I recently had an interview with a graduate of one of the Ontario college programs. They were a very eager individual, who seemed keen on working towards their licence and ready to learn. The interview was going well, until four words came from their mouth "I'll work for free". At that point in the interview, what initially started an intriguing conversation with a prospective candidate, turned into a discussion about one's self worth in the work force.
"Pardon?" I asked, taken back by the self deprecating statement the interviewee had just said. "I will do whatever it takes to get into the industry. My professors told me that sometimes you need to work for free, in order to get your foot into the door." At this point confusion started to turn into rage, and I stopped the interview to lecture this individual about the harm that this practice, that what their professors have been advocating is doing to this industry. That people who are willing to work for free do not value themselves, and their time. No one works for free, not people serving coffees in drive-thrus, nor recent college graduates trying to pay back student loans and start a career.
It is because of these industry practices that an shop has a hard time charging as much as a car dealership for labour rate (for highly specialized work I might add). It is because of these types of practices that entry level pilots sleep in their cars because they can't afford a basic living income. When someone is willing to work for free, how is someone else trying to make it in the industry supposed to compete? They can't, the only way to beat free is paying someone to work.
Everyone in aviation has been getting pushed around for far too long, where we have bred this culture of worthlessness. I am all for someone having to pay their dues, it is almost anticipated that you will start by pulling panels and sweeping the floor. However, even the person sweeping the floor deserves fair and equitable pay for what they are doing, they deserve the chance at being able to survive.
Luckily, due to the shortage of Aircraft Maintenance Engineers due to the loss of the work force through attrition, we are finally in a position of bargaining better wages and cultivating a new era. If all of the Pilots, Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, the Technicians, and any one of the hundreds of job titles in the aviation industry were to walk off tomorrow - the world would stop. No flights anywhere, means no travel infrastructure, it would be crippling to shipping of goods world wide thus affecting the economy, and these are just a small number of things it would impact.
When you put this into perspective, it is sobering to realize that we are worth more than we give ourselves credit for. So when you are at that job interview, I am not saying for you to become narcissistic, but to reflect on what your self worth is and try to get top dollar for your labour. If we collectively start practising this, I truly believe we can get the ball rolling on change.
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