So approx 5% as FO all up?. That’s extremely lucky. How does it compare with your peers.
My RAAF and RAN peers who joined within a year or two of me, spent slightly longer as FOs, but overall had a similar run. In my case, I was given my 4 bars three months shy of 8 years in the company, and if you joined soon after me, you’d probably have had the chance within 10 years. But, shortly after that, it stretched out quite appreciably. There was always a lot of right place and time, and simply being prepared, in how things worked out.
My initial years in QF were greatly affected by the advent of the 767. That opened up a lot of new seats, so promotion opportunities were much better for a few years. But, the 767 turned out to be a bit of a hot potato training wise, as it had a much higher failure rate on the command courses than the company had been used to. There were a few reasons for this. The aircraft itself was somewhat unforgiving, which is what made it so loved by many of us. But the biggest issue was that some people simply had not ensured they were getting ready for the training a couple of years out. It’s much easier to keep on top of the study if you do a bit here, and there, constantly....but not everyone did. The upshot was that many people who could have bid for the slots on the 767 didn’t do so for a few more years. That meant that the successful bidders were coming from the middle of the seniority system and not near the top. They also tended to be the ones who were prepared and more confident, and there was a fairly high percentage of RAAF amongst them. A few years down the track, this reversed itself, as the people who’d held off, now felt confident enough to put their hands up.
Within a bidding system, in which there are multiple ranks and aircraft types involved, you’ll find all sorts of reasoning behind the way that people bid. For some, stability is the most important factor. Others, will bid for the highest rank, or perhaps the highest rated aircraft. I always pushed for the best seat I could find, with one exception. I could have had a command slot on the 747 Classic, but I simply wasn’t interested in going back to an analogue aircraft. I also never delayed taking a new course, again with one exception. I actually had a slot to start my 380 training very soon after QF30 happened. The deputy chief pilot suggested that it might be a good idea to delay that for a little while, and as he guaranteed my later slot, I took his advice.
In a company like QF, where there were approximately equal numbers of Captains, FOs, and SOs, the average time in each rank would be a third of a career. The reality is that averages are just that, and expansion, or contraction, or dumb luck, make a vast difference to any individual’s progression. Basically though, you have to be in it to win it. You have to be prepared, always.