody who has a similar job as me (Soccermom, G-Man, Fireflyer) has a simliar story....

And guess what, the whole time while I was doing this, life went on around me as well. The time I was working those 3 jobs my wife back then went through cancer operations and my step-daughter was diagnosed with a learning disability which required a lot of attention and tutoring. Her dad was in and out of the hospital every week and we lost a few loved ones between the two of us.

What I have now, I earned fair and square and I am proud that I was able to do it whithout having a rich daddy help me out and finance my school. I am now getting back all the money and time I put in the beginning years. Looking back I have no regrets and I even tried to enjoy the hard times.

Canada, by the way, is an AWESOME country if you like flying. Just pack a coat. It's huge and beautiful and the people are really nice there...

And finally, my point: I REALLY REALLY wanted to be a pilot and never gave up, no matter what happened around me!

Respectfully,

A commercial pilot

[Frank N. O.]

Thanks for the post, I appreciate it. You mention lying on the beach while other people pays the bills, i don't think it was directed at me, but just to be sure let me make it clear that I want to work for everything I get and I do not like to lie on the beach, in fact I can't stand not having some project to work on.

The main reason I expressed interest in a warmer climate is mainly based on experiences I have from danish winters and the conditions in Canada might be different in the areas I had trouble with so you're right, I should investigate this before just brushing it off, especially considering how important the goal is. Also, as I wrote above then it's not certain that winter-depression would kick in if I actually had a carreer and it was never intended to be seen as a big problem either but I guess I still have a lot to learn about how to write. Good thing I'm not aiming to be an author huh?

The reasons I didn't mention the links was that Gil mentioned student-loans and it just didn't seem realistic for me to loan 50K USD for a pilot's license, and all I've heard is how hard it is to get to Canada. This is all speculation however so I'll go read thrue the links and other sources of relevant information and take a look at the facts about what options I may have.

I have also thought about staying in Europe however besides being extremely expensive then flying in Denmark is very limited, mainly due to the small size of the country. And regarding other countries then I'm really only fluent in danish, swedish and english and that narrows the field down. I do understand german well but my grammer isn't so good (my main problem is trying to figure out/remember what word has which gender).

Frank

[Mike]

One thing I didn't mention in my post is that I think you also have to make choices. I know a lot of people who didn't get their rating or didn't finish it because they chose family over career. I find this very admirable by the way. Sometimes I think I am selfish for not starting a family and taking care of them. On the other hand I have no kids who never see their dad.
See what I am getting at?
I chose flying over many other things. I am not unhappy, don't get me wrong. But if your dream is to have a big family, then forget the flying.... for their sake.....
I am not a big fan of people who think you can do it all. Because I believe strongly you can't. I don't think you can have your dream job which requires you to be gone all the time, live in a big house, be married and have a bunch of kids all at the same time. I see a lot of couples here in CA try that and it never works. Something HAS to give at some point....
.
I am also a guy living far far away from his Austrian family, which hurts every now and then. But that was a decision I made (sober I think) so I deal with it.
If I search deep down and read old diaries, it really sticks out that I wanted to do something different than anybody else. I would kind of say, I succeeded. The "Chicken Wings" thing I didn't see coming though.....       

[Frank N. O.]

I don't see myself with kids ever since I don't think I could handle it so that I am very sure won't be an issue. And regarding other family then you know what I have left, and emails, internet-phonecalls and downloaded videoclips would work for us, at least that's what my mom says and when my brother gets his bachelor-degree in social education (hopefully two months from now) he might also leave the country.

One thing I forgot to write in the previous post is that I've thought a lot about the different opinions I have about my abilities. What I think I would like/not like and what I can/can't handle. While some are permanent then others might not be, but this would need to be tested in real-life. This does howeverl give hope that I might be able to do something I didn't think I could, or that I could enjoy a situation I didn't think I would, like living in a cold place for instance. Of course this could also work in reverse, what I thought I would like could turn out to be horrible.

Anyay, it's time for my morning-walk, ttyl.

Frank

[G-man]

Franky---got to tell ya--grow some goddamn balls and at some point in your life just do what feels right. Mike is right--you can find excuses for everything you do in life, but when you are at the end, and life has passed you by--what regrets will you have?

As Mike said, we all have given up way more than you have to date. I have seen my sister one time for 2 days in the last 20 years. I had no furniture in the house for 2 years, and have given up many things in the last 30 years to fly.

Let me tell you some of mine.. I have been divorced twice, and in the process of # 3. Do not have a picture of # 1 on my computer, but, here is what I gave up:

This is wife # 2:



And this is me & wife #3 that I am in the process of loosing right now:



So, I will prolly regret posting this tomorrow, but quit your f*ckin whining and live life--you only have one. Like my signature says-- "Life may not be the party you hoped for--but while you are here---you may as well dance".. How true.